Anxiety, a feeling of worry or fear that people may experience in life, is a common complaint from children to adults in clinics.
Feelings of anxiety are your body’s natural reaction to stressful or dangerous situations. For instance, situations like an important exam or a job interview may create temporary nervousness, difficulty concentrating and physical symptoms such as a racing heartbeat or shortness of breath.
Typically, this anxiety is short-lived and resolves once the event passes. However, anxiety may affect different people in different ways and vary in intensity and duration.
For some individuals, anxiety may become chronic or severe, leading to compulsive behaviours, such as those seen in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD ), or even depression.
The progression of anxiety varies significantly. Some people can manage their anxiety and lead relatively normal lives, while others may face severe challenges, finding it difficult to work or engage in social activities. This can limit their capabilities and have a profoundly negative impact on their quality of life.
The cause of anxiety is often multifactorial. It may arise from physical and emotional health problems, involving genetic predisposition, trauma, lifestyle and environmental stressors, while its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Treatment of anxiety is best tailored to its causes. Traditional Chinese medical acupuncture and manipulation (meridian acupressure ) could be one of the treatment options.
This holistic approach could improve the quality of sleep and enhance emotional resilience by promoting parasympathetic activation and relaxation, potentially benefiting you by reducing the need for medications or even avoiding them altogether.
For more information, contact Dr Xian Yang Lai (MD, MM, PhD ). His clinic is located at No. 1 Nile Lodge Corner, Lower Salthill Road, Galway (H91 AT1F ). Call 087 7997866, email [email protected], or visit www.CMCgalway.com for more information.
