Psychological Issues: leaving
Leaving The Situation, certainly the most spontaneous and natural reaction to the experience of anxiety is the thought…
(’I've got to get out of here’) The individual can become overwhelmed by the desire to leave the situation and find another place of safety…
e.g. Leave the shop…. Get of the bus…. Go to another room…. even needing the loo.
The digestive system and the salivary glands would also be closed down to increase our efficiency in our moment of need. These and other changes are made so when it comes to ‘Fight or Flight’ we are in a perfect state of readiness. So can you imagine what would happen if this safe-guard was put in to being without there being any apparent outlet. Well, first you would begin to feel less at ease this could then and generally does lead on to physical symtoms such as…
i.e (Hot yet shivery, dry mouth, feeling sick, sweaty, creepy skinned, heart thumping wildly, mind in a whirl and mabye wanting to go to the toilet even though you may have gone moments before.)
The only thought in the individuals mind would be to get away as quickly as possible and as I said earlier the need for the toilet, even though you may have gone only minutes before this anxiety spell started. This would be a response triggered by the anxiety attack cutting in to remove you from the situation. So what is wrong with that you might say ?…
Nothing if it had been chosen freely, free from the stress. Repeatedly leaving a stressful situation will not necessarally make matters better. For instance…
Once the situation has been left behind there is usually instant relief from the anxiety. The decision that …’Leaving was worth it’… has been made;
The action of leaving is re-enforced by the instant relief from the anxiety attack
Leaving the situation time and time again can therefore turn into a bad habit, and in the future
the slightest experience of anxious symptoms can cause the person to run away from any and all situations.
After useing this kind of coping strategy for awhile the individual ‘Just Knows’ that kind of situation is not for him or her. Out of anticipating the situation…
i.e ‘I will not be able to cope’… a sense of avoidance could begin to develop
“So once again it would be correct to say and understand that Anxiety is a very powerful human emotion, with both positive and negative potential. and the more we avoid the worse the situation can become”.