| Chronic fretting can compromise your health and | | | | genes may be partly to blame. Research reveals |
| happiness. Here's how to get it under control - for | | | | some brains may be pre-disposed to overreact to |
| good. | | | | potential threats. But even if you're a natural-born |
| | | | | fretter, you can break free from the worry cycle |
| Ten years ago, Lori, a speech pathologist, was | | | | and prevent it from ruling your life. |
| grocery shopping when she suddenly couldn't | | | | |
| breathe or swallow. ‘My heart was racing and | | | | By gauging your level of anxiety and then learning |
| my chest felt tight - I thought I was having a | | | | ways to calm your mind, you can add years - not |
| heart attack,' says the 42-year-old mother of | | | | to mention tranquility - to your life. |
| four. The symptoms lasted several minutes | | | | |
| before finally letting up. Lori took a deep breath | | | | Unfortunately, anxiety disorders are often not |
| and brushed off the incident as a one-time | | | | properly treated. One reason is that the main |
| occurrence; she had to pick up the kids from | | | | warning sign - worry - is a natural emotion that |
| daycare and didn't have time for a trip to the | | | | most of us encounter on a regular basis. After all, |
| doctor. | | | | who hasn't felt anxiety before an interview, or |
| | | | | obsessed about not turning off the oven after |
| But over the next month, Lori experienced | | | | leaving the house? |
| several more attacks. When she realized the | | | | |
| problem wasn't going to go away, she consulted a | | | | While it's true that a certain amount of anxiety is |
| doctor. He diagnosed her with generalized anxiety | | | | healthy (it serves as the body's alarm system, |
| disorder (GAD) with panic attacks. GAD is a | | | | alerting us to danger and spurring us into action), |
| condition of debilitating worry that affects million | | | | the problem is that many of us worry too |
| every year. | | | | frequently. At the slightest hint of a threat, we |
| | | | | immediately conjure up catastrophic thoughts or |
| ‘I'd always fretted over my family's wellbeing,' | | | | wonder ‘What if?' for hours. |
| says Lori. ‘But it never occurred to me that | | | | |
| doing so could affect my own.' Lori's experience is | | | | Women frequently use worrying as a way to gain |
| especially common among women. Global studies | | | | some sense of control. They mistakenly believe it |
| indicate nearly one in three women will suffer | | | | helps them prepare for disaster. But all that time |
| from an anxiety disorder at some point in her | | | | and energy is usually wasted. Researchers from |
| lifetime. | | | | Australia and New Zealand found that worrying |
| | | | | can actually hinder our ability to resolve problems. |
| The median onset age of anxiety disorders is 32, | | | | |
| and only 16 percent of people seek medical | | | | To determine if your fretting is over the top, ask |
| treatment. In addition to GAD, anxiety disorders | | | | yourself what's making you anxious. Are your |
| can take the form of panic disorder (which is | | | | worries justified or exaggerated? Most women, |
| panic attacks that recur for more than a month), | | | | for instance, would be concerned about their |
| social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, | | | | financial future if the stock market took another |
| obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. | | | | nose dive. But if you have a healthy savings |
| | | | | account, a secure career, and an affordable |
| And while it's no surprise that persistent fretting | | | | mortgage and you still stay up at night wondering |
| cripples us emotionally, clouding our thoughts and | | | | if you'll wind up homeless, it may signal an anxiety |
| draining us of energy and joy, it also takes a | | | | disorder. |
| physical toll, as the body reacts to perceived | | | | |
| dangers by releasing a flood of stress hormones. | | | | Stopping the Cycle |
| Your heart rate and blood pressure spike, while | | | | |
| other functions, such as digestion, slow down. | | | | Once you've established that the emotion is |
| Over the long haul, exposure to these bodily | | | | getting the better of you, it's time to start |
| chemicals can set the stage for insomnia, irritable | | | | reigning in those thoughts. The way to do that is |
| bowel syndrome, and heart and lung disease. | | | | by reprogramming your habits. In a US study of |
| | | | | adults with a tendency to fret, researchers found |
| While experts aren't exactly sure what makes | | | | that people who don't allow their anxiety to |
| certain people to experience anxiety, they say | | | | escalate lived longer than those who do. |