Anxiety is an essential part of human make-up. A survival instinct honed over millions of years of evolution, it involves a series of responses and reflexes that help us to avoid or deal with dangerous situations. We all have anxiety and we all need anxiety to prevent us from getting hurt. However for many of us something changes, our anxiety no longer sits quietly in the background waiting to spring into action should a potentially dangerous situation arise. It appears more often, more easily and seems to come to us for no reason – intangible anxiety that can feel just too powerful to deal with.
There is no doubt that we live in anxious times. The threats of violence, poverty and illness are only a news bulletin away. Indeed many people believe this to be the 'age of anxiety' but, in reality, this just isn't so. Man has struggled with anxiety
problems for centuries and some of the greatest works of art,
literature and poetry reflect this struggle. Anxiety is a problem of the self not the times we live in.
Persistent anxiety causes us to watch ourselves in everything we do and it's not difficult to appreciate how this self-absorption can lead us to believe that we are the only one
with such a problem. This, in itself, strengthens the “what's
wrong with me” beliefs yet nothing could be further from the
truth. Millions of people all over the world experience these problems. It is estimated that in America alone over thirty million people suffer from some form of anxiety disorder. The most common one is social anxiety disorder (or social phobia), closely followed by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Around one in thirty to fifty people suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and one in ten are reported to have a specific phobia.
This doesn't include vast numbers of people who have depression or those living anxious lives ruled by shyness or stress.
Many people feel they are working below their potential and are frustrated, more people are unhealthy and overweight than ever before, greater numbers of teenagers are depressed and problems involving anxiety and stress account for the majority of visits to doctor's surgeries. In a world of better education, food, hygiene and healthcare – emotionally, society is crumbling.
Today many, many people struggle silently with anxiety problems. Some search constantly for reasons and answers
others try therapy or medication, diets and supplements, help
from others and self-help, only to feel no better than when they first started, or in some cases even worse.
Many purchase methods or programs claiming to be the
answer, only to be let down again. Nothing seems to work.
Vast resources in the form of research, therapy and medication have been used in an attempt to resolve anxiety- related problems, with, on the whole, a spectacular lack of success. Current beliefs about the cause of these problems and treatments based on these beliefs are failing millions of people looking for a cure.
And yet many people do successfully overcome anxiety problems, usually after years and years of experience, research and experimenting with their problem. They find the answer. They don't suddenly wake up one day and the problem has gone; they grow, move forward and change.
Their problem weakens and fades as they come to understand it, accept it and develop a new attitude towards it. They start to think and behave differently.
Indeed many people come to do the things that result in true freedom from excessive and persistent anxiety without even realising what they are doing.
This book will give you a greater insight into anxiety problems and how to deal with them. Hopefully, it will help you to see them differently and realise that they can be cured effectively and permanently.
Understanding these problems holds the key to success so let's start by taking a closer look at anxiety.
EVERYONE GETS ANXIOUS at certain times in their lives. Situations such as interviews, tests, dating and competitive sports cause apprehension and nervousness in most people. We all get a little bit scared in these situations, some more than others.
It's important to realise that anxiety is not wrong; it is a vital part of the human condition. It energizes us and prepares us for action and is brought to life by fear. Without anxiety
we could not survive and although we may not realise it, anxiety is with us all at varying strengths throughout our lives. Without anxiety (over being knocked down and killed)
we wouldn't be careful when we crossed the road. With no anxiety (about lack of food and shelter) we wouldn't go to work each day. And without anxiety (over the consequences of
failure) the performances of most top athletes, entertainers,
executives, students etc. would suffer.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines anxiety as 'a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome' but it is more than just a feeling. It also involves our thoughts and the way we act.