The Evolution of Anxiety and Recurrent Concepts in Coping

By Kristen Kauke, LCSW

 

Headlines in the paper consistently reflect an anxious time in our society.  With the uncertainty of the economy, many worry about unemployment, housing, health care, or retirement.  Overscheduled and overextended pace of life compound anxiety experienced in life.

 

But uncertainty and threat are nothing new to us as humans.  Back in the Stone Age, anxiety was probably more physically based.  Cavemen ran when physically threatened by dinosaurs.  Prior to the advent of modern medicine, generations feared of physically succumbing to disease.  As society developed, our anxiety became more emotionally based. Several generations have worried about consequences from economic depression or recession.  Recently, as families become more nuclear and less extended, and more distracted and disconnected by technology, people experience stress in isolation.

 

Despite the type of anxiety we experience, anxiety affects much of our population.  A recent study cited by The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 40 million Americans suffer anxiety disorders. The study further breaks down rates by ages:  among people ages 18-54, 16.4% suffer from any type of anxiety disorder;  among ages 9-17 the rate is found to be 13% ;and for ages 55+ the rate is found to be 11.4%.

 

Unmanaged anxiety and stress results in changes to your body. Unhealthy levels of anxiety can cause intestinal problems or migraines, insomnia or fatigue.  Anxiety can exacerbate blood pressure and heart conditions. Cumulative anxiety can also result in psychological struggles such as debilitating anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.  Anxiety burdens life physically and mentally.  It divides a person’s awareness, making them distracted and semi-conscious to the happenings around them.  The anxiety and resulting physical and mental burdens come to consume our attention.  Ironically, it is this focus of attention that can be both the poison and the antidote. 

 

While anxiety has evolved, concepts in coping with anxiety seem to have recycled. Current trends speak of the use of mindfulness as a way out of suffering and into peace.  In his book, The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes that “the compulsive thinker lives in a state of apparent separateness, in an insanely complex world of continuous problems and conflict, a world that reflects the ever-increasing fragmentation of the mind.”  His approach to enlightenment is a state of wholeness, of being “at one” – present in the here and now and without judgment of the self or the experience.  Tolle maintains that thinking has become a disease in itself which has thrown humans out of balance to the point where their mind controls them. 

 

Tolle recommends a two-prong approach for coping that involves a change in focus of attention to the present and a change in response to the experience, or a letting go.

 

According to Tolle, an important aspect of mindfulness is creating a gap in the mind stream by purposefully directing the focus of your attention into the Now.  This practice is thought to facilitate a sense of peace by creating space in the mind free from time, problems or thinking.  That is to say, becoming intensely conscious of the present moment – being highly alert and aware of observing the experience, but not thinking or judging.  A great exercise to practice being present can be found in the book Praying Naked by J. Francis Stroud.  He recommends a Three-Minute Meditation Method while taking a shower.  For the first minute, concentrate on your breathing – be aware of its quality – is it shallow, medium or deep?  In the second minute, shift your attention to the sounds you hear – the water falling from the faucet, hitting your skin, hitting the floor or shower door, and emptying down the drain.  Finally, notice how the water feels – the sensation (both touch and temperature) as it hits your head, neck, runs down your body.  Notice the feel of your feet on the shower floor as water wriggles under your arch.  

 

You may notice that an essential aspect of focused attention in the present is to engage all your senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch – into whatever mundane or routine activity you are doing.  Anytime you focus your attention to what your senses are experiencing, you are being mindful, you are practicing being present.  It creates space from regret of past or worry about future, and allows for a pause or peace in between.

 

Tolle highlights that another aspect of mindfulness is listening to the voice in your head as a witnessing presence. He emphasizes simply observing an event, experience, or feeling impartially, without judgment or evaluation, with curiosity and surrender.  That is to say, allow a feeling to be there, without deciding if you like it or not.  For example, when a negative experience happens in your life, instead of personalizing the experience and claiming, “I’m a failure,” or “I’m so miserable,” simply notice it, observe it.  Note the temporary frustration in your life as you would a passing storm cloud.  Consider that You are not your setback any more than You are your job, name, or body. Instead, of identifying with the situation with the evaluation that “I’m a failure,” merely note that there is a frustrating event at the moment in your life.  Don’t claim it, sit with it and watch it pass.

 

More traditional approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combine a cognitive part that helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears (change in focus of attention), and a behavioral part that helps people change the way they react to anxiety-provoking situations (change in response).  This too connects with the concept of mindfulness – a shift in how events are perceived, responded to, and thus, a difference in the quality of the outcome experienced. As William James notes “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

 

While mindfulness is a contemporary catchphrase, an informal review of anxiety coping techniques reveals such concepts date back to Buddha.  Buddha is credited with the following statement: 

 

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

 

Uncertainty in life persists.  There will always be too many things to do, concerns about money or health, loneliness and pain. But as Buddha reminds us, in reality, the past and future are mental constructs that refer to the nonexistent. There is only one reality over which we have any control – the now. 

 

For this reason, as anxiety evolves over time, the need for mindfulness endures. 


Recommended books that address the concept of mindfulness and finding peace in life:

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Praying Naked by J. Francis Stroud, S.J.

Coming Home to Your True Self by Fr. Albert Haase

 

Kristen works out of the St. Charles office.