All About Generalized Anxiety: When Worry and Anxiety Don’t Go Away

Anxiety, Worry
Are you experiencing anxiety related to the present? Past? Future?
Are your worries interfering with the life you want to live?
……..because there is nothing that the worrying mind cant make into a problem, so let us get that under control.

Good Science: Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. You may feel anxious when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision. However, anxiety that involves more than temporary worry or fear, and is worry/anxiety over multiple topics, and does not go away or is not easily controlled, will cause very deleteriously affects on your brain health and body health. Excessive and uncontrolled anxiety is associated with other mental health and physical health related problems.

Scientific Synopsis of Generalized Anxiety: The very bare basics: excessive anxiety or worry in more than one area for at least 6-months, and several anxiety-related symptoms interfering with daily activities.

When Anxiety / Worry Warrants Attention:

Features of Excessive Worry / Generalized Anxiety:

  • Do you have persistent, excessive, intrusive worry?
  • Do you find yourself asking/saying: “What if ________ happens?
  • Is your worry difficult to control?
  • Do you worry when there is nothing wrong?
  • Do you worry for most of your waking hours?
  • Do you ask others for reassurance, but then continue to worry anyway?
  • Does your worry shift from one concern to another concern? or worry shift from one topic to another topic?
  • Do your worries tend to be about typical life situations? (health, finances, relationship, social, job, school)
  • Do you have the voice in the head of self-doubt, criticism, failing?
  • Does your worry interfere with your sleep?
  • Does your worry interfere with your attention or concentration?
  • Do you feel restless or edgy or irritable?
  • Do you feel fatigued or exhausted
  • Do you have sweating or upset stomach or headaches or muscle tension?

If you experience chronic or waxing-waning excessive worry / anxiety in more than one area, then you probably have Generalized Anxiety… and I have super great news for you, therapy can help conquer the root cause of excessive worry /anxiety… and therapy can help in the reduction and relief from the symptoms… and you don’t even need to take medication.

Often most people will initially seek treatment for the symptoms. Some of the tools and techniques (e.g. Mindfulness, CBT, YIN) that you will learn will focus on immediate symptom reduction.

In addition, we will also explore the deeper origins of your generalized anxiety/excessive worry and the conditioned cycle—the mind generated—mind perpetuated based pattern of responding—because excessive worry is kinda like an addiction pattern.

Instead of zeroing in on anxiety as the cause, we will investigate why anxiety is occurring in the wider context of your life, past experiences, and habitual tendencies. This approach will help you successfully navigate subsequent periods of anxiety, handle symptoms, and promote real change that is deeper and more lasting because there is nothing that the worrying mind cant make into a problem, so let us get that under control.

Some important information that may be of interest to you

*The inner energy fields of the body

Sometimes fear / anxiety arises and it appears to come out of nowhere. You search for the cause but can’t detect why it arose because there was no preceding conscious thoughts of worry and no apparent precipitating event or imminent danger.

What you are experiencing here is the “Pain Body” which is the accumulation of old emotional wounds  that were never healed, but suppressed, repressed, and buried deeply. The energetic frequencies of the pain remains lodged. These energetic frequencies then usually flow up to the mind producing fearful or anxious thoughts.

The thoughts then produce more anxiety or fear. These energetic frequencies also will flow out into how your relate to other human beings and to your perception of life itself.  For example, feeling threatened by other people or situations. So, the energy colors the mind and will also determine your actions or your reactions.

* There is a difference between Fear vs Worry/Anxiety

Fear is an emotion experienced and physiological response (flight-fight-freeze) to an imminent/immediate threat/danger (real or imagined).

Anxiety is an emotional experience and physiological response that is often the anticipation of a potential threat. Anxiety is an emotional state that everyone experiences from time to time as a reaction to stresses of everyday life and can be helpful when it sets motivation to get going, get things done & accomplished.

However, when anxiety / worry is generalized (more than one situation), chronic/persistent, or waxing and waning, but has crossed the threshold of excessive, then it is Generalized Anxiety. Generalized anxiety is highly depleting and exhausting on mind + body+ emotions+ soul. It also can take a significant toll on your relationships, creativity, productivity, physical and emotional energy, and overall health and well-being. It is fairly common when one has generalized anxiety to also have co-occurring depression, obsessions-compulsions, social anxiety, and substance use.

In both Fear and Anxiety, the body can not tell if there is real danger or imagined danger. The body responds in both situations as if you are being threatened at this very moment and reacts by producing chemical changes in the brain and the release of stress hormones in the body. The brain and body prepares for real or imagined danger as an immediate call to action. Overtime, chronic body and brain electro-chemical-hormonal activations cause very serious deleterious affects on one’s health.

When Fear / Anxiety Rules, You Pay a Very High Price:

  • Changes in the brain neural network
  • Changes in brain chemistry
  • Causes physical, physiological activation of the sympathetic nervous system
  • Causes impaired immune system functioning
  • Prevents you from taking on bigger and more rewarding challenges
  • Prevents you from being fully present, aware, and vibrant in life
Shawna Freshwater, PhD

Shawna Freshwater, PhD

Hi, I am Dr. Shawna Freshwater, a PhD licensed Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychologist, and Holistic Practitioner. ** I provide Psychotherapy, Coaching, Healing, Diagnostic testing & Mental Health Check-ups. ** I meet the needs of my patients and clients that are confidential and convenient to their schedule. ** I offer Remote / Online secure interactive video conferencing to USA residents and International clients. ** I also provide Concierge services at your home, office, or private location of your choice if you reside in South Florida Major Cities. ***Please see my website for more information about my credentials and areas of expertise. www.SpaciousTherapy.com Thank you. Dr. Freshwater

1 Comment

  1. Daniel on October 1, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    my name is Danny, I need your help .. I’m in pain ALL the time.. physical pain from generalized anxiety and I’ve tried everything to fix it and I just can’t. Please help.

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