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When Your Body Screams by Ingrid Lawrenz MSW It all starts with physical discomfort. It might be chest pain, dizziness or a racing heart that signal to you something is seriously wrong. Worrying about heart attacks or brain tumors only exacerbate the symptoms, and bring you in to the emergency ward or doctor's office. Most often you check out fine but you know something real is happening to your body so you start to worry that you must be going crazy. Embarrassment overwhelms you so you try to hide and control your problem. This results in more complications. You can't sleep, you start to break out in sweats, you are sure everyone can see your hands are shaking, you rush out of a meeting because you think you will pass out or do something rash. You are in real pain. You are scared to death that you are going to die, lose your job or, worse yet, lose your mind. You don't understand it, you can't control it and you are ashamed to admit it. After all you've always been so confident, in charge and competent. Your body is screaming for help and you don't know what it is signaling. Among those who experience this problem are ministry leaders, missionaries, and pastor's wives. It is called an anxiety attack. The human body was designed by God to produce huge amounts of energy-releasing hormones, like adrenaline, when a person is in danger and needs to take swift action (like running for your life if you're in mortal danger). However, chemical imbalances in the brain or brain disorders can produce the same "scream" for help without any crisis occurring. These attacks can come out of the blue or wake you from sleep without any warning. The body is in an emergency response triggered by a misfiring signal, similar to a car's dashboard warning light coming on because the light is defective, not because there is an actual engine problem. Some estimate that 30% of all emergency room admissions are for anxiety attacks. Many Christians feel ashamed about their problems with anxiety. For some they think of the Biblical passage "do not be anxious." Others fear that they will be viewed as an inadequate Christian if they acknowledge the anxiety they experience. Additionally, others expect God will deliver them from all discomfort and illness and thus conclude they must have too little faith or that God does not love them. Faith and prayer are crucial to the person struggling with anxiety, however, it is often necessary also to seek God's help through medical and Christian counseling. At sometime during their lives, nearly a quarter (24.9%) of the adult population in the US will have an anxiety disorder. For those who have also experienced trauma the percentages are closer to 50%. A trauma involves witnessing or personally experiencing a threat of death or serious injury to a person's integrity or physical body. Missionaries in third world countries who witness human tragedy or pastors called in on a suicide situation or terrible accident are being exposed to traumatic situations. It is normal to experience the body's emergency response in a real crisis. However, anxiety attacks are problems in themselves when they continue to occur without an actual emergency. Sometimes these uncomfortable sensations will hit all at once with several physical symptoms and seem to temporarily incapacitate the person. At other times only one or two symptoms will drag on for hours or even days. Commonly the person starts to become anxious about the anxiety or avoiding of situations where they have experienced panic in the past and are now fearful of it recurring. Vicious cycles or a snowball effect start to build-fear of fear, more avoidant controlling. Some anxiety is normal in stressful situations like public speaking, airplane travel, etc. But a disorder is occurring when the anxiety starts to control you without obvious cause and continues no matter how much vacationing or resting you do. The sympathetic nervous system is what controls these emergency responses. When it is misfiring it is erratic and unpredictable. It also becomes hypersensitive to triggering, like a worn-out shock absorber in a car, every bump feels exaggerated, the littlest stressor turns into a monster. There are various kinds of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, phobias, obsessive compulsions and acute stress reactions. Stress in and of itself is not the cause of anxiety disorders. However, stress can make the condition worse. The causes are numerous. A family history of nervous problems may indicate a hereditary predisposition. A great deal of early childhood stress may make one more vulnerable to a chemical imbalance later in life. Other causes for the chemical imbalance include trauma, perfectionism, negative thinking patterns, over-control of emotions, etc. A gifted counselor can help you discover and work through what needs changing. Learning to cope with the anxiety is key. People often over-react to their symptoms by believing something terrible will happen or trying to over-control their reactions. This adds stress that makes the anxiety worse. Talking yourself through an attack, changing your beliefs and expectations, normalizing what is happening, can help desensitize yourself to the fear of future attacks. The sooner a person gets help the better. The longer the anxiety goes untreated the more hypersensitive the sympathetic nervous system becomes. Depression and substance abuse can often follow untreated anxiety disorders. The first step to take is to get a physical exam to rule out any underlying cause such as thyroid, heart or hypoglycemic disorders. Psychological treatment includes correcting unhealthy thinking patterns, relaxation training, a balanced lifestyle, plenty of exercise, and eliminating dietary triggers like caffeine, Colas and chocolate. Due to the chemical imbalance in the brain associated with anxiety doctors often prescribe at least a short term treatment with medications. This blocks the vicious cycle and helps the person regain their equilibrium allowing them to apply the new learning they are gaining through other means like counseling. Medication may include an anti-depressant that is non-addicting. This is prescribed not because the person is clinically depressed but because similar chemicals in the brain, such as seritonin, need their levels corrected. Doctors also often prescribe a fast acting symptom-relief medication called an anti-anxiety medication. This medication will help the person continue to work and function with only minimal symptoms. Anti-anxiety medications can be addicting if abused so they are usually only prescribed for short term treatment. When the body screams and there is no known danger to escape from, the person experiences painful suffering. It is a real problem and not just a lack of faith or something "all in their head." They need empathic understanding, encouragement, prayer support, medical intervention and counseling. Symptoms of Anxiety excessive worry light headedness or dizziness sensation of rubbery or "jelly" legs difficulty concentrating irritability shortness of breath over breathing racing or skipping heart chest pain or pressure smothering or choking sensation tingling or numbness in parts of the body hot flashes or cold chills nausea or stomach problems diarrhea dry mouth excessive sweating tired, weak, easily fatigued feeling your surroundings are strange, unreal, foggy or detached worrying about your health feeling you are losing control or going crazy fear of dying fear of something terrible happening shaking or trembling difficulty falling or staying asleep avoiding anxiety-producing situations muscle tension inability to relax restlessness, nervousness |
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