8 Amazing Facts about Anxiety.
Here are the 8 Fascinating Facts About Anxiety.
Studies show that anxiety affects the sense of smell and
balance, how we judge faces and perceptions of our personal space.
Anxiety may be an unpleasant emotion, which can be crippling
in excess, but it does exist for a good reason.
Anxiety tells us we’re in danger and we need to do
something. It was our anxious ancestors who prepared better for winter and made
plans to fight off neighbouring tribes. The relaxed, laid-back guys never made
it.
But anxiety’s effects aren’t limited to motivation, they
seep through the mind to all sorts of areas…
A1.
Anxiety literally makes everything stink
As people get more anxious, they are more likely to label
neutral smells as bad smells (Krusemark & Li, 2013). So, anxiety literally
makes the world stink.
The reason, explains Professor Wen Li is:
“In typical odor processing, it is usually just the
olfactory system that gets activated. But when a person becomes anxious, the
emotional system becomes part of the olfactory processing stream.”
And as people get more anxious they become better at
distinguishing between different bad smells.
A2.
Exercise reduces anxiety
Generally, when people get a little exercise they feel less
anxiety in their lives. As little as 20 minutes can make you feel calmer right
now.
The benefits of a little workout extend beyond the gym,
though, into everyday life.
One study has found that although simply resting reduces
anxiety, it doesn’t help protect against stressful events.
Exercise, though, seems to have a more lasting effect,
helping to reduce anxiety when faced with stressful situations afterwards.
Indeed, many think exercise should be prescribed for
depression and anxiety instead of drugs.
A3. The
parental effect
Like many things, high anxiety is partly in the genes, but
part of the reason anxious people are anxious is because of their parents’
behaviour.
Children are more likely to be anxious when their parents
direct criticism at them, display high levels of doubt and are emotionally cold
(Budinger et al., 2012).
A4.
Think different
One of the best ways of reducing anxiety is to think about
situations differently.
It’s not an exam; it’s a fun little quiz. It’s not a scary
presentation; it’s a little chat with a few colleagues. It’s not a job
interview; it’s a chance to meet some new people.
Most situations can be re-framed in this way and studies
show that people who do this naturally–as opposed to trying to suppress their
anxiety–feel less anxious in stressful social situations.
A5.
Anxious people jump to conclusions
Highly anxious people jump to conclusions more quickly when
judging facial expressions.
A study by Fraley et al., (2006) suggests that anxious
people may have problems in their relationships because they jump to
conclusions too quickly about facial expressions.
Professor
Fraley explained:
“This ‘hair trigger’ style of perceptual sensitivity may be
one reason why highly anxious people experience greater conflict in their
relationships. The irony is that they have the ability to make their judgments
more accurately than less-anxious people, but, because they are so quick to
make judgments about others’ emotions, they tend to mistakenly infer other
people’s emotional states and intentions.”
A6.
Anxiety affects balance
People who experience more severe levels of anxiety also
often have problems with their balance. They sometimes feel dizzy for no
apparent reason and sway more than others while standing normally.
This often starts in childhood and, because anxiety can be
difficult to treat in children, psychologists have started trying to treat the
balance problems.
Studies have shown that treating the balance problem can
help with the anxiety (Bart et al., 2009).
A7.
Meditation reduces anxiety
On top of exercise and thinking differently, those
experiencing anxiety can also try meditation.
To pick just one of many recent studies, Zeidan et al.
(2013) found that four 20-minute meditation classes were enough to reduce
anxiety by up to 39%.
A8.
Anxiety expands personal space
We all have an invisible field around us that we dislike
other people invading.
In front of the face it’s generally about 20-40cm; if others
get closer without our permission, it feels weird.
But, researchers have found that for anxious people, their
personal space is larger (Sambo & Iannetti, 2013).
So, don’t charge up too close to anxious people, their
‘safety margin’ is larger.
Source: http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/10/8-fascinating-facts-about-anxiety.php
Source: http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/10/8-fascinating-facts-about-anxiety.php
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