Understanding Anxiety and Panic Disorder了解焦虑与恐慌症
Thank you, Subang Jaya Assembly of God, for the invitation to join this Mental Health event to promote mental health awareness. Pastor Phoebe (Marriage and Family Therapist) is honoured to be one of the presenters, sharing insights about anxiety and panic disorders.
In conjunction with this event, let’s discuss these two terms: anxiety can refer to both a feeling and a mental health disorder. The distinction between the two is typically made by understanding the duration of symptoms, the physiological response, and the impact on one’s daily functionality.
Anxiety is characterised by physiological responses such as trembling, a racing heartbeat, sweating, difficulty breathing, and trouble sleeping. It can also involve losing control over oneself and a churning feeling in the stomach. When someone is anxious, they might experience feelings of nervousness, helplessness, or even depression. These physiological responses and emotions can impact performance at work or school, as well as social relationships.
There are many factors that can lead to feelings of anxiety, including:
- Inheritance (genetics and trauma before birth)
- Hormone imbalance
- Trauma from family of origin, adverse childhood experiences, past relationships
Besides anxiety, Pastor Phoebe (Marriage and Family Therapist) also discussed other anxiety-related disorders, including panic attacks, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Specifically, individuals might experience panic attacks because their brain misinterprets the physiological response to anxiety as danger, triggering additional physiological responses to protect them.
Thus, Pastor Phoebe (Marriage and Family Therapist) emphasised that feelings of anxiety act like an alarm, signalling the need to take care of oneself. We should not fear our emotions, but instead accept and understand the source of emotions. Some ways to cope with feelings of anxiety and its physiological response include deep breathing and muscle tapping to ground yourself back to the present. Additionally, it is important to seek support from your family, friends and community.
Most importantly, if these emotions persist for long periods or significantly affect your daily life, do not hesitate to seek professional help from counsellors, therapists or psychiatrists. 感谢 Subang Jaya Assembly of God 的邀请参加此次的心理健康日，以提高心理健康意识。Phoebe牧师（婚姻与家庭治疗师）很荣幸被邀请作为演讲者之一，分享关于焦虑和恐慌症的知识。
配合此次活动，我们来讨论这两个词：焦虑--既可以是一个感觉，也可以是一种心理疾病。通常，我们可以通过了解症状的持续时间、生理反应以及对日常功能的影响来区分两者。
焦虑的生理反应包括发抖、心跳加速、出汗、呼吸困难和睡眠困难、失去自我控制以及肠胃不舒服。当一个人感到焦虑时，可能还会感到紧张、无助甚至忧郁。这些生理反应和情绪可能会影响一个人在工作或学习中的表现，以及他们的社交关系。
导致焦虑的因素有很多，其中包括：
- 遗传，基因和母腹创伤
- 荷尔蒙失调
- 原生家庭的创伤、童年经历或过去的关系创伤
除了焦虑，Phoebe牧师（婚姻与家庭治疗师）还分享了其他与焦虑相关的心理疾病，包括恐慌症、特定恐惧症、强迫症（OCD）和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。具体来说，当一个人的大脑将焦虑的生理反应误认为是危险时，他们可能会陷入恐慌症，激活一些其他生理反应来保护自己。
Phoebe牧师（婚姻与家庭治疗师）指出，焦虑的感觉就像是一个警钟，提醒我们要照顾好自己。因此，我们不应该害怕自己的情绪，而是要接纳和理解情绪的来源。应对焦虑及其生理反应的方法包括深呼吸（吸回自己的二氧化碳）和拍拍自己的肌肉（刺激大脑以使自己回到当下）。此外，寻求家人、朋友和社区的支持也很重要。
最重要的是，当这些情绪持续很长时间或严重影响你的日常生活时，请不要害怕寻求专业心理治疗师或精神科医生的帮助。
