Types of anxiety and symptoms of anxiety

The symptoms of anxiety can be divided into three main groups:

panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

- Panic disorder is characterized by panic attacks: severe physical restlessness with palpitations, hyperventilation, dizziness, nausea, etc.

 - Generalized anxiety disorder is when someone is overly concerned about everyday things for six months or longer, to the point that daily life is no longer enjoyable, attention is limited, and a feeling of fear and threat prevails. We often see this disorder in children, especially those who worry about their school performance (not to be confused with truancy).

- Social anxiety disorder (also called “social phobia”) is characterized by avoiding situations in which someone visibly blushes, trembles, or sweats, causing them to feel very anxious. School phobia in younger children can develop into social phobia, so its causes must be identified and the affected children treated. Each disorder is accompanied by physical, cognitive (mental), and behavioral symptoms that can be treated.

The symptom groups:

- The anxious body. Physical symptoms include the entire complex of negative physical arousal such as panic, blushing, sweating, embarrassment, and the tension of people who are “excited” and upset. These symptoms can be combated with strategies.

- Anxious consciousness. Cognitive symptoms are the result of hyperactivity in the brain, which leads to mental tension and obsessive rumination. A brain that is constantly tormented by worry leads to anxious consciousness. The strategies in Part III are effective in calming anxious consciousness.

- Anxious behavior. Behavioral symptoms include both the avoidance behavior of people who suffer from panic and social phobia, as well as the more complex and subtle avoidance patterns of people who constantly worry and ruminate.

The 10 best strategies for combating anxiety and panic

-Strategy 1: What, when, where, and how much? Nutrition and stimulation.

You can consult a therapist to find out which foods do not stimulate your anxiety too much. What stimulates you the most? How can you reduce the influence on your anxiety, for example through television?

Strategy 2: Let your breathing help you.

Take a breathing course. Get advice from someone who knows how and in what way you can breathe to control certain fears.

Strategy 3: Mindfulness with altered attention.

Learn to change your thoughts when fears arise through mindfulness.

Strategy 4: Relax.

Relax: the word says it all—relax. Meditation exercises that you can do well will help you a long way. You can also seek guidance.

Strategy 5: Stop thinking catastrophically. Try to recognize that your mind is riding the drama train. Once you are aware of these thoughts, you know that you can transform them into positive thoughts: your last vacation, for example.

Strategy 6: Switch off anxious thoughts

Strategy 7: Keep your worries under control. It is normal to worry. But constantly thinking about the same thing and turning it into a drama is not. Stay in the here and now and be aware that you don't have any problems at the moment.

Strategy 8: Change your behavior through targeted self-talk. Having worries and fears means having inner monologues. Pay attention to your monologues and turn them into something positive or constructive.

Strategy 9: Control hyperactivity syndrome. Control hyperactivity syndrome. It is a way to become calmer. You don't have to control everything, and you don't need to, because most of the time it's little things you do out of fear and insecurity.

Strategy 10: Develop and implement a plan.

These 10 strategies, grouped according to physical, mental, and behavioral anxiety symptoms, offer different methods for achieving the desired goal, so they can be adapted very effectively to individual cases. There is no right order for learning the 10 best strategies for dealing with anxiety and panic. Choose the strategy and method that works best for you.