MHM Magazine

Anxiety disorders affect some 301 million people worldwide (WHO) and yet is not pathological but is a natural response of the individual to a situation of uncertainty. Anxiety is a protective mechanism, equipping the body for fight or flight in a cognitive appraisal of a perceived danger and motivating a person to respond. The physiological changes that accompany a natural surge of anxiety are designed to help in the unknown situation, to sharpen focus for instance in a conversation with strangers or to caution the senses when in an unfamiliar environment. However, relative to the body’s experience of anxiety is the fact that the mind does not differentiate between real stressors and perceived stressors. It’s this inability that allows the mind to sometimes overreach, overthinking scenarios and putting the body into fight or flight response even when there is no actual danger. This maladaptive reaction can be debilitating and result in distressing cognitive, behavioural and physiological symptoms. Causes The causes of anxiety are varied and the experience of trauma, substance abuse, or unresolved stressors can be foundational in the creation of maladaptive anxiety. A person’s genetic pool plays a role too, with personality types, such as those high in neuroticism being more prone to anxiety. Lifestyle factors also affect anxiety, for instance, too little sleep impairs prefrontal cortex performance, and resultantly your body overreacts to stress, which can be a precursor for many individuals' high anxiety levels. In today’s “never off” environments chronic stress creates wear and tear on the mind and body, depleting willpower and self- control, leaving people exhausted and at a loss to control their anxiety. In our post COVID-19 world the levels of anxiety continue to rise. Youth, or Generation Z, is acknowledged as having more anxiety than any other generation in history. Environmental factors such as lack of jobs, high cost of living, failing economies, and continual doomsday messages about the planet's survival lead to anxiety arising from belief bias that one lives in an unpredictable world where future stressors are unavoidable. Struggling with anxiety Anxiety can be complex in the way it shows up, and unchecked can interfere with work, life and relationships with such extreme dysregulation, that the DSM-V recognises several different disorders of anxiety. Anxiety symptoms can exacerbate feelings of shame or being weak or flawed. Instead of seeing anxiety as a part of the human condition, many suffer in silence, even for decades, By Julie McFarlane Registered Counsellor, TSIBA Business School, Ndabeni, Western Cape julie.mcfarlane@tsiba.ac.za ANXIETY MHM | 2025 | Volume 12 | Issue 2 | Anxiety MHM 22 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 2025 | Issue 2 H