#### [[notes_Anxiety 101 ]] **Creator**:: [[Dr. K]] **Source**:: [[course_Dr. K's Guide to Mental Health]] **Covers**:: [anxiety 101](https://coaching.healthygamer.gg/guide/lessons/anxiety-101) [cognitive anxiety](https://coaching.healthygamer.gg/guide/lessons/cognitive-anxiety) [physiologic anxiety](https://coaching.healthygamer.gg/guide/lessons/physiologic-anxiety) #### Terms - [[Dharma]] - [[anxiety]] - [[Cognitive Anxiety]] - [[Physiologic Anxiety]] - [[Adrenaline]] #### Notes - What is [[anxiety]]? - Why do we have [[anxiety]]? - [[Humans are a product of evolution]], anxiety is a protective mechanism - [[Our brain will do anything it can to protect itself]], including causing itself to [[suffering|suffer]] - [[anxiety]] is our mind thinking about the future - distractions can bring us to the present - [[meditation]] trains your mind to come back to the present - Why is [[anxiety]] on the rise? - we think of [[anxiety]] as purely mental, but we have ignored the [[body]] - this is why [[eastern philosophy|eastern]] medicine has been successful - [[Yoga is a wholistic philosophy of self-improvement]] - [[notes_Treatment Principles for Anxiety and Depression]] - [[There has been a decrease in mental health not an increase in mental illness]] - [[Cognitive Anxiety]] is a learned [[behavior]] from [[childhood]] [[Children make wide assumptions about the world]] - [[Anxiety prevents us from living in the present]] - Anxiety is the future focused [[mind]] - worrying about a consequences that haven't come to pass - Anxiety is protective mechanism as it allows for us to make adjustments - [[Most anxiety isn't irrational it's just overcompensation]] - Anxiety is also [[ego]]-centric, or relates to our sense of identity or insecurities that we hold - if your [[mind]] you are always the one [[suffering]] - [[Your anxiety knows your insecurities better than you do]] - Anxiety is personalized - [[Samskara]] are anxiety generating machines - Anxiety flourishes due to our inability to face the uncertainty of the future. - anxiety = uncertainty/[[confidence]] - [[confidence]] means you are more capable of handling diverse outcomes - [[The more mistakes you've fixed the more bad decisions you can afford]] - [[Physiologic Anxiety]] - [[Physiologic Anxiety]] is a physical danger response triggered in a unneeded context - [[Most anxiety isn't irrational it's just overcompensation]] - anxiety is a inappropriate activation of a survival trigger [[Our brains are built around survival]] - tiger example - [[Adrenaline]] - faster than speed of thought - collapses peripheral vision - causes [[hyperfocus]] and black and white thought - [[Anxiety tries to make us assume the worst]] - turns off logical parts of the brain in favor of [[fight-or-flight response]] - causes [[Diaphoresis]] (causes us to sweat) - [[Cortisol]] - sustained energy - hyperactive immune system - sacrifices long-term health fo temporary survival - cortisol transforms our muscle into fat - mediates skin and gland problems - de-marginalizes white blood cells - [[Reticular Activating Formation (RAF)]] Fundamental system which plays a role in regulating arousal and sleep−wake transitions. - sleep and wakefulness - - [[validation]] can help alleviate [[anxiety]] but we become dependent on it, and it came make anxiety worse in the long term - We can deal with [[anxiety]] by 1. Bring our [[mind]] to the present and stop focusing on the future 2. Deal with our insecurities 3. Increase our tolerance of uncertainty - western [[medicine]] focuses on mental aspects of [[anxiety]] not the [[physiology|physiological]] - next:: [[notes_Learned Anxiety]]