What Does Anxiety & Panic have to do with Transformation?
Internal Tension by Jeanette Amlie
Anxiety & Panic
Anxiety is a state that has psychological, emotional and physiological aspects to it. Worry, uneasiness, dread and fear are common emotional symptoms, which can be normal reactions to a stressful situation. The emotions generally occur as a result of mental thoughts that perceive a particular situation as threatening, even without an external event as a catalyst. For instance, just thinking about a test may induce anxiety many days in advance of the actual event. And as a result of the heightened emotions, the body responds accordingly by raising heart-rate, quickening breathing & tensing the muscles, especially of the neck and shoulders.
Experiencing anxiety in-and-of-itself is not a problem. However, we live in a time when many people are experiencing chronic anxiety, panic & panic attacks as a result of long-term stress and tension that has not been released from the body. Wild animals are exposed to threatening situations continually. Yet because of the natural ability for their bodies to discharge this held energy after the threat is gone, they don't experience anxiety, trauma or PTSD. However, domestic animals can begin to show signs of chronic anxiety just like humans, developing skin problems or behavioral disorders etc. as a result of being exposed to stressful situations without the natural ability to run, bark, chew and basically work it off. Humans are not that different. We live in a time where many people have hectic and sedentary life-styles. We may be in a hurry all the time, but we aren't literally "running" to get to work. If we were, the stress of being in a hurry probably wouldn't affect us nearly as much. Instead we drive in our cars & talk on our cell phones at a frenzied pace. Then we get home & have a beer or glass of wine to "unwind" & relax to the nightly news reviewing the sensationalized tragedies of the day. It's no wonder that by the time we reach middle age chronic anxiety is a common condition.
During the course of a lifetime most people will experience some kind of traumatic incident. Whether it seems big or small to someone else is of little consequence to your nervous system. Most people are familiar with common forms of trauma like witnessing a tragic death, war, natural disaster, assault or rape for instance. But trauma can also be an event from your childhood that you don't even remember & at the time other's may not have recognized it's impact on you either. An example of this can be a simple tonsillectomy or dental work or being made fun of at school. These may not seem like traumas to someone else, and in fact others may not have a traumatic reaction to exactly the same experience. Yet if your system registered it as a threat that you felt you could not escape from then you could have easily been deeply affected by the experience without even realizing it. All that matters is that your nervous system went into fight or flight, or possibly even deeper into helplessness/freeze, without having the opportunity to release this energy.
What is PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Unfortunately we live in a time when PTSD has virtually become a household word, although most people are only familiar with the most extreme forms of this condition. Basically, PTSD can develop in the aftermath of a major tragedy or crisis, or from chronic exposure to a situation that your organism believes is life threatening. Some of the most common and severe symptoms may be flashbacks from a traumatic incident, nightmares, heightened startle response, hyper-vigilance and extreme mood swings. Yet many people experience a plethora of minor symptoms on a regular basis including, insomnia, anxiety, irritation, digestive disorders, skin eruptions, difficulty relaxing and an increasing inability to cope with the ups and downs of daily life. Most of these people will never be diagnosed with PTSD and yet what they are unconsciously suffering from can have a significant impact on the quality of their life.
As Jana Dixon states in The Biology of Kundalini, "The stress of say child abuse or war can create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but if it was not for this extreme perturbation of consciousness by trauma [or lesser cumulative “traumas” I might add], chances are that the individual would not experience a kundalini awakening. Thus what is seemingly “bad” can lead to a great “good”. This is an example of the paradoxical and complex nature of spiritual evolution." So most of the people I work with have experienced some form of major or minor trauma during their life that created a "pressurized" container you might say. Over time this pressure builds & often around mid-life it becomes so great that a major or minor incident can begin to compromise the seal on our Pandora's Box. So as disturbing as the symptoms can be, I actually welcome them as a sign that the Soul is pushing through the "calcified layers of our forgetfulness" as I like to say.
Anxiety Therapy & Alternative Treatments
So what do you do if you are beginning to experience any or all of these conditions? If there is a major incident that is connected to these symptoms then it is best to seek the assistance of someone trained specifically in trauma resolution of some kind, which can include EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, or Neuro-Somatic Training to name a few. Yet if the symptoms are not severe and you feel generally able to cope there is a lot that can be done by utilizing exercises, meditation and other techniques that can help restore your body's natural ability to discharge these energies. One of the best things can be using bilateral stimulation to help the brain and body release some of this held tension. Even walking with arms swinging can be very helpful, or running. Yet if the tension is tied to a memory or experience, then more in-depth assistance may be require.
If you are experiencing any of these conditions and feel that you would benefit from some one-on-one assistance I invite you to contact me and set-up a short 30-minute consultation to talk about your specific situation. If you are committed to changing and are willing to intervene on your own behalf then there is a great deal that you can do to shift these new or old patterns. For more information or to contact me please go to Sessions & Groups.
