We all feel anxious from time to time. Sometimes, though, we can start to feel a little too anxious. Too much anxiety can make it difficult to focus, cause muscle tension, sleep disruption, make us feel irritable and our thoughts race. At higher levels, anxiety can produce more intense symptoms, like sweating, trembling, chest pain, feeling dizzy, and so on.

To understand anxiety, it is important to distinguish anxiety from fear. Fear is an emotional response to a present threat. Anxiety, however, is the anticipation of a future threat. Anxiety is “fear in the future tense.” One isn’t better or worse than the other. We need both--both are natural emotions and help us make our way in the world. (When our distant ancestors noticed the tail of a saber-tooth tiger poking out from a bush, their anxiety wisely told them to avoid that bush.)

One of the most common forms of anxiety is known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This disorder is believed to affect perhaps as much as 10% of the population in a given year. White people are more likely to develop it than other ethnicities, and women are twice as likely as males to experience it. Curiously, people from more developed countries are more likely to develop this form of anxiety than those from less developed countries. This suggests anxiety may have a lot to do with our basic lifestyle, too much living in the future tense.

The good news is you don't have to move to a less developed country to step back into the present tense and find healthy relief from anxiety. There are a variety of things you can do to relieve your anxiety symptoms.

  • Mindfulness Meditation has been scientifically shown to teach our minds and bodies to relax and to be more aware of the present moment, relieving our anxiety.
  • Some dietary changes--like reducing or eliminating caffeine from your--diet can go a long way to improving your sense of calm and peace.
  • Getting thirty minutes of exercise a day is--good for your general health and--also a great way of managing anxiety. After all, it's hard to be tense when you're tired.

If one of these techniques does not work for you, that’s okay. Try another! Keep trying everything until your symptoms abate. The causes of anxiety are complex and numerous. They may be due to a range of issues--from hormonal imbalances in our bodies, to discord in our families and other relationships. If your anxiety gets to be too much, consult an expert. If you would like to stop living in the future tense and start to be more peacefully present for your friends, your family, and for yourself, then let me help. Call or email today to schedule an appointment.

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[Michael McCully is a therapist featured on MintLeaf.]

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