Understanding Anxiety: Symptoms, Causes, and Ways to Cope

Anxiety is a common experience, and for some people, it can develop into an anxiety disorder such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Millions of people experience anxiety and related symptoms, which can have a significant impact on daily life. Learning to manage anxiety symptoms can help reduce distress and support overall wellbeing. 

What Is Anxiety and What Are the Associated Symptoms?

Anxiety is a natural response to perceived stress or danger that affects millions of people worldwide. However, when anxiety and worry become excessive, persistent, and interfere with everyday life, they may be signs of an anxiety disorder. 

Characteristics of GAD include excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least six months. Other symptoms can include being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, muscle tension, irritability, and sleep disturbances. 

Many people experience feelings of anxiety at some point in their lives. Anxiety may become problematic and lead to a diagnosable disorder when it is persistent, difficult to control, and begins to interfere with day-to-day life and overall functioning. The focus of worries can also vary depending on a person’s age and circumstances. For example, children and adolescents may worry about their performance or competence, while older adults may have concerns relating to health or chronic illness.

Excessive worrying can make it more difficult to complete everyday tasks and may contribute to reduced energy, lower confidence, difficulties with work or academic responsibilities, and reduced quality of life.

Anxiety can also activate the body’s fight-or-flight response, which is a natural system designed to help protect us from perceived danger. When this response is activated, you may experience an increased heart rate, shaking, racing thoughts, rapid breathing, nausea, and muscle tension. Relaxation and grounding techniques can sometimes help reduce these symptoms and support the body in returning to a calmer state. 

What Causes Anxiety?

There is no single cause of anxiety disorders. A combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors may contribute to someone’s likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder.

Early life experiences can play a role. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which are stressful or traumatic experiences occurring during childhood, may be associated with an increased risk of experiencing mental health difficulties later in life. Parenting and family experiences, including patterns of overprotection, overcontrol, or reinforcement of avoidance, may also influence how a person learns to respond to anxiety.  

Genetics may also play a role in the development of GAD. Having a close family member with GAD or another anxiety disorder may increase a person’s likelihood of experiencing anxiety, although genetics are only one factor and do not determine whether someone will develop a disorder.

Sex and gender may also be relevant. GAD is diagnosed more frequently in women than in men, although anyone can experience an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety and Other Disorders

GAD can occur alongside other mental health conditions. This is sometimes referred to as comorbidity. GAD may co-occur with Major Depressive Disorder, other anxiety disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders.

When multiple difficulties occur together, it can sometimes make symptoms more complex. A mental health professional can help you understand the difficulties you are experiencing and identify appropriate treatment and support.

Coping Skills to Reduce Anxiety

Here are a few coping strategies you can try to help manage anxiety in the present moment.

• Deep Breathing: Try inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, and then exhaling slowly for 6 seconds. Slowing and lengthening the exhale may help your body move towards a calmer state and can be useful when experiencing symptoms such as rapid heart rate and racing thoughts.

• Countering or Reframing Anxiety-Producing Thoughts: When you notice an anxious thought, try coming up with a more balanced way of looking at the situation, also known as a rational counterstatement. Anxiety can sometimes cause us to interpret situations in ways that focus heavily on potential threats or negative outcomes. Developing a more balanced perspective can help you respond differently to these thoughts.  

• Decatastrophising: When anxious, people can sometimes catastrophise, which is a common cognitive distortion where the importance of a problem is exaggerated and the worst possible outcome is assumed. Try asking yourself questions such as: What am I worried about? How likely is it that this worry will come true? If this worry comes true, what is the worst that could happen? If your worry comes true, what is likely to happen? If your worry comes true, what are the chances you’ll be okay in one week, one month, or one year?

• Mindfulness: Mindfulness and grounding techniques can help you reconnect with the present moment when anxiety feels overwhelming. Focusing on your surroundings, practising the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory method, and bringing awareness to your breathing and physical sensations can help interrupt racing thoughts and encourage a greater sense of calm. 

Long-Term Support

Talk therapy can be helpful for people experiencing anxiety. Therapy provides an opportunity to speak with a qualified mental health professional in a confidential and supportive environment. It can help you better understand your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours while developing coping skills that are appropriate for your individual circumstances. 

There are several different therapeutic approaches that may be used when working with anxiety. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a well-established psychological therapy for anxiety disorders and can help you identify unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour. Mindfulness-based approaches can also be incorporated into therapy when appropriate. 

These approaches can help you focus on the present, examine and reframe unhelpful thought patterns, break problems down into more manageable steps, and practise new behaviours and coping strategies between sessions. 

Concluding Thoughts

Anxiety is something that many people will experience at some point in their lives, making it something that many of us can relate to. Different strategies and techniques work for different people, so it is important to find approaches that suit your individual needs and circumstances.

Anxiety can be a struggle, but your anxiety does not define you. You are your own person. You are not “anxiety”; you are a person who is experiencing anxiety.

On the Resources tab of my website, I have several free resources that you can download and print. These may be helpful when you are experiencing anxiety. The resources I recommend include:

• Anxiety Toolkit: A collection of practical tools to help you manage anxiety in the moment and build healthier ways of coping over time.

• Challenging Negative Thoughts: A thought log to help you identify, challenge, and reframe negative or unhelpful thoughts.

• The Fight-or-Flight Response: A psychoeducation worksheet explaining the fight-or-flight response and how the body reacts to perceived stress or danger.

If you are interested in beginning talk therapy and would like to explore how we could work together, you can contact me by emailing contact@renewedhorizonscounselling.co.uk or by filling out the contact form on my website. I look forward to hearing from you.