Learn About Your Anxiety Risks WAS WPC 695 3 picture posts /698 11 posts full text

its all in the head. how many times have we jheard that. even some doctors, well look at the process below. its actually a highly physical conditionthat can wreak havoc on your physical wellbeing. next time you hear that said, you dont needd ai to formulate a response

:What Is It?

Anxiety is an oft use term. Let’s elaborate:

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Anxiety is a persistent feeling of worry without a clear cause. Anxiety can be excessive and disproportionate to the actual threat. By contrast, stress is a response to a known, often temporary, external trigger. Anxiety can linger even after the stressor is gone and can significantly impact daily functioning. Both involve similar physical symptoms but anxiety often includes a cognitive component of dread and apprehension.

Types of Anxiety

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Persistent, excessive worry about various things.
• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Fear of social situations and judgment.
• Panic Disorder: Sudden, intense panic attacks.
• Specific Phobias: Irrational fear of specific objects or situations.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Develops after trauma, causing flashbacks and anxiety.
• Separation Anxiety Disorder: Excessive fear of separation from loved ones.
• Selective Mutism: Childhood disorder where a child can’t speak in specific social situations.

Types of Stress

• Acute Stress: This is the most common type, triggered by a specific, short-term event, like a traffic jam or a deadline. It’s usually brief and doesn’t cause lasting harm.
• Episodic Acute Stress: This occurs when someone experiences frequent bouts of acute stress. They might be constantly rushing, disorganized, and taking on too much.
• Chronic Stress: This is long-term stress that can result from ongoing problems like relationship issues, financial difficulties, or a demanding job. It can have serious health consequences.
• Eustress: This is a positive type of stress that can be motivating and improve performance. It’s often associated with exciting or challenging events, like starting a new job or participating in a competition.
• Distress: This is a negative type of stress that can lead to anxiety, depression, and other health problems. It’s often associated with overwhelming or uncontrollable situations.

:Symptoms

• Excessive Worry: Persistent, uncontrollable, and often irrational worries.
• Restlessness: Feeling on edge, keyed up, or unable to relax.
• Fatigue: Feeling tired or drained, even after adequate rest.
• Muscle Tension: Aches, pains, or stiffness, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back.
• Sleep Problems: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or restless sleep.
• Irritability: Feeling easily annoyed, impatient, or short-tempered.
• Difficulty Concentrating: Trouble focusing, remembering things, or making decisions.
• Panic Attacks: Sudden episodes of intense fear or discomfort, with physical symptoms.
• Feelings of Dread: A sense that something bad is going to happen.
• Avoidance: Avoiding situations, places, or people that trigger anxiety.
• Rapid Heart Rate: Feeling like your heart is racing or pounding.
• Sweating: Excessive sweating, even when it’s not hot.
• Trembling or Shaking: Uncontrollable shaking or trembling.
• Shortness of Breath: Feeling like you can’t catch your breath.
• Dizziness or Lightheadedness: Feeling faint or unsteady.
• Nausea or Digestive Problems: Feeling sick to your stomach or having digestive issues.

:Research

The ResMed 2024 sleep report highlights a global sleep crisis with significant consequences. 57% of people struggle to stay asleep, averaging only four good nights per week:

• Key Causes: Top culprits of poor sleep include are stress (57%), anxiety (47%), and financial pressures (31%)
• GenZ and Anxiety: Anxiety is a massive issue in the Gen z community world wide with 53% listed anxiety as a factor affecting their sleep.
• Workplace Impact: The workplace suffers, with 71% of employees having called in sick due to poor sleep, yet many feel their employer doesn’t care.
• Help-Seeking: Alarmingly, up to 41% in some countries wouldn’t seek help for poor sleep.
• Daytime Effects: This poor sleep causes excessive daytime sleepiness (51%), poor mood (48%), headaches (32%), and inability to concentrate (31%).
• Benefits of Good Sleep: Conversely, good sleep enhances mood (42%), concentration (41%), physical and mental health (37%), and productivity (35%).
• Gender Disparities: Women experience fewer nights of good sleep per week (3.83) compared to men (4.13) and are more likely to report difficulty falling asleep more than three times a week (38% versus 29%).
• Wearable Apps: Are increasingly popular for monitoring sleep.

