Anxiety is a negative mood with feelings of restlessness, tension and fear. In moderation, such emotions are useful: they help mobilize strength and find a way out of extreme situations. But there must be a reason for concern and normally it lasts for a limited period of time.
If a person constantly experiences feelings of anxiety and worry for no reason, this may indicate the presence of a mental disorder. In the absence of help, constant stress wears out the nervous system and the body as a whole, which leads to a breakdown of adaptation mechanisms and the development of chronic diseases.
If you notice that you cannot relax for a long time, then you should think about visiting a specialist.
In pathological cases, a state of anxiety and restlessness for no reason is manifested by both mental and physical symptoms.
Mental symptoms:
- constant feeling of fear and excitement for no reason,
- poor concentration and attention,
- sleep disorders,
- emotional lability, irritability, tearfulness,
- inability to relax and fully engage in daily activities or communication,
- need to reassure other people that everything is okay. At the same time, words of support do not bring relief.
Physical symptoms:
- rapid breathing and heart rate,
- headaches, abdominal and heart pain,
- increased sweating,
- eating disorders: increased appetite or loss of appetite,
- weakness,
- trembling, chills,
- stool disorders: frequent urge, constipation,
- feeling of lack of air,
- nausea,
- muscle spasms and pain.
Unreasonable anxiety and restlessness intensify or subside from time to time. Exacerbations often accompany stress: conflicts, important events, illnesses. Normally, a person quickly recovers after the situation is resolved, but when upset, negative emotions do not go away.
The intensity of anxiety varies from mild to severe. The extreme is panic. If you ignore an anxious state for a long time without a reason, then panic attacks may join it. They strike unexpectedly and sometimes without a good enough reason, but after this episode the person begins to avoid situations similar to the one in which this happened: public transport, an elevator, or just a crowd of people. This greatly reduces quality of life and can lead to social withdrawal.
Causes of depression and depression
From the point of view of helping a person in a state of depression and for developmental reasons, experts distinguish three types of depressed mood:
1. Depression as a reaction to external unpleasant events.
- due to receiving negative information that is traumatic to the psyche. For example, news about a serious illness or death of a loved one, news about the start of a war, about some kind of loss, about a threat to oneself, etc.
- a long-lasting psychological conflict between the desired and the actual.
- a consequence of overload of the nervous system in the form of prolonged stress or a series of excessive psychological trauma, lack of sleep, malnutrition, exhaustion due to internal diseases.
- bad weather.
2. Depression is a manifestation of the disease DEPRESSION. Depression as a painful condition is characterized by decreased mood, loss of the ability to receive pleasure, pessimism, low self-esteem with feelings of guilt and other symptoms.
3. Depression is a manifestation of other mental disorders, such as:
- encephalopathy (consequences of organic damage to the central nervous system);
- anxiety disorders: phobias, obsessions, panic attacks;
- psychosomatic diseases: asthma attacks, irritable bowel syndrome, weight gain (or loss), hypertension, eczema, palpitations, etc.;
- addictions (alcohol, drugs, smoking, gambling, etc.), especially in the initial period of abstinence from use (maintenance of sobriety);
- asthenic syndrome, neurasthenia.
Separately, it should be said that psychiatrists distinguish among mentally healthy people a group of people who have a kind of predisposition to depression.
These are the owners of such personality traits as decreased sociability and activity, hypochondria (exaggeration of health problems), dissatisfaction with current events and with oneself, difficulty making choices due to increased suspiciousness, pessimism and a skeptical attitude towards everything.
These character traits have been observed since childhood and can intensify during periods of hormonal changes in the body. For such people, a low mood level is a kind of norm. The development of depressive conditions requiring medical attention occurs more often in them than in others.
Psychologist's advice: How to stop being jealous of your ex?
Incompleteness can also give rise to traumatic experiences. Let's say it was in this relationship that you were truly involved in intimacy, completely opened up, but for some reason the relationship ended extremely painfully. After this, the precondition is created for the establishment of unconscious blocks against intimacy with anyone else; the person cannot fully enjoy what he has. But at a deep level, this experience exists, and it concerns the traumatized person. As a result, possessive feelings can arise in a sense as revenge: you took away the opportunity for me to be included in a relationship - and now I will also interfere with you.
But the opposite situation is also possible, when you yourself, in your own opinion, acted badly with your ex-partner and now suffer from feelings of guilt. Oddly enough, in this situation you can prevent him from arranging his personal life, since that very feeling of guilt seems to impose some responsibility, forces you to take care of your ex, to practically be his mother. And, as you know, any mother wants a better future for her son and will actively prevent him from joining his destiny with an unsuitable lady.
In addition to feelings of guilt and incompleteness, valuing your ex's attention can also make you feel insecure. In this case, even if you are already in a relationship, or even married, your ex will still have no peace - the unhappy husband is not able to support your self-esteem alone. But the ex, if he is also now a friend, could not come at a better time - he remembers you thinner, younger and more beautiful. And in general (since everything bad in such a situation is quickly forgotten), you have the illusion that it was he who loved you in a way that no one else existing in the present loves. Naturally, the new girlfriend of your ex in this situation is a hindrance, because she will overshadow your primacy and you will lose your, albeit imaginary, but still admirer.
If this is the whole point, then it is extremely necessary to put your self-esteem in order by any means. It's worth learning something new or changing jobs, maybe at least taking up running. While self-esteem suffers, all your exes together will not save you from loneliness. And, most importantly, remember that the ex became the ex for a reason. Perhaps sometimes it’s still worth remembering the things that irritated you about him and the reason why you broke up. After all, even if you were to embark on the same relationship again, everything would immediately cease to be so wonderful. The good thing about exes is that “we are not bound by obligations towards them, and therefore they do not restrict our freedom.”
