What's the difference
between normal anxiety and an anxiety disorder?
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is more associated with a fight or flight reaction – either staying to fight or leaving to escape danger.
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. Perhaps the person has watched a scary movie or seen something upsetting on TV. Anyone might get anxious in these situations, but the person with an anxiety disorder has persistent or recurrent anxiety that prevents him or her from full participation in life. Anxiety can range from relatively mild (occasional “butterflies,” jitteriness, accompanied by a sense of unease) to severe (frequent, disabling panic attacks).
Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness, and involve excessive fear or anxiety. Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders and affect nearly 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives. Anxiety disorders also affect 31. 9% of adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, with intense feelings of excessive worry and fear.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety disorders can lead the person to alter their lifestyle to accommodate the anxiety, for example avoiding activities or trying to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. Job performance, school- work and personal relationships can be affected. But anxiety disorders are treatable, and a number of effective treatments are available. Treatment helps most people lead normal productive lives.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The first step is to see your doctor to make sure there is no physical problem causing the symptoms. If an anxiety disorder is diagnosed, a mental health professional can work with you on finding the best treatment. Unfortunately, many people with anxiety disorders don't seek help. They don't realize that they have an illness for which there are effective treatments.
Although each anxiety disorder has unique characteristics, most respond well to two types of treatment: psychotherapy or "talk therapy," and medications. These treatments can be given alone or in combination. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), a type of talk therapy, can help a person learn a different way of thinking, reacting and behaving to help feel less anxious. Medications will not cure anxiety disorders, but can provide significant relief from symptoms.
Can Relaxation Techniques Help with Anxiety?
They can. They are the best option for mild anxiety that most of us experience from time to time. There are many books, online resources and apps with relaxation exercises (often paired with deep breathing). They are relatively simple to learn. These approaches can provide relief and can be used anywhere once the person understands the method. Mental health professionals can guide the person who needs a more personal approach to learning relaxation.
Relaxation Exercise
Research shows that relaxation exercise offers not only calm, but help with anxiety and depression, cancer, chronic pain, asthma, heart disease and high blood pressure.
To get started, all you need is a few minutes each day. Later you may want to work up to 10, 20 or 30 minutes.
Forms of Relaxation Exercises
Deep Breathing. Sit or lie down comfortably. Rest your hands on your stomach. Slowly count to four while inhaling through your nose. Feel your stomach rise. Hold your breath for a second. Slowly count to four while you exhale, preferably through pursed lips to control the breath. Your stomach will fall slowly. Repeat a few times.
Abdomen breathing. Breathing from your diaphragm (the muscle that sits just beneath your lungs) can help reduce the amount of work your body needs to do in order to breathe.
To learn how to breathe from your diaphragm:
Check-in
For comfort, lie down on the floor or bed with pillows beneath your head and knees. Or sit in a comfortable chair with your head, neck, and shoulders relaxed, and your knees bent.
Then, put one hand under your rib cage and one hand over your heart.
Inhale and exhale through your nose, noticing how or if your stomach and chest move as you breathe.
Can you isolate your breathing so you bring air deeper into your lungs? What about the reverse? Can you breathe so your chest moves more than your stomach?
Eventually, you want your stomach to move as you breathe, instead of your chest.
Breath focus. When deep breathing is focused and slow, it can help reduce anxiety. You can do this technique by sitting or lying down in a quiet, comfortable location. Then, notice how it feels when you inhale and exhale normally. Mentally scan your body. You might feel tension in your body that you never noticed.
Take a slow, deep breath through your nose.
Notice your belly and upper body expanding.
Exhale in whatever way is most comfortable for you, sighing if you wish.
Do this for several minutes, paying attention to the rise and fall of your belly.
Choose a word to focus on and vocalize during your exhale. Words like “safe” and “calm” can be effective.
Imagine your inhale washing over you like a gentle wave.
Imagine your exhale carrying negative and upsetting thoughts and energy away from you.
When you get distracted, gently bring your attention back to your breath and your words.
Practice this technique for up to 20 minutes daily when you can.
