ANXIETY
FAQs
Why do I have this anxiety, useless tensions, and unnecessary worries?
It’s because you are a very normal human being! So you will think about your uncertain future and the ambiguity of life often. All this will surely cause some degree of fear about the unknown future.
This is so with 100% normal human beings. But the real problem arises if your anxiety or worries start disturbing your day-to-day life.
Then it is a serious matter and must be treated immediately.
Your tensions have now converted into unhealthy stress if you have started experiencing any of the following changes in your daily life:
Getting too many negative thoughts or same fearful thoughts repetitively
Tossing and turning in bed for hours without getting proper sleep
Palpitations
Increased sweating
Dizziness
Depression
Unexplained mood changes
Crankiness and irritation on minor matters
Feeling isolated or cornered or trapped in an unwanted situation
No one understands your inner feelings
Frequent headaches, body aches, or feverish feeling
Acidity, gas, or constipation
Asthma attacks
Backache or neck pain
Sexual problems
Too much appetite or too less appetite
Hair loss, etc………
What is this stress?
Stress is your body’s reaction to any change.
Since life keeps on changing constantly your body will always have some degree of stress. This is healthy stress or ‘Eustress’.
It becomes unhealthy or ‘Distress’ when it becomes excessive or beyond your body’s normal stress-bearing capacity.
So you cannot banish stress totally from your life. You can only manage the unhealthy stress and bring it within healthy limits………
How does stress develop?
Let us learn from an example. Amit, a young man was walking in an open space when suddenly a ferocious dog started chasing him. He panicked and started running fast to save himself.
All of a sudden there appeared a wide ditch in his path. He did not think twice and just jumped with all his strength to leave the dog behind.
The instinct to save his life was so strong that he easily jumped across a distance which he could not have done under normal circumstances………
The useful ‘flight’ response due to adrenaline
It was a ‘flight’ response of the body to save itself from a sudden catastrophic change or the stress of ‘danger to life. This extra energy to use the body’s muscles to run to save life came from within the body's reserves.
It came because of a very useful hormone called ‘adrenaline’ and some other adrenaline-like hormones. [We’ll use the word ‘adrenaline’ henceforth for all of them together.]
Same flight response occurs in your body when you feel cornered and hence stressed by your boss or a critical fault-finding person. Also in any other unpleasant or frustrating stressful situation, the same flight response occurs.
You want to escape from this situation that is not threatening your life but your self-esteem. Your body reacts in the same old way to the stressful situation by secreting once again high levels of adrenaline in your bloodstream………In other cases, the problems can be more serious like diabetes, high BP, angina, heart attack, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, kidney failure, liver diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, other auto-immune disorders like psoriasis, etc. ………
The other useful ‘fight’ response of adrenaline
In another example, our hero Amit does not run away from the dog. He decides to face and fight that dog. Once again, he finds a great surge of energy from within himself.
Likewise, in another stressful situation you decide not to escape but to stay put and fight back for your life or honor. Here also you feel a sudden tremendous surge of energy in your muscles to fight and face the adverse situation.
You may be actually in a physical fight posture or a mental fight mode – it does not make any difference. This ‘fight’ response is also because of our friend's adrenaline only.
Same stress and same adrenaline secretion happen when you are daily in the competitive, aggressive, or pushy mode in traffic, on phone, in the office, with peers, or with clients.
At home too exactly, the same stress game of ‘flight’ or ‘fight’ takes place during inter-personal conflicts………
How does the hormone adrenaline work?
Adrenaline stimulates all body muscles. The contract and become ready for the ‘fight or flight response to save the body from that situation’s stress.
If the muscles are used to fight or run away, well and good – the purpose of secreting adrenaline is served.
If not, then the extra adrenaline is decomposed by the body after the threatening situation or crisis gets over. So there is no damage to any part of the body because of adrenaline’s side effects.
That’s why when a crisis blows over you suddenly feel light or weak. You may also feel a sense of relief, release, or relaxation. All this is due to adrenaline withdrawal………
What is the difference if we are not able to ‘fight’ or ‘flight’? Suppose we just have to stay there with an artificial smile?
The crucial difference is that with the dog’s danger your extra adrenaline served its purpose of using the body muscles to fight or escape to save your life.
Soon this extra adrenaline would be broken down by the body to complete its life cycle.
But with a cornered state of having no escape you are unable to use your muscles to ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. The extra adrenaline rush is neither utilized for its basic function of ‘flight’ or ‘fight’ nor is it broken down early in the body.
Consequently, all your body’s voluntary and involuntary muscles remain under a prolonged period of contraction and stress because of continued high adrenaline levels.
Similarly, if you do fight physically, the extra energy generated in the muscles is consumed.
But there may be a simmering state of continuous underlying hostility like in a dissatisfying job or a dysfunctional family background.
It keeps on secreting high adrenaline levels in your body day in, day out 24x7 for months or even years………
The tragedy unfolds
It is just like the constant drip-drip of a leaking water tap. Initially, nothing bad happens. But after some time even the solid cement floor of the bathroom develops a hollow under the leaking tap.
Similarly, with no rest in between for the extra adrenaline to decompose, your body soon starts getting ‘burnt out. The same best friend adrenaline now becomes your worst enemy!
How tragic really………
‘Dis – ease’ becomes ‘disease’
When this starts happening almost daily your body just cannot cope with the extra adrenaline pouring in so frequently.
