Can Anxiety Go Away On Its Own: Everything About Anxiety
Anxiety is complicated – and everyone experiences it differently. You may have already experienced some degree of anxiety at some point in your life. Anxiety can occur for several reasons and manifest in many different ways. You may experience physical symptoms, while you may also tend to focus more on your thoughts or feelings. But can anxiety go away on its own?
What is Anxiety?
If you feel nervous or worried before an important event, like giving a speech or taking a test, that anxiety can help you prepare and perform better. But when these feelings of anxiety are severe and interfere with your ability to function in your daily life, they may be signs of an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences at times. You may feel anxious when urged to face conflict or problems at work, or maybe when doing public speaking. However, this is where anxiety disorders are different. They occur frequently and are intense enough to get in the way of leading a normal life.
Anxiety vs. Anxiety Disorder
In the world of mental health, there are two words that are often used interchangeably: anxiety and anxiety disorder. While they sound similar, they aren’t the same thing.
- Anxiety is a normal human response to stress. It helps respond to situations that are dangerous or stressful.
- Anxiety disorder is a mental illness, and it usually causes extreme fear or worry. It can also cause physical symptoms like feeling tense or having trouble sleeping, making it hard to do daily tasks like schoolwork or going out with friends. Symptoms of an anxiety disorder can last for months or years, and they don’t go away on their own. There’s good news, though-anxiety disorders are treatable.
Does Anxiety Go Away?
Anxiety is not a lasting or permanent condition, and for the most part, it does go away. Anxiety is a normal response to stress, and it’s usually short-lived. In these cases, anxiety can be managed by adopting healthy lifestyle habits that minimize stress.
If your anxiety persists, you may have an anxiety disorder. However, several treatment options are available to help you overcome anxiety disorders to learn how to control your feelings of worry and fear. When treated, the symptoms of an anxiety disorder will subside. If you stop treatment early or don’t follow through with the treatment plan outlined by your doctor or therapist, however, anxiety symptoms may return.
Ways to Cope With Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal, everyday experience. When you’re not anxious, you probably don’t even think about it. For people with anxiety, however, these thoughts are constantly in their heads. They imagine the worst possible outcome of every situation and frequently over-analyze their reactions to things that usually aren’t worth getting worked up about.
In its extreme form (panic attacks), this type of stress can lead to a meltdown that’s hard to deal with on your own. Going it alone doesn’t mean this will never happen though-there are ways to alleviate anxiety when it comes up the right way at the right time.
- Exercise regularly: Exercise has been found to be one of the most effective forms of treatment for anxiety disorders by helping reduce feelings of fatigue and depression along with boosting your self-esteem and mood.
- Accept what is: One major way you can become less anxious is by accepting our emotions as they come up naturally instead of trying to suppress them or avoid them completely. Another basic aspect involved in learning how to manage anxiety is learning how things (say, a social gathering) may make you anxious in the first place.
- Take care of yourself: Anxiety sometimes causes people to neglect their own physical and emotional needs. Instead of taking care of yourself through exercise, nutrition, and exercise, you may resort to unhealthy food or stay inside all day long whenever you feel anxious.
- Talk it out: Sometimes all it takes is talking your problems out with another person who’s able or willing.
- Therapy: This age-old method can be very beneficial if anxiety becomes overwhelming or chronic, even though it doesn’t necessarily have to occur through a mental health professional. Remember that requiring therapy is normal and sometimes necessary to manage your anxiety better.