Anxiety is a normal part of life that everyone experiences from time to time. Research shows that even mild to moderate anxiety will enhance your focus to attention, alertness, and motivation. However if the anxiety is extreme feelings of doom, helplessness, and severe worry can come about and have detrimental affects on a persons perception of these feelings towards their life. When this form of severe anxiety continues and intensifies this can lead to depression.

Anxiety has been shown to cause many physical and emotional symptoms. Certain situations can bring about some or all of these symptoms for a short duration. As the situation subsides and fear levels drop so do the symptoms.
The physical symptoms of anxiety include: Shaking, twitching, body trembling. Shortness of breath and shallow breathing. Elevated fullness in the chest and thorax areas. Rapid heartbeat and lightheadedness. Hot flashes, sweaty, clammy hands, extreme coldness. Loss of appetite, loss of sleep, disturbed sleep.

Communicating creatively is very difficult for people suffering from anxiety as it affects the part of the brain that controls how we communicate. This can lead to emotional symptoms of anxiety which can hinder relationships on many levels. Some of these include, worrying too much, inability to focus on conversations, a racing mind, unable to concentrate, and feeling that something bad is going to happen. When people experience physical and emotional anxiety for a length of time they can develop Anxiety Disorders.
Anxiety disorders will affect how people communicate with others, and women have been shown to suffer from this disorder twice as likely as males. Panic attacks, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorders are all examples of anxiety disorders. Many of these disorders can start at any age, and there is not any one factor contributing to it. Research does show that children having at least one parent with depression are more than two times likely to have an anxiety disorder. Persistent substance abuse can lead to mental health problems as can poor diet and excessive caffeine consumption.

Panic attacks are also common in people who suffer extreme anxiety. This attack comes on very suddenly when a person least expects it. They can occur in normal healthy people and usually last only a few minutes, but seem to have lasted longer. The person inflicted with a panic attack will feel exhausted after the experience and may become lethargic. Many people mistake panic attacks for heart attacks as the symptoms include trouble breathing, chest tightening and pain, and an irregular heartbeat. When these attacks persist over time the person suffering from them is said to have panic disorder.

There are many things that you can do to help control anxiety to moderate levels.
Journaling: Journaling has been shown to be an excellent stress management tool. In doing so you write down the way your feeling and this can lead to great breakthroughs in self exploration. Journaling allows you the freedom to clarify your thoughts and really dig deep into things that are troubling you in your life. This method allows you to see your problems as an outsider when you read your thoughts, it also allows both sides of your brain to be used so there much more cognitive processing which may balance out your thinking.

Exercise: The affects of exercise of stress is tremendous. Besides keeping your weight at bay, vigorous exercise releases endorphins that put you at ease and give you an all around sense of well being. Exercise may include weight training, cardio vascular exercise such as a treadmill, stair climbers, elipticals, spinning, and yoga.

Nutritional Supplements: Proper nutrition is key to overall good health. To ensure that you reach these levels it may help by taking certain nutritional supplements. The most important would be a high quality multi vitamin and antioxidant formula. Next would be an essential oil supplement containing a large amount of omega 3, 6, and 9. EFA’s as they are called are found in fish oils and have shown to greatly affect mood. Lastly a good amino acid supplement is recommended. Amino acids greatly affect brain chemistry, proper firing of neurons, and correct neurotransmitter response. These can aid in reducing stress by keeping all of your hormones balanced.

With proper care which includes exercise, healthy diet, and proper nutritional supplementation you will have a great defense in battling severe anxiety.