Anxiety can be a difficult experience to understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself. Here are two relatable examples to help illustrate what anxiety feels like:
- Imagine you’re at a busy shopping mall, and suddenly feel like you can’t breathe. Your heart starts pounding, you feel lightheaded, and you’re overcome by a sense of panic. You feel like you’re in immediate danger, even though there’s nothing physically threatening you. This is what a panic attack can feel like.
- Imagine you’re about to take an important exam, and you can’t stop worrying about what will happen if you fail. You feel anxious and stressed, even though you’ve studied and prepared as much as you can. The thought of failing the exam consumes you, and you feel like you’re in a constant state of worry and nervousness. Ultimately this state of mind ( and not your preparedness) causes you to perform bad. This is what generalized anxious can feel like for some people.
These are just two examples of how anxiety can impact someone’s life, but it’s important to remember that everyone’s experience with anxious is unique. If you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, it’s important to seek professional help in order to manage the symptoms and improve overall well-being.
One of the methods we use at Mankaa Kura to treat anxious is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on helping individuals identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to anxiety.
Here’s how it might work for someone with anxiety:
A person with anxiety might be struggling with obsessive worry about the future, and constantly ruminating on negative “what if” scenarios. In CBT, they would work with their therapist to identify these patterns and challenge them. For example, they might learn to reframe their thoughts by reminding themselves that they are overestimating the likelihood of a negative outcome, and that they can’t predict the future.
In addition, the person would also learn coping strategies to manage their physical symptoms of anxiety, such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization techniques.
Over time, with the help of CBT, the person with anxiety would develop a greater understanding of their thoughts and behaviors, and learn to manage their symptoms in a more effective way. They would feel empowered to take control of their anxiety and develop the skills needed to lead a more fulfilling and relaxed life.
It’s important to note that this is just one example of how therapy can be used to treat anxiety, and the specific approach and techniques used will vary depending on the individual and their specific needs and circumstances.
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