“What could be the reason for my anxiety?”
I am a 36 year old woman and I am noticing a strange problem. I tend to get anxious very fast even when completing routine tasks such as brushing my teeth. Could this be hormonal or something else? What can I do to calm myself?
11 Answers
Hello,
There is no way for me to know what is causing this anxiety – It would be reasonable for you to consult a mental health and/or physical doctor to discuss it with him/her. As for interrupting that anxiety, there are many (non-drug) methods that are simple to learn and successful. One of them is hypnosis – my specialty – so I would suggest you find a member of the ASCH (American Society of Clinical Hypnosis) whose on-line directory can match you with an appropriate specialist in your geographical area.
Good luck!
Peace,
Marian K. Shapiro
There is no way for me to know what is causing this anxiety – It would be reasonable for you to consult a mental health and/or physical doctor to discuss it with him/her. As for interrupting that anxiety, there are many (non-drug) methods that are simple to learn and successful. One of them is hypnosis – my specialty – so I would suggest you find a member of the ASCH (American Society of Clinical Hypnosis) whose on-line directory can match you with an appropriate specialist in your geographical area.
Good luck!
Peace,
Marian K. Shapiro
Typically when we get anxious we are worried about something in the future. Try practicing doing one thing at a time, for instance when you’re brushing your teeth just focus on brushing your teeth. And then pick another task to do. Usually we will do multiple tasks at once which makes us anxious because we realize how much we have to do and how little time we have. Mindfulness is a great thing to practice during this time.
When dealing with psychological issues and you have a question that it may be part of a health problem you should see your doctor. Anxiety as many causes. In order to more fully understand the reasons for your anxiety you should see a therapist
If you suspect an underlying medical problem, you should meet with your doctor to rule that out. Otherwise, consider situations or difficulties in your life that precipitate anxiety. If you can identify solutions, you should proceed to take steps to alleviate the root cause. If you cannot identify a root cause or need help knowing how to problem solve or cope with it, you should consider meeting with a mental health professional. Please know that the symptoms of anxiety, i.e., feeling on edge, racing heart, shortness of breath, may feel uncomfortable but will not hurt you. Some people experience symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks for no obvious reason. It helps to respond to these symptoms in a detached manner. If you respond with fear or panic, the symptoms will become worse. Once you accept and allow the symptoms to occur, you should then become involved in an activity, thought process or conversation that serves to divert your attention. The goal is not necessarily to get rid of the symptoms but rather live your life simultaneously. With this approach, though, not only will the symptoms become less apparent, they will likely decrease significantly.
Naomi Jacobs, Ph.D.
Naomi Jacobs, Ph.D.
Hello there,
Our first anxiety is experienced under the age of five when our parents hand us off to someone else. It could be caused by other reasons, though the research says the most intensive suffering humans ever endure is separation from our primary parent. It's called Separation Anxiety. In worse cases, with complete attachment breaks, it's Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). The younger we are and the longer the separation, the worse we suffer into our adult life. The other causes include shockers, such as when our parents scold or hit us for making a mistake or just get mad at us for not knowing what we "were supposed to know." The younger we were, the more anxiety we felt then and later. Anxiety can then generalize and become triggered later in life when we have experiences related to fear of not being good enough or more pointedly, a fear of rejection. As we get older, we develop other causes for anxiety related to rejection or inadequacy. We still fear not being good enough. Sometimes, that's the secret we even keep from ourselves and we can't let others know our true self, because they will discover our inadequacy. We are not free to be authentic, which is a huge tragedy for anyone to endure, especially for a lifetime. Then, if we have a secret we are keeping to protect someone else, even if it's something like, "I hate dad's drinking," we have buried and unresolved conflict. Whether we keep things to ourself or have been requested or demanded to do so, adds to our anxiety. The common denominator is a need to be authentic, which is threatened by a fear of loss if we are.
Our bodies store our hidden suffering from others and us, but our bodies really don't want to. What is interesting is that when we let down, relax or do something mindless, buried trauma or unresolved conflict hurries to the surface, as if it has a chance to speak. If we let our guard down, these truths want to surface. Your job is to listen.
