Contents
How to handle anxiety after returning from vacation
Psychology
In summer, high temperatures can enhance the appearance of anxiety because our body consumes more energy, runs out more easily and it is more difficult to sleep
Anxiety, which can overwhelm us so much, has always been a human companion. The clinical psychologist Miguel Ángel Rizaldos says that “thanks” to anxiety we are not run over by a car or we do not fall down a ravine: “When we face a danger as happened in the beginning of time (a pack of wolves, for example) the nervous system unleashed a series of physiological reactions (tachycardia, muscle tension, hyperventilation, etc.) that enabled us to run or fight ». Anxiety, as the expert says, is the body’s response to a danger or something unknown, new. “It should be clear that without anxiety the human being would not have survived.”
And although
This disorder is labeled “bad”, the psychologist does not agree completely because he finds in anxiety a good ally: It stops being “good” or adaptive when the identified danger is not such (for example, being on a bus ) or when the reaction is exaggerated (the danger exists, but it does not justify the activation of anxiety). Getting on a bus is dangerous, but it would not justify a panic attack.
When does it turn into a bad thing?
We have anxiety problems when we respond with a high level of anxiety in circumstances in which other people do not seem to have problems. Why do you get such a high level of anxiety? «We now know that causes of anxiety disorders are genetic, physiological and cognitive (of thought). Such a high level of anxiety is reached because the information we receive from our environment through our senses is processed in our brain from wrong way», Indicates Miguel Ángel Rizaldos.
The expert in clinical psychology gives an example to understand the cases in which anxiety controls our life: «If we are before a driving test and we process that circumstance in the wrong way, our brain will understand that we are facing a« lion »and unleash all response mechanisms to a “dangerous lion.” I’d be having a panic attack.
It is considered that around 20% of the population has suffered one at some time. But, why of that 20% only 7% have problems with anxiety again? Miguel Ángel Rizaldos explains that they gave that episode of their lives more important than it really had. Let’s go back to the exam. Many people get sick from an important exam. But they attribute it to logical causes (I haven’t had breakfast, it’s fainting, it’s nerves, etc.). The 7% who will have problems with anxiety will be the one who decides flee the situation and not face it“, bill.
In summer it increases
And in summer, it seems that this disease increases. The reasons? The more active brain and the heat provoke more attacks in the anxious. «People when they suffer from anxiety can have better and worse seasons, depending on a multitude of variables, and it has been shown that during the summer the number of cases of anxiety and also of depression are increasing ”, explains Miguel Ángel Rizaldos. The psychologist says that high summer temperatures cause our body consumes more energy in order to keep the body temperature stable and this makes the brain more activated and this acceleration reach anxiety.
“Another significant circumstance is that in summer it is more difficult for us to sleep well, and not resting properly reduces well-being and increases feelings of anguish,” warns the expert. By adding the anxiety and with a lack of rest adequate for not falling asleep well, it results in the person not being able to think clearly the next day and not regulating their emotions.
What to do
In summer, high temperatures can enhance the appearance of anxiety: «The heat increases the feeling overwhelmed and be in closed places unventilated or without air conditioning can increase the symptoms of anxiety, “he says.
In addition to the advice to overcome anxiety (with strategies at three levels: physiological, motor and cognitive), in summer, with the months of high temperatures and back from the holidays, you have to follow some guidelines recommended by the psychologist Miguel Ángel Rizaldos:
– Do not drink drinks with a lot of sugar or caffeine.
– Avoid alcohol, as it increases body temperature.
– Do not consume copious meals and very fat.
– Wear light clothing that perspires well.
– Not to do physical activity intensely in the hottest hours.