Fear, worry, and anxiety are some of the enemy's most popular weapons he uses against us. It can all overwhelm us like a thick shadow of darkness, controlling our every move and decision. God has words of life and power to speak straight into our greatest fears and worries. If you find yourself stuck in the struggle today, join us in praying through His promises, and find help in Him.
What Does The Bible Say About Anxiety?
When the Struggle Feels Too Hard:
In a world that often seems dark or difficult, we may find ourselves facing huge battles with fear and anxiety each day. Though we know God’s truth and believe in His word, there’s this struggle we can’t seem to shake off, and sometimes we find ourselves trapped right in the mess of it all. Yet reality tells us that so much of what we spend our time worrying about never even happens. Living under the weight of the “what if’s” is a hard place to dwell.
God has words of life – of truth – that He wants to speak straight into our fears and worries. And as we choose to soak them in, meditating on them, and praying them back to Him, we will be changed. We’ll be set free from the burden of fear, the weight of worry, and the entanglement of anxiety.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
One of my favorite verses which has carried me through so many difficult and uncertain times is found in Isaiah 41:10. It is the Lord’s very clear reminder to our hearts, not to fear. For He is with us. He is our God. He strengthens us. He helps us. He upholds with His righteous right hand. Nothing in this verse ever says it’s all up to us to make it through somehow. But it assures us that our God who never sleeps or slumbers is at work - in us, through us - and He promises to hold us up. There’s surely no better, no safer place to be, but to be held by Him.
Psalm 16:7,9 NIV
‘Even at night my heart instructs me.’
‘my body also will rest secure’
A lot of things come to mind in the middle of the night – often worries. In turning them into prayer, God can speak to us, instruct us, and our body can ‘rest secure’ (v.9).
Philippians 4:6-8 ESV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
The enemy will always lure us towards panic and worry if we focus on all that is wrong in this world. But God offers us confident peace that can never be found in this life without Him.
Read words of life, of truth, soaking them in, over and over, praying them out loud until they become so familiar, they will replace the other things in your mind that you battle against. There’s nothing magical about words and verses, but there is power through them, because they’re God’s words.
Change happens. Anxious thoughts begin to diminish. Worry lets go of its constant grip. And though fear is sometimes still there, it no longer wields control, holding you back, paralyzing you in its grasp.
His words are “life” words, soothing to your soul, calming to your spirit, giving power to your days.
It’s not always easy, and it often comes down to a choice:
- Choosing not to allow fear and anxiety to control your life.
- Choosing to guard your heart.
- Choosing to focus your mind on what is truth in the midst of uncertain times.
We might still feel afraid, but we can believe that God is with us. We may not be in control, but we can trust the One who is. We may not know the future, but we can find security in the God who does.
Prayer
Dear God,
We choose faith over fear today. We choose to set our eyes on You and not on our circumstances. We choose joy over despair and peace over worry. Silence the lies of the enemy over us. Please give us the awareness we need to step over his traps. Fill us fresh with your Spirit and with the faith to believe that you are at work in us, through us, for your great purposes and plans. Through your mighty power, we can be restored and renewed. We can shake off the shackles of fear and anxiety, moving forward in your grace and truth. Thank you for reminding us that we never have to fear, for you are truly with us, giving us strength for every moment, and help through every day. Thank you that you are bigger than these fears we face.
Help us choose not to worry but instead to pray about all that concerns us, allowing your Spirit to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We trust you to protect our way and to bring us safely through these problems we’re facing. Thank you for your great care over us, we love you Lord, and we need you, today and every day.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Mabel Martinez-Almonte
MA, OTR/L, NCC
Resources
Psychiatry.org - Anxiety Disorders, Psychiatry.org - What are Anxiety Disorders?
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-family/anxiety-disorders
Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression (adaa.org)
https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercises-for-anxiety#abdomen-breathing
https://mhanational.org/take-care-your-spirit
What Does the Bible Say about Anxiety? By Hope Bolinger; www.biblestudytools.com
God’s promises over our fears and anxieties - Debbie McDaniel
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/14162-fighting-fear-and-anxiety-with-the-promises-of-god
Disclaimer: The content on this blog is generated for entertainment or/and informative purposes, but not to be perceived as professional or medical advice in regard to health or finances, or any other field.