The human body is wise. From the brain to the most “insignificant” part of the body, it is incredibly adaptable. Some time ago, I read in a ...
The human body is wise. From the brain to the most “insignificant” part of the body, it is incredibly adaptable.
Some time ago, I read in a medical journal about an operation that was done on a little girl. In this, they extracted a cerebral hemisphere. The operation was necessary because the girl was suffering from severe epileptic seizures which made her life miserable. The parents agreed to the procedure with fear. They feared that she would suffer serious consequences, but she did not.
The functional hemisphere "activated" specific areas to "replace" those that were removed in the operation. With the passage of time and due recovery, the girl stopped having seizures. She now enjoys a healthy life with all her abilities in full use.
From the most serious situation to the smallest injury, the body "organizes" to compensate for the damage. When you have an injured foot, you compensate by putting your weight on the opposite side.
The same thing happens when we suffer from anxiety: the body adjusts to stress in order to move on. Over time, these adaptive behaviors become personality habits; the same that help you deal with the discomfort caused by anxiety.
What is it like to live with anxiety?
It is complicated, but many times it can go unnoticed; that was my case.
For years I lived with little moments of anxiety that I didn't give importance to. I simply adapted to these to make my day-to-day more bearable. I knew what an anxiety crisis really was when I began to present stronger symptoms in the middle of the pandemic.
There were times when I had to "roll up" and curl up so as not to fall to the floor while crying because I felt inexplicable fear. This became a daily thing until I had to do something to control the attacks.
Today I know that many of my "personality traits" are nothing more than adaptations of my brain to anxiety. Moreover, almost all of us who suffer from anxiety have these characteristics. I describe them below.
Perfectionism
If you are the type of person who is never satisfied with what he does; Even if you repeat something over and over again because you "feel" that it is not well done, you are a perfectionist.
The level of demand is not only towards yourself, it is directed toward others. For this reason, many times people perceive you as someone authoritarian and rigid.
When you are a perfectionist you always have inside you a constant feeling that things are never completely done. Living this way is terrible because you can even leave things unfinished because you are never satisfied.
This trait for many people can be good because when it comes to working you always give 110%. The problem is when you apply the same level of demand to others. You can be considered a bit cruel.
The situation is that maintaining this pace is unsustainable and unnecessary. You cannot live in a constant state of control and demand because it is exhausting.
You can lower your perfectionism somewhat when you choose to be more considerate of others and yourself.
Resistance to change
Changes are unbearable for someone with anxiety. Getting out of your comfort zone is overwhelming. I prefer the “old known to the new to be known”. Yes, we are resistant to change because we are plagued by uncertainty.
We like our routines because we know what to expect from them. We find it difficult to adapt to situations that we cannot control. At least it bothers me a lot when unexpected visitors arrive.
Workaholic
We are always doing something. The situation is that we feel that if we don't take care of things, we won't finish them on time. When we finish something, there is always something else to do.
It is very common that we assume more responsibilities than those that correspond to us; also, we commit ourselves to many things and in the end, we end up extremely exhausted. This is generated by the constant feeling that we can handle everything; just to deal with the "need" to have everything under control.
Procrastination
By stereotype, the person who procrastinates is believed to be lazy, and nothing could be further from the truth. Each person deals with stress differently, and this is how people with anxiety do it.
It is common that under the pressure to finish something on time, sometimes we leave an activity behind for later. During that time we may watch something on TV, listen to music or even sleep for a while. Then we resume the activity.
In my case, it causes me much more stress to leave my responsibilities for the last; so what I do is saturate myself with work to finish as soon as possible. Many times I sleep between activities, but I never let myself get caught up in time; I don't want to deal with an anxiety attack.
That is the problem with procrastination: it makes anxiety greater and more complex to manage.
Introversion
I am an introvert. I like to keep my feelings and thoughts to myself.
This is not a problem when life is kind; the case is different when we have problems with other people. Destructive thoughts and negative emotions wear us down quite a bit. It is very possible that we have suicidal thoughts.
The invitation is to be able to talk to someone you trust about how you feel; This relieves the pressure of repressed emotions and makes the emotional load lighter.
Eagerness to please
Many of us are friendly and helpful. However, this can become a problem of abuse by others. So much so that if you do not do what is expected of you, you become a "bad person".
I admit that I used to do it before because I felt it was a way to “get along”. Who does not want to please? Everyone, but the point is that this can play against you. You become so gentle that you carry more weight than you can handle. The problem arises when you become aware that many cases of abuse you and set a limit; then, that's when you become a "bad person".
The key point is that: know your limits; be kind without exceeding your own abilities.
It only remains for me to point out that you can always make yourself a better version of yourself. As long as you are aware of your weaknesses, you can turn them into strengths.
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