The perpetually contracted muscles under the continuous effect of extra adrenaline simply get exhausted. Hence, they become tired and painful.
As the muscular walls of the body’s arteries contract the arteries’ diameter decreases. Now, less and less blood goes to all critical organs. Therefore, they get less and less oxygen and glucose.
Additionally, their toxic wastes start getting accumulated within the organs themselves instead of getting washed out with a normal blood supply. The critical organs then start malfunctioning gradually.
Now this reduced blood supply starts killing your white blood cells. Your immunity or the resistance to fight with various diseases starts going downhill – first slowly and then rapidly after some time.
[Phew! What a list of damages!]
This state of ‘dis - ease’ then slowly becomes a ‘disease’! ………
Oh! Now I understand. What are these diseases?
Lots of medical research is being done today all over the world in the newly emerging field of psycho-neuro-immunology [the study of the role of the mind over nervous and immune systems].
It has been shown repeatedly that stress is either the direct cause or the precipitating cause of 90% of all diseases in modern-day’s high-pressure life.
It means that your unchecked stress will either cause some disease directly in your precious body or it will expedite an already-present disease process.
The various stress-induced diseases can be loss of memory and concentration, anger, mood changes, volatile behavior, chronic tiredness, sex problems like frigidity, loss of sexual interest, inadequate erection, premature ejaculation, etc.
Others can be hair loss, headache, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, poor vision, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, common cold, gum infections, ear infections, imbalance of thyroid and other hormones, irregular, excessive or scanty periods, cervical spondylitis, etc.
You may also get joint pains, muscular pains, chest pain, back pain, leg cramps, or burning sensation in limbs.
Or you may develop acidity, gas, constipation, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic diarrhea, skin problems, etc.
In other cases, the problems can be more serious like diabetes, high BP, angina, heart attack, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, kidney failure, liver diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, other auto-immune disorders like psoriasis, etc. ………
The weakest point of the chain is the first to break down
Every person has a different constitution and his own unique weakest and strongest points.
Your weakest organ will break down first under stress while other organs may not be affected immediately.
That’s why what may be a child’s play for you may be devastating for your friend.
That’s why different people will show different symptoms of stress under exactly similar circumstances.
Additionally, the same person will show different stress problems in exactly similar situations at different ages and stages of life………
This was all because of chronic or long-standing stress. Can we have acute or sudden stress also?
Yes, very much. Your body may not be able to cope with sudden big changes in your life.
Like, a sudden bankruptcy, unexpected big financial loss, a roadside accident, sudden loss of job, sexual assault, a big scandal, a public humiliation, examination failure, a big show-down with a friend, continuous overwork for a few days or weeks, etc.
The same above-mentioned stress-induced problems can happen because of acute, sudden stress too………
So what is the final answer?
Let’s say that your body works best with minimum stress at an arbitrary 50 units. If you go to 0, there is a change of -50.
If you go to 100, again there is a change of +50. In both situations, there is a big quantum of change.
As stress is the body’s reaction to change, the big change will cause big stress. Hence both extremes will cause big stress on your system.
That’s why both overwork, as well as laziness, will cause stress.
Too passive or too aggressive behavior will cause stress.
Too many or too few responsibilities will cause stress.
Running away from modern life will be as stressful as being a part of the mad rat race.
It means that all extremes will cause big stress sooner or later………
What should we do then?
Your body is a harmonious unity of all organs. They work not at the maximum [or extreme] capacity but an optimum capacity in teamwork with all other organs.
This is what creates the beauty of a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Therefore, the middle path is the best – neither too much of this nor too much of that. Minimum change, minimum stress!
Balance in everything, balance is everything………
Balancing the 4 pillars of your life
Your precious life has 4 pillars:
Self
Family
Society and
Career
All the four pillars need to be given optimum attention at all times in your life.
The critical point is to realize that a career, the fourth pillar, is meant to provide you with money and other resources to enjoy the other three pillars.
If you spend all your time and energy focused only on your career, then this extreme behavior does give you great financial success initially undoubtedly.
But this is just like burning your candle at both ends.
It gives you double the light initially, but at what price?
You burn the candle very fast!
What do you feel? Is it happening with you at least sometimes? ………
The 4 needs of your Self
Your Self likewise has 4 needs that have to be full filled – not quarter filled – in an optimum way every day. They are your
Physiological needs [of oxygen, water, food, and daily body functions like breathing, sweating, sleeping, excretion, etc.] and Physical needs of safety and security.
Emotional needs of love, sharing, caring, belonging in relationships, and fulfilling hobbies.
Intellectual or mental needs of the ego, material success, knowledge, name, fame, power, etc.
Spiritual needs of connecting to your Inner Highest Intelligence or a Higher Power.
The tragedy of stress starts occurring the moment you start neglecting your other three needs only to fulfill your intellectual needs of ego and material success………
OK, I have understood. But what should I do to de-stress myself now?
Simple! Start today to strike a balance between your 4 personal needs and also 4 pillars of life.
Give more time to your sleep, balanced diet, daily exercise/ yoga/ aerobics/ dancing, etc., spending more time with people whom you love, going back to nature and your hobbies………
I tried most of this but could not persist consistently. I need faster relief now. What must I do now?
Then you need to immediately join Dr. Arora's Online Course to learn and master his Advanced Mind Secrets.
Just Call him now to directly talk with him about your personal problems on his Whatsapp numbers +91 93 71 01 95 17 or 98 90 93 08 15.