Anxiety

 

 Anxiety as a physical response

We can all experience anxiety from time to time. Most people can relate to feeling tense, uncertain and, perhaps, fearful at the thought of going to an interview, going to the dentist, asking someone out on a date or starting a new job. You may get worked up about feeling uncomfortable, making a fool of yourself or what kind of impression you are making. In turn, these worries can affect your sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate. Normally when things go well, the anxiety disappears.

This type of automatic response known as anxiety is useful in certain situations. Feeling nervous before  an exam can make you feel more alert, and enhance your performance. Problems start to arise when anxiety becomes prolonged and begins to overwhelm us. In this case it's negative effects end up affecting us in a way that anxiety suffers tend to have less concentration and perform worse.

Evolutionary basis

Anxiety and fear have kept us alive for thousands of years, and contributed directly to the success of our species. If we were living in a cave and discovered that a sabre toothed tiger was sniffing around outside, it's very probable that anxiety and fear would trigger the release of hormones, such as adrenalin. Adrenalin causes your heart to beat faster to carry blood to the main muscles such as biceps and quadriceps where it's going to be most needed. You breathe faster to provide the extra oxygen required for energy. You sweat to prevent overheating. Your mouth may feel dry; as your digestive system slows down to allow more blood to be sent to your muscles. Your senses become heightened and your brain becomes more alert.

These changes make your body able to take action and protect you in a dangerous situation either by running away or fighting. It is known as the 'fight or flight' reflex. Once the danger has passed, other hormones are     released, which may cause you to shake as your muscles start to relax.

This response is useful for protecting you against physical dangers like a sabre toothed tiger, or jumping out of the way of an on coming car. But, the response is not so useful if you want to run away from a letter from the tax man, an exam, public speaking, a driving test, or having an injection. This is because, if there is no physical threat and these problems require a different type of answer. You have no need to physically run away or fight, the effects of adrenaline subside more slowly, and you may go on feeling agitated for a long time.

Reducing anxiety

Prison is one of the environments where people experience prolonged high levels of anxiety and stress. If there's one thing that people find stressing it is a feeling of not being in control. Lack of control can really send our anxiety levels spiralling and people in prison generally have a subjective feeling that their lives are in the hands of others and that they are unable to make decisions and are generally powerless. The anxiety that feeling powerless can create is extremely toxic to the body, both physically and psychologically. I recently did some stress and anxiety workshops in Extremera prison in Madrid. Using techniques based on mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, all participants claimed a reduced subjective feeling of anxiety during the sessions and that the simple techniques could easily be applied by themselves without the supervision of a therapist.

For anyone who is interested in mindfulness in a variety of settings

http://www.upaya.org/uploads/pdfs/DunnBenefitsofMeditationinCorrectionsSettingrev7110.pdf