What you will find in this article
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In this article, I am going to share the one astonishing secret everyone ignores and that clearly explains what causes anxiety attacks. In my search preparing for this article, I came across so many articles and videos talking about the possible causes of anxiety attacks. I found a lot of good information but nothing that explains what I learned during the two long years I suffered from anxiety.
Physical causes of anxiety
I read about physical causes, the shot of adrenaline that triggers the physical symptoms of anxiety. I saw videos with explanations about the hereditary components of anxiety. And how people with parents that suffer from anxiety are more prone to experience episodes of anxiety in their life as well.
I learned about the hormones and imbalances in our brain chemistry that exist in our bodies when we have an anxiety attack. I learned about stress and traumatic events in our lives that trigger panic attacks and provoke an anxiety disorder. And the list of causes went on and on; medications, caffeine, health issues, skipping meals, negative thinking or worrying, financial concerns, certain events in our upbringing, social events, conflict, speaking in public, and a long, long, etc.
Anxiety is a physical expression of a mental condition
The thing is, none of those things is the true cause of an anxiety attack. They might be triggers. Because, why do I get an anxiety attack when I experience a lot of stress at work and you don’t? And why do you experience anxiety when you worry about your financial situation and I don’t? Do you see what I’m trying to say? They are sparks that set the event of anxiety in motion but they are not the cause.
You see, an anxiety attack is a physical expression of a mental condition. This is why everyone who suffers from anxiety has different triggers. So trying to cure the anxiety on the physical level will never work. To get to the root cause of the anxiety attacks you will need to go back to the place where they were made. Your mind.
Anxiety is unhappiness with the present
And you know, in the end, it’s pretty simple to define what anxiety is and how it’s caused. Anxiety is fear, the uncertainty of the future, but also, and mostly unhappiness with the present. It occurs when you are not aligned with the version of your life that is most in tune with the life that you could be living if you would not oppose any resistance to the inspiration that infuses your thoughts at any given moment.
You see, it’s true what they say, life is a sequence of infinite possibilities. The only thing that is not correct about that is that there are infinite possibilities. I’ll dive into that topic in another article but for this one, it’s enough for you to understand that in every moment of your life you have the apparent freedom of choice. We’ve all been in countless situations in which we chose the thing that we believed was the most beneficial for us. Instead of choosing what we deeply felt was what we wanted to do.
Head or heart?
I’ll give you an example; in November 2019 I was in search of a job and I had received two job offers. One was for a smaller company to become the Head of Customer Service. I had a great feeling with the company, the people seemed to be very much in line with my approach and the way I work. But it would also mean that career growth opportunities would not exist and the base pay wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. On the other hand, I had an offer from a huge multinational company with plenty of growth opportunities, quite a good compensation package, and something that seemed to be more somewhat of a secure and stable future.
My heart and intuition wanted to choose the smaller company without a doubt. I felt great sympathy for the people I met during the interview process and it just felt right. Despite the clear sensations and indications I sensed in my gut, I chose to take the offer of the multinational company. And that’s where I’m still working today, doing countless unpaid extra hours and the inevitable return of occasional anxiety attacks. I learned a lot and I dare to say that professionally I grew a lot too. But at what cost?
Is it worth it? To experience anxiety regularly again? To spend hours and hours of my private time working to make someone else richer? You be the judge.
What causes anxiety attacks
And like this, there are decisions that we take daily, in favor of what we think or believe to be right, instead of what we intuitively feel is what we need to do. Anxiety is on the rise in our world. The more connected we appear to be with each other, via social media, instant messaging, and our high-speed internet connections at home, but also in practically every remote corner of the entire world, the more disconnected we are becoming from ourselves.
Here you have it, you wanted to know the root cause of anxiety? Now you have the answer. It’s you. You and your decision to disconnect from you. the worst thing about it is that most of the decisions that have led you to the disconnection from yourself were taken completely knowing it was against your instinct and against what you wanted to do from the deepest of your heart.
Removing the obstacles in your mind
So, the next time when you ask yourself what causes anxiety attacks. Don’t believe it when someone tells you it’s an external factor, something outside of yourself. You know it’s not true.
You can relieve anxiety in many ways. Regulate your body’s chemistry, get enough sleep, exercise, avoid stress, treat yourself well in general. It’s all good and I encourage you to do whatever helps you to alleviate the symptoms. But if you want to fully cure your anxiety, you need to go deep within. You don’t need to cure your anxiety, you need to remove the obstacles in your mind that prevent you from tuning in to your inner voice. And to listen to your heart’s desire. Disconnect from the world and its expectations. And return to yourself.
View the video here.
Find more articles about mental health here.