don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

A few weeks ago, I ceremoniously broke a mirror on Friday, the 13th at a gathering of free-thinkers in Florida attending a seminar on anxiety associated with superstitions. Have you ever heard the term "paraskevidekatriaphobics?" It means a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. There are all kinds of events and circumstances giving people anxieties these days, from a possible war against Iraq to a crashing stock market to, well, you get the point. There is no end to the candidates for anxiety.

Everyone has anxiety, usually on a daily basis. Yet some professions, such as air traffic controllers, firefighters, police officers and alligator wrestlers, seem to have more than their share of anxieties, often for obvious reasons. Doctors, nurses and many other health care professionals also report high levels of anxiety. Whatever the profession, two payoffs come from efforts to better understand the phenomenon of anxiety and to devise ways to deal effectively with it. One payoff is that customers, clients and patients benefit if the person looking after them is not a nervous wreck; the other is that those who suffer from anxiety will be much healthier and happy with a lot less of it.

How effective is a wellness lifestyle in the management of anxiety? If you readily assume a high degree of responsibility for your health, does that not bring with it the kind of attitudes and behaviors that mitigate worry? It seems reasonable to expect that those who focus on becoming and staying fit, managing stress, eating wisely, having plenty of fun, making work as meaningful as possible, shaping effective relationships and so on will have less anxiety. I don't know of such studies but I believe it's so. How could anyone who invests serious time seeking excellence, choosing positively and for the most part consciously looking for satisfying ways to live and practice passions permit needless worry and stress? It seems unlikely. My theory is that a wellness lifestyle is a promising, non-drug approach to life that minimizes anxious feelings as a side benefit of feeling positive, most of the time.

Occasionally, however, anxiety can be functional -- a signal to do something constructive about some aspect of your situation that's not quite right. Therefore, denial of this warning sign with drugs or alcohol or other "remedies" may constitute inappropriate blocking of important warning messages. That is another reason medications may not be a good thing. Furthermore, if taken to excess, medications become less potent over time, leading to the felt need for even more medicating, which in turn could bring about an addiction. Now THAT'S something habitual medicators should feel anxiety about!

Anxiety in itself is no big deal, though the way someone responds to it could be. Most of the time, you just manage it and it goes away, or at least it is overwhelmed by other emotions, such as excitement, calm, joy and so on. Throughout each day, we all go through many different states, and would not think of taking a medication for each one. The symptoms of anxiety can, of course, be quite severe for some folks, so there are benefits to be derived from drug and other treatments, on occasions. In addition, there are variables that can exacerbate anxieties. (Be conscious about variables that affect anxiety, such as caffeine, cold medications, smoking, etc.)

It is best to live so as to prevent most anxiety altogether, and then to overcome such sensations when they occur anyway via proactive attitudes, behaviors and skill building.

Resist dwelling on negative aspects of life that can lead to feelings of anxiety. Positive thoughts lead to brighter outlooks and calmer, more comfortable emotional states. Maybe a bit of brooding is appropriate if you are, say, trying to get by in a totalitarian country where women are treated badly and life is still short, mean, nasty and brutish. It is not so appropriate if you live in this country or one like it that is relatively civilized and democratic. If YOU live in a society where you are able to get your needs met, without too much trouble, most of the time, and if you are willing to work at it - -which is requirement number one for those who choose a lifestyle conducive to optimal health and life satisfaction, you can probably deal with anxiety. Wellness is not a cure for anxiety or a panacea for anything else, but it is an outlook on life that increases your chances for physical and psychological well-being most of the time. Such a mindset and disciplined approach to a good life based on personal responsibility, my friends, should do a lot to lower whatever anxieties come along now and then. Even if, on a daily basis, you have to guide airplanes over and under each other, deal with fires, miscreants and brigands or wrestle gators!

Tomorrow I'll offer a few specific suggestions for dealing with anxieties. In the meantime, you might enjoy taking a look at our new Mental Health Center.

Comments? It's always a treat to hear from you. Be well.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of stress management. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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