What to do if you start to feel depressed
If this is a one-time temporary condition that does not in any way affect your behavior and ability to work, then you should not pay attention to it, look for something you can switch to and the depression will go away on its own.
Most likely, the cause of such a depressed state is an external factor (stress, psychological trauma, overwork, etc.) and therefore this is a normal mental reaction that does not require treatment.
If a depressed mood lasts more than a few days, arose for no apparent external reason and affects your activities (productivity has decreased, too much stress is required to achieve normal results, absences from work or school), then you should seek help from a specialist, since, most likely All in all, this is already a painful condition.
What to do if you have causeless anxiety and worry
It's hard to live in constant stress. If you are experiencing causeless anxiety and fear, the following list will tell you what to do:
- Talk to someone you trust. This could be a relative, a close friend, a psychotherapist or a helpline employee. People are social creatures, so communication is a good way to relieve internal stress.
- Find a way to calm down quickly. There is not always someone nearby with whom you can share. Therefore, it is important to find a suitable method that will help you relax: breathing techniques, soothing music, aromatherapy, self-massage and more. If you cannot independently choose a technique that quickly helps with anxiety for no reason, a specialist will tell you what to do.
- Add physical activity to your life. It is a natural and effective remedy for anxiety. Moderate exercise relieves tension, reduces stress hormones and strengthens the nervous system. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.
- Normalization of lifestyle. Get enough sleep, eat well, give up bad habits. This stabilizes physical performance and neurotransmitter levels, which helps maintain emotional balance.
- Start keeping a journal. Taking notes can help you identify patterns of anxiety flare-ups, understand the causes, and spot early signs of them. Also, thanks to this, you will begin to focus more on positive events that you may not have noticed before.
When worried for no reason, everyone who regularly encounters this wants to know what to do. There is no universal method, but the 5 steps listed above are recommended for every person with increased anxiety. This may be enough to alleviate symptoms. But if self-help techniques do not give the desired effect, then if you regularly experience anxiety for no reason, you need to find out what to do from a specialist.
How to help someone who is depressed
Offer your help, try to assess the cause of suffering yourself and assess whether you need to wait out this condition or require the help of a doctor.
In some cases, you can “escape from depression” by switching to another problem or changing your attitude; in other cases, you should, on the contrary, look for the cause of depression and speculate on this topic.
Don't leave him alone with you. Be persistent if you are faced with refusal to see a specialist when your condition worsens.
Sleep disturbance and weight loss are critical indicators for arranging a consultation with a specialist. Alcohol is a bad and dangerous way to help when you feel depressed or depressed.
Techniques used for depression
- Psychological: support, empathy and help in solving current problems from others, “compassion”, relaxation using autogenic training or similar techniques, change of environment (vacation or time off, travel, temporary relocation);
- Physical: water treatments (cold shower in the morning, warm bath in the evening), intense and regular physical activity, sound sleep for at least 8 hours, provided you fall asleep before midnight;
- Medical (only as prescribed by a doctor): pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy, diet therapy, sleep deprivation, etc.
Who can help with depression
With mild depression, any loved one who is capable of empathy can help. Or a psychologist who knows techniques to help cope with depression.
If it is clear that depression has painful features, then you should consult a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
Symptoms that may indicate that depression has turned into depression and a doctor is needed:
- anxiety, apathy, melancholy without external reasons;
- low self-esteem;
- suicidal thoughts;
- sleep disturbance: insomnia, lack of feeling of sleep, early awakenings, daytime drowsiness;
- diurnal mood swings: worsening in the morning and relief in the evening;
- loss of appetite and weight loss. Or vice versa, a strong craving for food;
- physical signs of depression: feeling of a lump in the throat, heaviness in the chest, internal trembling, palpitations and shortness of breath, diarrhea or constipation
There is no most effective method or best cure for depression. Each person and case requires its own unique “tools” to combat the state of depression.
Causes of unreasonable anxiety and worry
The onset of anxiety disorder is influenced by heredity. It has been discovered that certain brain structures and features of biological processes play an important role in the occurrence of fear and anxiety. Personality characteristics, physical health problems, lifestyle and various types of addictions also matter. Sometimes causeless anxiety and worry have no reason. Negative feelings usually have a trigger—an event or thought that triggers an anxious response. However, most people are unaware of their triggers and believe their emotions are unfounded. In this case, only a specialist will help you understand why anxiety occurs for no reason.
There are a number of diseases whose symptoms include constant anxiety. With unreasonable fear and anxiety, the reasons may be as follows:
- Generalized anxiety disorder: persistent nervousness and worry about small things that are usually visible to others and last for 6 months or more. Begins in adolescence and intensifies with age.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder: obsessive thoughts and fears that are accompanied by compulsive actions that do not bring relief. There is obsessive-compulsive neurosis - a person is indomitably haunted by memories that reproduce a traumatic situation.
- Phobias: irrational fear of any, even mundane, things. Accompanied by uncontrollable panic and physical manifestations.
- A panic attack is a painful and sudden attack of panic, which is accompanied by a fear of death and vivid somatic symptoms. Regular occurrence of panic attacks means the development of panic disorder.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: occurs after a severe traumatic situation and is accompanied by high levels of anxiety, avoidance and flashbacks.
These are the most common examples, but pathological anxiety can be a symptom of other disorders or a consequence of unsuccessful management of stress. If you want to understand why you feel anxious for no reason, you should consult a doctor. Without finding out the main factor and working on it, it is impossible to restore health and mental balance.