You might want to take time to allow your issues to surface, so you can deal with them. You can lie down or meditate. Just wait. Don't try to think of anything. It will come to you and then you can observe what you are repressing. Seeing is change.
Dr. Faye
Our first anxiety is experienced under the age of five when our parents hand us off to someone else. It could be caused by other reasons, though the research says the most intensive suffering humans ever endure is separation from our primary parent. It's called Separation Anxiety. In worse cases, with complete attachment breaks, it's Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). The younger we are and the longer the separation, the worse we suffer into our adult life. The other causes include shockers, such as when our parents scold or hit us for making a mistake or just get mad at us for not knowing what we "were supposed to know." The younger we were, the more anxiety we felt then and later. Anxiety can then generalize and become triggered later in life when we have experiences related to fear of not being good enough or more pointedly, a fear of rejection. As we get older, we develop other causes for anxiety related to rejection or inadequacy. We still fear not being good enough. Sometimes, that's the secret we even keep from ourselves and we can't let others know our true self, because they will discover our inadequacy. We are not free to be authentic, which is a huge tragedy for anyone to endure, especially for a lifetime. Then, if we have a secret we are keeping to protect someone else, even if it's something like, "I hate dad's drinking," we have buried and unresolved conflict. Whether we keep things to ourself or have been requested or demanded to do so, adds to our anxiety. The common denominator is a need to be authentic, which is threatened by a fear of loss if we are.
Our bodies store our hidden suffering from others and us, but our bodies really don't want to. What is interesting is that when we let down, relax or do something mindless, buried trauma or unresolved conflict hurries to the surface, as if it has a chance to speak. If we let our guard down, these truths want to surface. Your job is to listen.
You might want to take time to allow your issues to surface, so you can deal with them. You can lie down or meditate. Just wait. Don't try to think of anything. It will come to you and then you can observe what you are repressing. Seeing is change.
Dr. Faye
It sounds like your anxiety is interfering with your every day activities. First go see your medical doctor to rule out a medical issue. You can download an app called CALM - just excellent for the symptoms you are describing. If that does not help go see a counselor who is experienced in dealing with anxiety issues.
Deborah R. Wagner
Psychologist
It can certainly be hormonal. You might try reading my book. It gives a lot of information on how to manage hormonal issues.
Anxiety can occur for a number of reasons. It would be important to see your medical doctor first to rule out any medical explanations for increased bodily symptoms that accompany anxiety. You can also see a mental health provider to help you explore thoughts that are driving the anxiety.
I would say it’s hormones. You should see a medical doctor. No need for anyone to get anxiety over brushing ones teeth. Try the medical approach first
Jonathan W. Marcotte
Psychologist
I am sorry to hear about this. Anxiety is an emotion that, evolutionarily speaking, helps to both motivate us to accomplish goals and signal to our brain that there is something threatening in our environment. This emotion can go haywire when we have recently experienced a remarkably stressful event, which then bleeds into even small parts of our lives. I highly recommend psychotherapy to develop healthy coping skills for your anxiety and to work through whatever stressors that are making you more anxious than usual in your life.
Some good techniques for calming yourself include the following:
1) Deep breathing techniques - Breath in through nose for 4 counts, hold breath for 4 counts, breath out through their mouth like you are breathing through a straw for 8 counts.
2) Progressive Muscle Relaxation - Progressively tense different muscle groups (feet, legs, torso, arms) for 3 counts, relax for 3 counts, tense for 3 counts, then relax for 3 counts, then move onto the next muscle group.
Other therapists have variations of these techniques, but I hope this helps!
Some good techniques for calming yourself include the following:
1) Deep breathing techniques - Breath in through nose for 4 counts, hold breath for 4 counts, breath out through their mouth like you are breathing through a straw for 8 counts.
2) Progressive Muscle Relaxation - Progressively tense different muscle groups (feet, legs, torso, arms) for 3 counts, relax for 3 counts, tense for 3 counts, then relax for 3 counts, then move onto the next muscle group.
Other therapists have variations of these techniques, but I hope this helps!
It would be good to start with a thorough evaluation of your hormonal functioning then get a psychosocial evaluation.
