身体平静，心灵在混沌的世界

朱莉·埃斯特利克

美国人感到焦虑. 至少40%的美国人.S. adults have experienced high levels of psychological distress at least once since the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, 根据皮尤研究中心. The pandemic shone a light on just how many people were living with some level of anxiety even before the virus brought a deluge of new worries.

焦虑-feeling恐惧, 张力, restlessness—can take a serious toll on our mental and physical health, so understanding the symptoms and finding ways to cope is critical to our well-being, 专家说.

“这次大流行有很多未知因素, 未知对人的压力水平不利,珍·海德说, behavioral health provider for the Health District’s Connections adult mental health and substance use program. “The isolation also threatened our internal system for wanting to connect—we are wired to be social creatures. Some people realized they experienced anxiety in the past but didn’t know what to call it. 现在他们可以更自由地讨论这个问题了.”

That’s due in part to the decrease in stigma around mental health during the pandemic, when it became more socially acceptable to talk about not being OK, 和名人, 职业运动员, and even everyday folks began publicly sharing their struggles.

焦虑到底是什么?

焦虑是一种情绪. 这不仅仅是恐惧, which is our body’s natural response when there’s a specific threat to our well-being. 恐惧帮助我们在当下保持安全和受到保护. 焦虑, 另一方面, is “when we start worrying about things that are not really threats, or it’s out of proportion to the actual threat—it’s just how the brain is interpreting what we are experiencing,头说.

与恐惧不同，焦虑没有真正的解决办法. Sufferers describe it as negative thoughts looping continuously about something that happened in the past or distress about the future.

焦虑的症状包括你的思维加速, 或者感到不知所措，大脑一片空白, 难以集中注意力和做决定, 感到不安或“不舒服”,睡眠障碍, and even behavioral changes like avoiding crowds or social situations as a response to feeling anxious.

There are also physical signs of anxiety such as your heart racing, 恶心想吐, 口干, 胃痛(有时伴有呕吐), 颈部或背部肌肉紧张, 直言的, 还有呼吸短促. 甚至头晕和头痛也可能是由焦虑引起的.

儿童的焦虑率也很高, but symptoms and diagnoses are often different than for adults.  

那么，是什么让我们如此焦虑? 专家指出了不良睡眠习惯等因素, 过度使用社交媒体, 对经济的担忧, 社会和政治分歧, and fear of getting sick—made worse by a global pandemic that has so far killed more than 6.8 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

An increasing number of people are being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, 当焦虑没有消失，而且随着时间的推移会变得更糟. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 19 percent of U.S. adults have been told they suffer from an anxiety disorder, 最常见的惊恐发作, 社会焦虑, 创伤后压力, 还有强迫症.

Locally, the Health District’s triennial Community Health Survey bears this out. Respondents who reported receiving an anxiety diagnosis from a mental health professional increased by 9 percentage points between 2016 and 2022, while there was a 13-point jump in those who said they were “currently experiencing anxiety, 抑郁症, 或其他精神健康问题.  

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in patients with anxiety,卫生区的安德里亚·霍尔特说, behavioral health provider at UCHealth’s Family Medicine Center (FMC). “There are people who had underlying anxiety prior to the pandemic and saw it rise to the surface, and the pandemic created new versions of anxiety in those who didn’t have it before.”

Holt manages the Health District’s Integrated Care Program, which pairs mental health and substance use specialists with physicians at FMC and Salud in Fort Collins to help patients in the moment without them having to wait for an appointment or travel to a different location.

应对和治疗

如果你有焦虑症, 它是高度可治疗的疗法, 药物, 以及你可以学习的控制症状的技能. Holt suggests talking with a trained mental health therapist to figure out the underlying issues around your anxiety, 是什么促成了它, 所以你可以从整体上解决它.

No matter what your anxiety level, there are steps you can take to manage it. The “5 Senses Technique” has helped Head’s clients become grounded in the present moment.  

Here’s how it works: Stop and say out loud (or in your head) five things you can see around you—and be specific (I see a girl wearing a blue ribbon in her hair). 下一个, 找出你感觉到的四样东西(椅子在我下面), 我的软毛衣), 然后你能听到三件事, 敲击键盘), 两种你能闻到的东西, 你可以尝一尝, 如果这是个挑战的话, 有一件事你知道是真的. 我很安全. 我被爱着. 这一刻会过去的.)

“This technique offers a way to connect to our body and slow down,” she explains. Meditation apps on a phone can also draw attention to our breathing, 让自己身心平静.

要避免的一个陷阱是饮酒, 大麻, 或者其他治疗焦虑的药物, 因为那样会让事情变得更糟. “Substances are used by some to try to numb the feelings or the intensity of the anxiety,头说. “It may help in the short term, but it can cause longer term issues. Substances won’t help with getting to the root of the issue, and often get in the way of learning and using other tools.”