Impact of Fear and Anxiety | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing (2024)

Impact of Fear and Anxiety | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing (1)The term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was coined in the 1970s, in response to the high number of Vietnam veterans suffering from a collection of psychological symptoms after returning from war. But accounts of PTSD have been noted in various forms throughout history, and the disorder is not limited to veterans of war.

PTSD generally appears after an individual has suffered a traumatic or painful event, such as a car accident, kidnapping, natural disaster, abuse, seeing a friend or family member suffer a trauma, or death of a loved one. Symptoms include prolonged states of anxiety (racing heart, sweating), flashbacks of the event, depression, avoidance of any activities that might trigger memories of the event, and difficulty sleeping. Like most health conditions, PTSD is not a one-size-fits-all disorder. The severity of the symptoms, as well as how long they last, vary from person to person. The most important thing someone who may be suffering from PTSD can do is to get professional help.

New research indicates that you may be able to bolster yourself against PTSD by practicing resilency-enhancing strategies. The National Institute of Mental Health recommends the following to reduce your risk of experiencing the disorder:

  • Developing a strong support network of healthy relationships so that you have someone to turn to if you need help.
  • Focusing on your own positive qualities, including your courage in the face of danger, trauma, or hardship.
  • Responding calmly and effectively to dangerous situations, even when you are afraid.

In addition, spirituality can sometimes help you find meaning in difficult circ*mstances. Many researchers have observed post-traumatic growth, a period during which a person becomes stronger and more peaceful as a result of having survived a traumatic experience.

Impact of Fear and Anxiety | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing (2024)

FAQs

Impact of Fear and Anxiety | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing? ›

This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. All of these effects can leave us unable to act appropriately. Mental health. Other consequences of long-term fear include fatigue, clinical depression, and PSTD.

How do feelings of fear and anxiety play an important role in all human beings? ›

Experiencing fear and anxiety may not be pleasant, but both are important emotions that drive human evolution. Our brains react to threats, preparing our bodies for what might lay ahead, in a way we learned how to thousands of years ago.

How does anxiety affect your daily life? ›

Anxiety can also affect your behaviour. You may withdraw from friends and family, feel unable to go to work, or avoid certain places. While avoiding situations can give you short-term relief, the anxiety often returns the next time you're in the situation.

How do I stop living in fear and anxiety? ›

Learning relaxation techniques can help you with the mental and physical feelings of fear. It can help just to drop your shoulders and breathe deeply. Or imagine yourself in a relaxing place. You could also try complementary therapies or exercise such as massage, t'ai chi, yoga, mindfulness techniques, or meditation.

How does facing your fears benefit you? ›

Facing your fears can:

Regulate emotions. Decrease risk of cardiovascular damage. Lead to clearer thinking. Reduce stress.

How does fear affect your mental health? ›

Fear is a feature of nearly all clinical mental health problems and is a root cause of some of the most common ones. As well as anxiety disorders themselves, fear is strongly associated with depression, psychosis, and attempting suicide in the past year. Fear is also strongly linked to poor physical health.

How does fear affect us spiritually? ›

Fear destroys our confidence while faith builds it up. Fear brings worry, torment, and unrest while faith brings peace and contentment.

How does anxiety affect you emotionally? ›

Effects of anxiety on your mind

These can include: feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax. having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst. feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down.

How does stress and anxiety affect a person's life? ›

It can affect the body in different ways, including the cardiovascular, urinary, digestive, and respiratory systems. Anxiety can also make a person feel nervous, restless, tense, or fearful. While many people know about the effects of anxiety on mental health, fewer people are aware of the physical side effects.

What are three examples of how anxiety can affect an individual? ›

Anxiety disorders can cause rapid heart rate, palpitations, and chest pain. You may also be at an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. If you already have heart disease, anxiety disorders may raise the risk of coronary events.

Why is living in constant fear bad? ›

Fear can impair formation of long-term memories and cause damage to certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. This can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and can leave a person anxious most of the time. To someone in chronic fear, the world looks scary and their memories confirm that.

How to overcome fear spiritually? ›

You can pray out scriptures as well whenever you are feeling fearful. Also, pray against that spirit or whatever limiting beliefs you are meditating on. Get to the root of what is causing you to fear. It is also good to pray that the Lord will give you the strength to overcome it.

What is it called when someone worries about everything? ›

Are you always waiting for disaster to strike or excessively worried about things such as health, money, family, work, or school? If so, you may have a type of anxiety disorder called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD can make daily life feel like a constant state of worry, fear, and dread.

How to fight anxiety? ›

Some ways to manage anxiety disorders include learning about anxiety, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, correct breathing techniques, dietary adjustments, exercise, learning to be assertive, building self-esteem, cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, structured problem solving, medication and support groups.

Does facing your fears make you happier? ›

The more we face our fears, the smaller and more manageable they become, and the happier we feel knowing we can reach our goals. Use this time of staying home right now to move towards the fears that are causing you anxiety and holding you back.

How can I overcome my fear and anxiety in 30 seconds? ›

How to calm down quickly
  1. Breathe. One of the best things you can do when you start to feel that familiar panicky feeling is to breathe. ...
  2. Name what you're feeling. ...
  3. Try the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique. ...
  4. Try the “File It” mind exercise. ...
  5. Run. ...
  6. Think about something funny. ...
  7. Distract yourself. ...
  8. Take a cold shower (or an ice plunge)
Jun 23, 2021

How does fear play a role in human behavior? ›

Fear prepares us to react to danger. Once we sense a potential danger, our body releases hormones that: Slow or shut down functions not needed for survival (such as our digestive system) Sharpen functions that might help us survive (such as eyesight).

Why do we need fear and anxiety? ›

The main function of fear and anxiety is to act as a signal of danger, threat, or motivational conflict, and to trigger appropriate adaptive responses.

How does fear play a role in people's decision-making process? ›

In conclusion, fear might reduce behavioral impulsivity under uncertainty, and increase the adventure index under certainty in risky decision-making which might be influenced by gender, and, additionally, increases the secretion of the cortisol in saliva.

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