Having anxiety for no reason, is it normal?

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Have you ever felt anxiety without being able to find a fact or phenomenon that justified it? In this article we are going to explain why we can fall prey to this disconcerting experience.

Anxiety without a reason to justify it It is one of the most frequent problems for which the population demands specialists in psychology. It is normal that on certain occasions the environment activates the body to deal with the situation. However, there are times when the causal factors of this activation are not identified.

People with anxiety invest time and analytical skills in trying to find a reasonable explanation for this reaction of the body, especially when they have not found it on a first inspection. An uncertainty that becomes a speaker for one’s own anxiety. So, having anxiety for no reason, is it normal?

“In our society, individuals spend millions of dollars a year to get rid of anxiety. The cost of visits to primary care doctors and the use of health services, in general, by people with anxiety disorders is double that of those who do not show such disorders, even if the latter present organic diseases. ”.

-Barlow (2002)-

Characteristics of anxiety

Anxiety can be considered a future-oriented mood, accompanied by other emotions. like fear, worry, etc. These characteristics of anxiety cause the individual to experience a series of symptoms such as the following:

Increased muscle tension. Frequent urination. Feeling of dry mouth. Feeling dizzy or vertigo. Accelerated heart rate. Pressure in the chest. Difficulty breathing. Lump in the throat. Excessive sweating. Feeling of lack of control. Etc.

These symptoms are what give shape on the physical level to what we know as anxiety. One of the phenomena that the organism shares with other animals is that of activation through very rapid pathways when faced with the perception of danger – activation of the sympathetic nervous system. For example:

“Imagine that you open the door of your house and find a hungry tiger. Logically, your first response will be to close the door as soon as possible to stay safe. That is, your activation system has generated an alarm in the body, which has produced a flight response. (get us safe)”.

The difference between animals and human beings is that the latter have derived the logic of solving problems from internal sensations that are classified as dangerous – in other words, We can have the perception of danger, in addition to the perception of a threat, because of how our body is behaving.. These include the possibility of evaluating emotions, thoughts and sensations as dangerous because they are unpleasant. From there comes having anxiety for no reason.

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A logical way to solve certain problems involves taking actions at the expense of solving what is causing the problem. However, there are times when this logic doesn’t work. An example:

“If you don’t like the color of a wall, the solution may be more or less in your hands: you buy a new color, do a test of how it would look on the wall and, if you like it, you go on to paint the entire wall. If you experience feelings of anxiety, what strategy would you use? How long does it work? What happens next?

So, having anxiety for no reason, is it normal or not?

Anxiety can sometimes be adaptive: it controls problems. However, excess fear or anxiety can hinder effective action. When anxiety becomes pathological, it happens that individuals tend to associate unpleasant sensations with abnormal states, not to mention the situations and periods of the day in which anxiety occurs.

This association with circumstances in which anxiety has previously occurred implies that there is the feeling that anxiety appears for no reason.. What’s more, it will not only occur in the same associated circumstances, but also in those that share similarities in stimuli.

The paradox of having anxiety for no reason: what happens then?

Attempts at solutions can become the problem if they are unsuccessful. to control anxiety states. This implies entry into a spiral in which attempts to control anxiety become anchored in anxiety itself, forming part of the problem. This can be explained with the following exercise:

“Have some delicious cinnamon buns in mind right now. Imagine its texture, its color, its smell fresh out of the oven, its flavor…, concentrate for a few seconds on the cinnamon buns, do you have it?

Now, try to eliminate those cinnamon buns from your mind. When the image of cinnamon buns comes to mind, think of a Ferrari instead… keep this up for about 30 seconds.

Now, play the following game of the opposites:

WHITE –>

NIGHT –>

SWEET –>

FERRARI –>

Having anxiety for no reason is normal, it is the attempts at control that turn it into a problem

Just as you have ended up associating Ferrari with cinnamon buns, the same goes for situations that become associated with anxiety. This is one of the reasons why we can have the feeling that anxiety occurs for no reason.

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One day you are on the beach watching a sunset, enjoying the moment, and in a matter of seconds your mind can remind you that right now you are not experiencing anxiety (a thought that can paradoxically cause your sympathetic nervous system to activate).

It seems to happen for no reason. However, the body has memory for life experiences (a flow of memories that does not necessarily have to pass through consciousness). Furthermore, those experiences cannot be eliminated any more than a bird can unlearn to fly.

The important is recognize when the state of anxiety appears, know the symptoms that are characteristic of oneself and, once they appear, be aware of what we do to control it and the costs it is having on life. In any case, The option of going to a specialist will always be good, especially if the anxiety is constant. and prevents carrying out daily responsibilities.