:The Science

The Anxiety Process :

TREATMENT PROTOCOLS
You should understand the process below and the distinction between anxiety and stress in order to believe in your anxiety treatment options and therapies that we will introduce if ANXIETY IMPROVE is added to your wellness program. Knowing why is EMPOWERMENT.

1. Triggers: Internal (anxiety) or External (stress) triggers stimulate the hypothalamus & pituitary glands (the HPA axis) to release messenger chemicals (hormones) into the blood. These hormones are called CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) and ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone).
   • Stress has a known trigger derived from an outside event such as traffic jams, job interviews, upcoming event etc.
   • anxiety is very different. The initial activation is internal, where the internal perception of threat originates from maladaptive thought patterns, memories, or even misinterpreted bodily sensations. It is therefore a latent and often chronic syndrome – often referred to as chronic stress. Unlike ordinary stress the trigger is lying in wait meaning the body is in a chronic state of heightened awareness!
2. Adrenal Gland Activation: Are triggered by CRH and ACTH hormones to produce cortisol and adrenaline (the stress/anxiety hormones). This initiates the process. For anxious people these hormones are often chronically heightened. The brain is almost enticing the trigger to fire. Its compulsive. The fear of fear itself. Action to prevent the trigger can be irrational in other people minds
3. Brain Response: The Amygdala (fear center in brain) reacts to the production of cortisol and the presence of adrenaline, creating a fear-based signal. The fear-based signal is a surge of neurotransmitters (chemical signals) and electrical impulses (primarily glutamate and norepinephrine).
4. Neurotransmitters and Electrical Signals: Trigger activity in other parts of the brain via complex neural networks. These parts of the brain send nerve impulses via the (autonomic) nervous system to various organs and glands that control heart rate, breathing, digestion, and other involuntary functions related to survival, such as pupil dilation and perspiration.
5. Organs and Glands: Change their behaviour in response to these nerve impulses. Changes in behaviour manifest themselves as the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. We all know those ‘fear’ feelings! For anxious people the ‘fight or flight’ response is activated by things other people appear not to react to because stress hormones are chronically high. That’s the ‘he or she is sensitive’ analogy.
6. Gut Response: The surge of adrenaline combined with the ongoing presence of cortisol impacts the gut microbiome, reducing beneficial bacteria and promoting the growth of harmful bacteria, leading to gut Microbiota Imbalance. If cortisol is chronically high (as with anxious people) this gut imbalance can become a feature of life
7. Gut Microbiota Imbalance: Dysbiosis (bad gut bacteria) leads to reduced production of the stress-inhibiting neurotransmitters (serotonin/GABA).
8. Reduced Serotonin/GABA Impact: When reduced, there is an inverse increase in signalling to the Amygdala (fear center in brain) via the Vagus nerve. This amplifies the fight/flight response – a vicious circle.
9. Inflammation: The increase in bad bacteria due to gut imbalance also leads to the production of inflammatory molecules like cytokines (an immune response primarily occurring in the gut lining but also throughout the body).
10. Cytokines Impact: Cytokines reduce the brain’s production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and therefore, its ability to regulate the production of anxiety neurotransmitters and electrical impulses (primarily glutamate and norepinephrine).
11. Vicious Circle: Both the reduction in serotonin by the gut (due to imbalance) and the reduction in serotonin in the brain (due to the immune response) combine to amplify the signalling to the anxiety Fear Canter in the brain.

In a stress situation the process is required as it is the body’s warning system. In an anxious person, it is a chronic problem. Stopping or breaking this vicious circle is the focus of anxiety therapy, treatments, drugs, and research. The co morbidities can be devastating for some people.

TREATMENT GENERIC FOR IMPROVE PLAN– AND WHY SCIENTIFICALLY THEY WORK….

:Co Morbidities

Anxiety and stress exasperate an extensive range of other morbidities including:

:Health Cost

Frankly enormous and incalculable. The answer to this problem will be transformative on an unprecedented scale

:Emerging Science

Whats happening is ……