In this blog post, I will talk about the negative health effects associated with suffering from anxiety long-term. I will also talk about proactive ways in which you can make changes in your life, so you don’t have to stay in a state of anxiety long-term. There are practical steps you can take to help alleviate your suffering.  Alleviating long-term unnecessary anxiety will have positive physical and emotional health benefits and change your life dramatically for the better.        Â
Health Effects of Long-Term Anxiety
There are numerous negative effects to staying in the sympathetic response (Fight or Flight) long term, meaning you are in a state of anxiety because your body is responding to a perceived threat, even if there isn’t actually danger.
Emotionally, you are in a constant state of being on edge, waiting for danger, living with anxiety symptoms, prolonged chronic stress and worry, are hypervigilant, moody and irritable, and maybe suffering from depression.
Physically, your heart rate is working too hard; you may have high blood pressure, which can lead to heart problems, heart attack, and stroke. There can be an overproduction of the stress hormone Cortisol, which can lead to weight gain, impaired immune functions, and contribute to diseases like diabetes. You may suffer from bloating, constipation, piles, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diarrhoea, and other uncomfortable and painful bowel complaints.
Difficulty in getting to sleep is another side effect of suffering with anxiety and staying in the sympathetic response (Fight or Flight). When you do get to sleep, it may be disturbed, and you may frequently wake in the night.
Fatigue is a state of intense tiredness that cannot be alleviated by rest. This affects not only the physical but also your emotional and psychological parts of you. Your physical energy is low, your coping skills to be able to deal with emotions are not good, and your ability to think and make decisions is impaired. You may feel overwhelmed by your emotions, and it is difficult to manage those emotions. Or you may shut down, and the feelings are numbed.
How Do I Reduce Anxiety & Feel Better
The beauty of learning about anxiety and the nervous system is that you can change. Once you have the knowledge and support, you can have a much calmer and happier life.
But you have to do the opposite of what you feel at times. If you are a person who pushes people away and are moody and aggressive (Fight Response), then you need to allow yourself to be vulnerable, humble, swallow your pride, and reach out for help and accept it.
If you are a person who avoids your feelings, people, the truth and reality (Flight Response), then you need to find some courage, go out of your comfort zone, feel the fear, and ask for help. Yes, you will have anxiety asking for help, but if you do, you won’t be alone, and you can start to get better with support.
Anxiety & Professional Help
Asking for professional help from a counsellor or psychotherapist is so important. It gives you that safe space to offload and make sense of things. You will have professional support from someone who is trained and will not judge you. A professional will accept you fully, and you can talk about anything. Having that space to explore your thoughts and feelings freely and truthfully is what will help you heal. They will be there for you while you embark on your personal journey of change.
Self-Care
Life changes will need to happen. One that might feel strange is to practice self-care. This idea might feel selfish or weird. But self-care is essential to help that parasympathetic response (Nervous System Relaxing) work. Without that working, you stay in the sympathetic response (Fight or Flight), which means staying on edge and anxious. So if you want your anxiety to go away, you need to make life changes.
Meditation
One major part of self-care is taking time out every day for meditation. Yes, your mind will be on overdrive. Your mind has been on alert for so long. Just accept your busy mind when you start meditating. It is not expected that you sit there and have a silent mind. That is not realistic. The point of meditation is to stay with yourself, whatever that is. There are plenty of guided meditations to help you get started. Persevere and don’t give up. You might not like it at first, but once you are able to get the hang of it, then it will change your life to a much more relaxed and happy one. Your nervous system will appreciate it, and you will feel the difference in your body and mind.
Challenge Yourself
It is important for you to push yourself out of your comfort zone. If you have prolonged anxiety, it is not going to go away because you don’t take part in things that are uncomfortable for you. The anxiety is there anyway. So why not push yourself, feel the anxiety, feel the fear, and do it anyway? Join that art class, exercise class, have a cup of tea in a cafe by yourself, or whatever it might be for you. Do something that is scary to you. Once you do it, then you will begin to realise that you are more capable than you thought. Once you achieve something, this activates the parasympathetic response (Nervous System Relaxing), giving yourself a positive message, and it provides the happy hormones that is needed, therefore reducing anxiety. With the help of your therapist, you will begin to appreciate your bravery and start to see that you are capable of trying new things. It doesn’t matter that you don’t get it right or you don’t do it perfectly; the point is you did it. What an achievement that is. You will naturally feel excited at trying something, and this will provoke confidence. Confidence-building reduces anxiety. Â
Your nervous system will automatically realise that doing new things is ok and not dangerous, so the anxiety will naturally and automatically get less. Remember the automatic part of the Peripheral Nervous System, where it automatically is responsible for the heart rate, digestion, and breathing. When the nervous system starts to feel safe, it automatically allows your heart rate, digestion, and breathing to work normally. Isn’t it worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and practicing self-care, so you don’t have to stay in that Fight-or-Flight mode?