I know that people are often told that they worry about everything. Is it possible that I will exacerbate my anxiety symptoms? I'm not sure that anyone would willfully increase their anxiety symptoms. However, unknowingly you can increase your anxiety. Maya Angelou said, "when you know better, you do better."
Guess what? Here I am to help you know better so you can do better. First, let's understand that a part of your brain called the amygdala comes with preprogrammed responses; to help you. I know sometimes it doesn't feel like it's much help. However, it's in a position to help, but we can learn to control the amygdala so it doesn't feel out of order as in a courtroom.
Another area of your brain called the cortex can initiate anxiety. Oh my! So two areas of my brain initiate anxiety; what am I to do? You are to understand and learn manners in which to alleviate anxiety. Now, back to the part where we can create/increase our anxiety. One fearful thought comes along; we begin to analyze that thought and perceive it as "real" while analyzing the thought, we begin to create more fearful thoughts with the what-ifs that go on and on. I believe you get the picture. There's quite a large amount of information about our role in controlling those areas of our brain that create anxiety; too much for this small blog. Here's a quick and effective strategy to calm the amygdala; engage in deep breathing exercises. Well, for the cortex, you will have to wait until next time.