 Allergies [40]
Allergy is a disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy.
Antidepressants [27]
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia.
Arthritis [18]
Arthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body.
Cancer [23]
Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth
Cardio & Blood [7]
Risk factors for heart disease: infections
Cholesterol [17]
A fat-like substance called a lipid. It is used to build cell membranes, hormones and bile acids
Diabetes [21]
The inability of the body to produce, or the inability to metabolize, the human hormone insulin; Diabetes insipidus, usually a disorder of the ...
Epilepsy [17]
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures
Gastrointestinal [13]
The digestive tract is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food...
General Health [55]
The infant, child or young person’s current health condition
Herbal [16]
Herbal tea, herbal medicine
Hormonal [15]
Hormones - Proteins produced by organs of the body that trigger activity in other locations.
Men's Health [4]
For men on fitness, health, sex, caree
Pain relief [17]
Pain management is the medical discipline concerned with the relief of pain.
Skin care [17]
The skin is the outer covering of the body
Weight Loss [19]
Loss of body weight by dieting or due to various easting disorders or medical conditions.
Women's Health [12]
Find information on women's health issues, and lifestyle at the Women's Health
Fresh material Women’s health: more about endometriosis
→ More
The female reproductive organs: fallopian tubes and ovaries
→ More
Fertility: foresight's success
→ More
Menopause problems: causes and prevention
→ More
Women, work, and endometriosis
→ More
The most popular materials [691 view]
Barium meal x-ray examination → More
[522 view]
Menopause problems: causes and prevention → More
[514 view]
The female reproductive organs: fallopian tubes and ovaries → More
[484 view]
Lessons in rubbership → More
[467 view]
The female reproductive organs: uterus (womb) → More
Awaiting moderation 2418 Article |
The mind's response to anxiety THE MIND'S RESPONSE TO ANXIETY
When more messages are arriving than the brain can properly handle, we have anxiety. Our mental apparatus becomes keyed up in an effort to cope with the situation. There is an increase of available mental energy, and this mobilized energy of the mind provides the force which produces all the various psychological symptoms of anxiety.
In its mobilized state, the mind becomes very alert, too alert, so that all the time it- seems to be searching for the cause of its own disquiet. There develops a pathological over-alertness, and as a result the mind reacts to very minor stimuli which would not normally produce any response at all. Thus a noise which would normally go unheeded causes the anxious person to start. Then he feels irritated and upset in the knowledge that he has overreacted to a matter of little consequence, and his inner tension is further increased.
This over-alertness shows itself in many ways. The individual is on the lookout all the time. He is fidgety and cannot let himself go off guard. He cannot rest because his mind keeps him alert even when there is no need for it. It becomes hard to sit and watch television without getting up from the chair to relieve the tension within him. To relax and sit still becomes a near impossibility because all the time he is plagued with this distressing over-alertness of the mind.
We see, then, that this over-alertness is a natural result of anxiety. Sometimes, however, another type of reaction takes place so that the anxious individual is in no way over-alert, but on the contrary appears to be dulled and apathetic. This reaction may occur when the individual is confronted with overwhelming disaster on either a national or a personal scale. He is struck dumb. He is in a daze, unable to think or to move. Even when some purposeful action on his part would minimize the disaster, he still does nothing. This is a common reaction in times of war, particularly in the civilian population. It is seen in personal calamity as when an individual suddenly sees his home burned or his family killed in a road accident. This reaction is so
completely different from the primary response to anxiety by over-alertness that it requires some explanation. It comes about by the overactivity of the self-regulatory mechanisms of the body. There is a surge of anxiety with its accompanying over-alertness, but if this were too great the body would be overwhelmed and unable to respond effectively. To prevent this, the
self-regulatory mechanisms come into play and inhibit the anxiety reaction. It is thus the overreaction of the inhibiting mechanism that causes the individual to be dulled, apathetic, and unable to take effective action.
The same reaction may occur in less dramatic form. The student when confronted with an important examination usually reacts to his, anxiety by being so keyed up from over-alertness that the mind is flooded with too many thoughts that are often not well related to the problem on hand. In such circumstances it is not uncommon for the opposite reaction to occur. His mind goes blank, and try as he will, relevant thoughts to the problem simply will not come. We can now understand this paradoxical reaction to anxiety as due to the overactivity of the inhibiting mechanism. In a mild chronic form, over-inhibited anxiety may make the individual tired, listless, dull, apathetic, and unable to get going in his ordinary daily tasks. Because of his lack of initiative in doing things, such a patient often complains of depression. Furthermore he may say that he feels guilty because of his inability to work; but this reaction of inhibited anxiety is distinguished from true depression in that there is no real moral self-accusation as when the conscience is offended.
*3\57\2*
Anti-Depressants/Sleeping Aid
«Buy Generic Cialis»
 Версия для печати
Количество просмотров: 191
| Keywords for this page: The mind's response to anxiety |
|
|
