8 min read
Feelings of stress and anxiety can be very common in our everyday lives. These feelings are brought about by our mood hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, which are responsible for stimulating our ‘fight or flight’ response. This response occurs naturally and is supposedly evolutionary, allowing us to effectively react to danger or harmful situations.
Sometimes, feelings of anxiety can last for extensive periods and become overwhelming. When it interferes negatively with our lives, it requires special attention.
Here is a useful guide to help you understand more and, in time, learn how to manage it.
Anxiety is our natural response to external stimuli that have developed with evolution, when humans lived in the wild and needed to be alert to their surroundings in order to survive.
Although we no longer need to deal with sabre-toothed tiger attacks, the natural responses have remained. In our everyday lives, we experience events that may cause our cortisol and adrenaline levels to spike, and result in a the ‘fight or flight’ response.
The increase in those two hormones brings about feelings of anxiousness, nervousness and stress. Those may be triggered by important events or decisions that cause us to feel stressed, for example exams, starting a new job, having a baby or having an interview, etc.
These manifestations of anxiousness are normal: stress is positive and necessary to spur us into action and to get through challenges but it should be brief and the magnitude of stress should be proportional to the stressor!
If you find that those feelings of stress and anxiety don’t subside even after overcoming specific events, and that you struggle to feel relaxed long after, it may be that anxiety becomes a disorder, so it may be necessary to seek professional help.
There are rising concerns in Hong Kong about the mental health of students and adolescents specifically. Studies have found that in every 10 students, more than half are reported to experience symptoms of anxiety. Yet outside of these studies, only a small proportion do actually reach out and receive the professional assistance and treatment they require.
You may feel a wide range of symptoms, including:
Physical sensations:
Psychological sensations:
Here are 6 common variations:
For a clinical diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V), patients’ symptoms should fit the following criteria:
1. Experiencing excessive anxiety and worry, with anxiety on more days than not, for periods no shorter than 6 months, relating to a number of events and activities.
2. Difficulty in controlling anxious emotions and worries.
3. The anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms having been present for more days than not for the past 6 months):
a. Restlessness, feeling keyed up or on edge
b. Being easily fatigued
c. Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
d. Irritability
e. Muscle tension
f. Sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep)
4. The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
5. The disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).
6. The disturbance is not better explained by another medical disorder. (such as more specific symptoms that point towards the other variations of panic disorders.)
Specialists may prescribe at least one of the following treatment options:
1. Talk therapy (or Counselling)
Mainly involves working with a counsellor or psychologist to process through the causes of an individual’s anxiety and to find ways to readjust any thinking patterns, so that the way their anxiety is triggered can be made more manageable.
There are many types of therapy available, but the type most commonly used would be Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an effective combination of talk therapy and behavioral therapy, in which patients reframe negative thinking patterns into positive thoughts. Transforming one’s thoughts will ultimately result in positive actions and behaviors in difficult moments.
2. Medication
Doctors e.g. psychiatrists will commonly prescribe drugs from the following categories:
3. Exercise Prescription In some cases, specialists may prescribe that the patients carry out an exercise routine as part of the treatment process. This approach encourages patients to allocate time to carry out specific physical activities of various intensities, to stimulate them mentally and physically.
There are many professionals available for you to see in Hong Kong. They are all professionally trained in counselling and can be very helpful and supportive. These may include:
If you need instant support, here is a list of 24/7 Hotlines you can call:
Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre → 18288
Hotline Service (Family Crisis)
Hospital Authority → 2466 7350
Mental Health Direct
Social Welfare Department → 2343 2255
Hotline Service: 24 hours
Suicide Prevention Services → 2382 0000
Hotline Service: 24 hours
The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong → 2389 2222
Hotline Service: 24 hours
Multi-Lingual Suicide Prevention Hotline: 24 hours
For a list of other useful mental health services, please click here.
People with anxiety may exhibit both physical and psychological symptoms. Physically speaking, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, irregular pulse rate and disturbed sleep are some examples of the symptoms. On a psychological level, people with anxiety may experience sudden overwhelming fear, dreadful feeling, numb feeling, restless feeling or difficulties in concentration.
Anxiety can bring about physical symptoms from increased heart rate, shortness of breath, stomach pain, disgestive issues, headache, sweating, fatigue to trembling, etc.
Anxiety is a natural response of our mind to stress and challenges in everyday life. The “fight or flight” response keeps the human body alert of changes and dangers, in order to survive in the wild thousands of years ago.
Try to understand your feelings of anxiety and learn to accept yourself as you are. Have a healthy diet and ample rest. Talk to someone you trust if possible and seek professional help from a therapist if your anxiety is disrupting your normal life. Remember, you are not alone.
Six of the common variations of anxiety disorders are: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), social anxiety, phobias, Post-Traumatc Stress Disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder.
Dr. Frances Cheng is a Specialist in Psychiatry and is the Head of Mental Health at OT&P MindworX. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Hong Kong and her MSc. in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She completed her specialist training in Psychiatry in Hong Kong and in the United Kingdom where she worked as an Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Cambridge. She is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of the UK as well as a Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists. Prior to entering private practice, she was a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at HKU. She is now an Honorary Assistant Professor at the same department.
This article was independently written by Healthy Matters. It is informative only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be relied upon for specific medical advice.
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