♡ Jeanette Amlie
Anxiety is a state that has psychological, emotional and physiological aspects to it. Worry, uneasiness, dread and fear are common emotional symptoms, which can be normal reactions to a stressful situation. The emotions generally occur as a result of mental thoughts that perceive a particular situation as threatening, even without an external event as a catalyst. For instance, just thinking about a test may induce anxiety many days in advance of the actual event. And as a result of the heightened emotions, the body responds accordingly by raising heart-rate, quickening breathing & tensing the muscles, especially of the neck and shoulders.
Experiencing anxiety in-and-of-itself is not a problem. However, we live in a time when many people are experiencing chronic anxiety, panic & panic attacks as a result of long-term stress and tension that has not been released from the body. Wild animals are exposed to threatening situations continually. Yet because of the natural ability for their bodies to discharge this held energy after the threat is gone, they don't experience anxiety, trauma or PTSD. However, domestic animals can begin to show signs of chronic anxiety just like humans, developing skin problems or behavioral disorders etc. as a result of being exposed to stressful situations without the natural ability to run, bark, chew and basically work it off. Humans are not that different. We live in a time where many people have hectic and sedentary life-styles. We may be in a hurry all the time, but we aren't literally "running" to get to work. If we were, the stress of being in a hurry probably wouldn't affect us nearly as much. Instead we drive in our cars & talk on our cell phones at a frenzied pace. Then we get home & have a beer or glass of wine to "unwind" & relax to the nightly news reviewing the sensationalized tragedies of the day. It's no wonder that by the time we reach middle age chronic anxiety is a common condition.
During the course of a lifetime most people will experience some kind of traumatic incident. Whether it seems big or small to someone else is of little consequence to your nervous system. Most people are familiar with common forms of trauma like witnessing a tragic death, war, natural disaster, assault or rape for instance. But trauma can also be an event from your childhood that you don't even remember & at the time other's may not have recognized it's impact on you either. An example of this can be a simple tonsillectomy or dental work or being made fun of at school. These may not seem like traumas to someone else, and in fact others may not have a traumatic reaction to exactly the same experience. Yet if your system registered it as a threat that you felt you could not escape from then you could have easily been deeply affected by the experience without even realizing it. All that matters is that your nervous system went into fight or flight, or possibly even deeper into helplessness/freeze, without having the opportunity to release this energy.
What is PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Unfortunately we live in a time when PTSD has virtually become a household word, although most people are only familiar with the most extreme forms of this condition. Basically, PTSD can develop in the aftermath of a major tragedy or crisis, or from chronic exposure to a situation that your organism believes is life threatening. Some of the most common and severe symptoms may be flashbacks from a traumatic incident, nightmares, heightened startle response, hyper-vigilance and extreme mood swings. Yet many people experience a plethora of minor symptoms on a regular basis including, insomnia, anxiety, irritation, digestive disorders, skin eruptions, difficulty relaxing and an increasing inability to cope with the ups and downs of daily life. Most of these people will never be diagnosed with PTSD and yet what they are unconsciously suffering from can have a significant impact on the quality of their life.
As Jana Dixon states in The Biology of Kundalini, "The stress of say child abuse or war can create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but if it was not for this extreme perturbation of consciousness by trauma [or lesser cumulative “traumas” I might add], chances are that the individual would not experience a kundalini awakening. Thus what is seemingly “bad” can lead to a great “good”. This is an example of the paradoxical and complex nature of spiritual evolution." So most of the people I work with have experienced some form of major or minor trauma during their life that created a "pressurized" container you might say. Over time this pressure builds & often around mid-life it becomes so great that a major or minor incident can begin to compromise the seal on our Pandora's Box. So as disturbing as the symptoms can be, I actually welcome them as a sign that the Soul is pushing through the "calcified layers of our forgetfulness" as I like to say.
Anxiety Therapy & Alternative Treatments
So what do you do if you are beginning to experience any or all of these conditions? If there is a major incident that is connected to these symptoms then it is best to seek the assistance of someone trained specifically in trauma resolution of some kind, which can include EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, or Neuro-Somatic Training to name a few. Yet if the symptoms are not severe and you feel generally able to cope there is a lot that can be done by utilizing exercises, meditation and other techniques that can help restore your body's natural ability to discharge these energies. One of the best things can be using bilateral stimulation to help the brain and body release some of this held tension. Even walking with arms swinging can be very helpful, or running. Yet if the tension is tied to a memory or experience, then more in-depth assistance may be require.
If you are experiencing any of these conditions and feel that you would benefit from some one-on-one assistance I invite you to contact me and set-up a short 30-minute consultation to talk about your specific situation. If you are committed to changing and are willing to intervene on your own behalf then there is a great deal that you can do to shift these new or old patterns. For more information or to contact me please go to Sessions & Groups.
♡ Jeanette Amlie