Anxiety - Silent Companion to Stress by Joy Wisdom

I see, hear a lot of misplaced understanding around anxiety. Anxiety can happen at anytime and individuals can have a multiple bombardment and different accumulation of anxiety each being caused by different reasons from different times. Individuals may cope well to start and as the accumulation grows, feels the significance of pressure. 

 For instance, individuals can hold anxiety from formation, i.e.: born with anxiety, birth trauma also sets a base line of underlying proneness to stress/anxiety. When mother is upset or struggling, anxious herself, it reflects upon her unborn infant, and set accordingly. Influencing infant with hormonal base lines and compromised from stress. Anxiety is formed when individuals are feeling vulnerable, unsafe, or threatened via disappointment, job loss, relationships, or job or economic pressures as today, when life is not going so well there is anxiety. Anxiety is a whole body influencer.  

Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 6 adults in the UK at any one time, making it one of the most common mental health challenges. source NHS England   

Anxiety often sits alongside stress, yet it presents in a more internal and persistent way. While stress is typically linked to external pressures, anxiety can remain even when those pressures are no longer present. Physiologically, anxiety keeps the body in a heightened state of alert. The nervous system remains activated, heart rate increases, sleep is disrupted, and digestion is affected. Over time, this constant “on edge” (fight or flight internally) state can contribute to hormonal imbalance, fatigue and reduced resilience.

Numbness and desensitized from nervous system disruption is often involved. For women, anxiety is often influenced by hormonal fluctuations, across menstrual cycles, during pregnancy, pregnancy loss, PND, PTSD and extreme outcomes can happen in peri-menopause, menopause scenarios, Essentially anxiety is an internal state and a body sign post. These shifts can intensify emotional responses, making anxiety feel unpredictable and overwhelming.

What is often misunderstood is that anxiety is not simply “in the mind.” It is a full body response involving the nervous system, hormones and biochemical signals. Awareness is key. Early support is essential, as probability is individuals cannot do it alone.

Anxiety is an emotional state, logically emotional release is key to reducing anxiety symptoms, the domino effect happens from emotional impacts, vulnerability, feeling overwhelmed or pressured without control. Feelings of  ‘out of control’ is often a common symptom, involving loneliness, helplessness, hopelessness. Once individual understands why the anxiety is there, educated on the various reasons, learn self-help life skills, lifestyle adjustments can be made. Understanding is key. Listening to the body rather than overriding signs. Anxiety can be understood, managed and reduced, prevented with education and life skills.

Early intervention, therapeutic, and nervous system support, prevent anxiety from becoming chronic. As with stress, the goal is not perfection, but balance.

Joy is a specialist on stress and been working for 20 years (2 decades plus) with clients with various psychological health issues. Anxiety and stress is normalised today, however in reality the start of bigger issues to come if not dealt with.. Joy shares her  experiential expertise and extensive anidotal knowledge in training programmes, 1-2-1 and devised radical methods  that has brought psychological liberation to all ages.

Joy Wisdom Founder: Allonus & Joy Wisdom Trust

Known as Menopause DAME

www.allonus.co.uk    www.joywisdomtrust.org