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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Every human I know worries about something. We grow up with watching our parents worry and over react from the stress the worrying brought on, only to witness ourselves worrying as we approach our teens and adulthood. Experts in the fields of education, psychology and pediatrics are becoming more and more concerned with this somewhat innocent sounding diagnosis of worry, because kids today are more worried than kids from a generation ago. Worrying affects the body and mind when it becomes excessive, causing obesity, heart disease, anxiety, depression and possible suicide.
Worrying begins innocently enough; a mere uneasy feeling or concern regarding a problem. However, when worry becomes excessive it kicks into overdrive and begins to focus on what might happen. This is when anxiety, panic and hyper vigilance take over one’s life. Worriers become hyper vigilant, and extremely sensitive to criticism, as well as things going on around them. They are looking for a potential threat due to the fact that they are expecting doom. This feeling of always being “on guard” is what causes their search to seek relief, and they do that by developing addictive behaviors such as smoking, over eating, drinking alcohol and using drugs.
We cannot talk about worry if we don’t talk about anxiety. Anxiety is created by excessive worry, but anxiety is completely normal unless it becomes excessive. A stressful event such as an interview may leave you feeling a bit anxious, but that is normal and actually helps you perform better. The sort of anxiety that leads to panic disorder, social anxiety or generalized anxiety disorder is not normal, and in fact affects about 40 million adults in the U. S. This is the kind of anxiety that begins to make destructive changes to the body and mind. When the worrier cannot shut down their worried thoughts the body begins to release stress hormones. These hormones are normal and necessary if you need to take an action because they raise blood sugar levels and triglycerides (blood fats) that are used for fuel. When these hormones go up, you may experience these symptoms:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Dizziness
- Dry mouth
- Fast heartbeat
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability
- Muscle aches
- Muscle tension
- Nausea
- Nervous energy
- Rapid breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Trembling and twitching
Since all of the excessive fuels that your hormones are making aren’t being used for physical activity, your body is affected by the overload. Below is what may be happening to your body:
- Suppression of the immune system
- Digestive disorders
- Muscle tension
- Short-term memory loss
- Premature coronary artery disease
- Heart attack
- Weight gain and belly fat
If excessive worrying and high anxiety go untreated, they can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. Not everybody is affected the same way by excessive worry. Your body and its effectiveness at handling worry and stress determines whether you become ill.
No matter how worried or stressed you become, there are ways you can continue to care for your body that will minimize the effects of stress.
- Talk to your doctor and explain what you are feeling. If your worry is excessive and you note several of the symptoms that are affecting your body, a doctor can help you gain control before symptoms do irreversible damage.
- Move every day. Walking or anything you enjoy will help reduce the levels of stress hormones in your body.
- Be conscious of what you are eating, and focus on lowering your fats. It’s true, eating clean reduces the negative effects of stress hormones.
- There are many techniques to reduce worrying. The top 3 are: meditating, listening to calming music, and beginning a stretching or yoga exercise plan.
- Counseling. When your worry takes over your quality of life, changes are necessary to avoid suicidal thoughts. Counselors understand this and can help you through a time of extreme worry when nothing is clear. To find a good counselor, the place to begin is finding out who is in your network, and then reading about them. Doing your homework, so you understand the therapists’ training as well as their mode of treatment can help you help yourself out of the maze of worry.
Adults have always felt a modest to high level of worry. However, when our children are increasingly experiencing heightened effects from worry it’s time we all become better mentors for coping with stress and worry. Studies have shown that when parents model healthy ways of coping with stress, their children follow these behaviors. Teaching your children to talk openly about their worries and engaging them in exercise, nature walks, relaxation, as well as counseling, if necessary, is essential in promoting health in your family. It is unlikely that our children’s lives or ours will become less stressful, but that doesn’t mean we cannot be healthy and live a life free from excessive worry. -Mary Jo Rapini
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