10 Novel Steps You Can Take Right Now to Reduce Anxiety and Panic Attacks in the Age of the Coronavirus

Recently, anxiety overtook depression, ADHD, and all other conditions to be the Number One mental health challenge.  We’re currently under siege by an invisible enemy, and most of our anxiety levels are higher than before. For some time, however, anxiety has been on the rise as we face all the everyday choices we have to make, both small and potentially life changing. We live in a highly complex world that complicates our existence and creates newer tensions.  The Process of Anxiety Most people think of anxiety as an emotional state, and it is. But anxiety is also a process that starts with several uncomfortable emotions that are difficult to tolerate and, under certain circumstances, arise simultaneously.  As an illustration, let’s say you’ve been seeing someone and she ordinarily responds within a couple of hours. You texted this morning. It’s dinnertime and you still haven’t heard back. You become confused (why hasn’t she texted back?), frightened (what if she doesn’t want to be with me anymore?), and helpless (I can’t keep bugging her. She’s asked me before to wait until she responds). These feelings can converge as you feel overwhelmed, at which time it turns into anxiety.  Plus we all have certain emotions that we can handle better than others. For example, some people do well with anger, but others act out or simply push their anger down. Some people are OK with worrying, others want it to stop because they can’t handle the feeling. The possibil...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Coronavirus COVID-19 Source Type: news