People tend to feel anxious about situations of subjective significance, such as hiring or asking a girl out on a date. Excitement stems from inner doubts, fears, insecurities, awareness of risks and alternatives. Choice situations generate excitement. It seems to a person that his whole life depends on this choice, which causes excitement (“what if I’m wrong”). However, people often forget that there is no right choice. There is always a choice and its consequences, with which a person can or cannot cope. So is it worth worrying?
What is excitement
Excitement is a natural reaction (like a reflex) to vital situations of choice or demonstration of one’s achievements. Speaking in public, talking about a significant topic, seeking help, acknowledging feelings are the main situations in which people experience anxiety. But also, we are worried about someone, not about something. Excitement is a broad concept. All possible situations cannot be enumerated, therefore there is no one scheme for overcoming anxiety.
Sometimes anxiety becomes a habit, it becomes a stable characteristic of a person. How does this happen:
- A person always has a choice: trust and control, assess events rationally or surrender to emotions, worry. The problem is that anxiety arises subconsciously, while control requires great volitional efforts.
- If situations are often repeated in which a person allows excitement to engulf him, then such a reaction becomes a stereotype of behavior.
- Human memory works selectively. If you focus on failure and excitement, then the option of a successful experience of the situation and the outcome remains unnoticed.
Excitement negatively affects mental and physical health. First, at the physiological level, the adrenaline level rises, all the body’s reserves are involved, all forces are tense, all systems are working at their limit. The body’s capabilities are gradually depleted, immunity decreases, favorable conditions are formed for mental disorders, physical diseases, psychosomatic disorders.
In psychology, excitement is compared to the sensations that the body experiences in life-threatening situations. Excitement accompanies any activity and situation of demonstration of success in this activity. Uncontrolled excitement can negate all efforts, training, preparation.
Demonstrating the results of his work, a person understands that they must correspond to the effort and time spent. Therefore, there is a fear of distorting one’s own efforts. So, for example, the loss of a report or the deletion of a working file from a computer can lead to psychological trauma, a nervous breakdown, and more (depending on the volume and value of the resources spent for the person).
Signs of anxiety
Signs of anxiety are mental and physical reactions:
- freezing of the limbs;
- sweating;
- hand tremor;
- awkwardness;
- trembling voice;
- forgetfulness, decreased concentration, other cognitive impairment;
- breathing problems;
- cardiopalmus;
- increased pressure;
- headache and dizziness;
- abdominal pain;
- lack of coordination;
- redness;
- other individual reactions.
Depending on the individual personality traits, there are different reactions to excitement. So, one person will react with confusion and stupor, begin to mumble, stutter, and the other person will perceive it as excitement and challenge, become more productive and surpass himself.
The reasons for the excitement
Excitement arises from the feeling that there is no room for error and the awareness of the irreversibility of the process, the realization of the situation “here and now.” Excitement is preceded by stress, and after excitement, panic sets in.
The prerequisites for excitement are:
- chronic stress;
- anxiety;
- low self-esteem;
- self-doubt;
- distrust;
- fear of uncertainty;
- negative experience and cases of failure in similar situations due to excitement or for another reason;
- high level of anxiety.
Worry is a negative attitude, attitude, and belief in error. Such an attitude is not always realized by a person. As a rule, anxiety causes a subconsciously expected error, it further lowers self-esteem and increases self-doubt, from which the excitement grows even more the next time. Vicious circle.
Joy, excitement from the upcoming event, and positive emotions can also be a source of excitement. While positive emotions are more likely to cause pleasant arousal, anxiety is accompanied by negative feelings.
How to deal with anxiety
Rational analysis of the situation and self-regulation help to cope with anxiety.
- Differentiate the nature of anxiety: fear, anxiety, self-doubt, lack of knowledge. Find the reason for this feeling, think about how you can respond to it. For example, you worry when a loved one is delayed. In this case, worry and fear that something has happened makes you worry. The solution to the problem is to call this person. Not answering your phone? Present positive options, not just negative ones.
- Think about a situation in which you experienced positive emotions. Concentrate on these positive emotions and feelings. Imagine successfully completing an upcoming conversation, presentation, or other event. Feel a successful outcome, reinforce those feelings, keep them.
- A person’s imagination in a moment of excitement is limited to describing failure, and you go further. After all, do not stop moving and living in case of failure, you will start moving in a new direction. Imagine the opposite situation: it all ended in failure. What are you going to do? Make up an alternative scenario. Confidence and a sense of control over any outcome will reduce your anxiety. There are always risks and alternative consequences of choice in life. You need to be prepared in advance for any development. This is called resistance to stress, self-confidence, control over the situation.
- Reduce the significance of the situation. Often times, situations are endowed with too much meaning, for example, speaking in front of an audience is perceived as a judgment on life and destiny. But think: yes, a raise in salary or growth in a career may depend on this (however, this does not always happen), but does your health, life, success in a broad sense depend on this? Get rid of narrow thinking, learn to look wider. In the end, you are not unsettled if the desired product is not in the store. You accept this and look for alternative paths.
- Prepare carefully. Nothing boosts self-confidence like good preparation, the tools at hand, a presentation plan, and playing the situation in your head.
- Analyze the positive and negative experiences of others. Failures and mistakes happen to everyone, but others quickly forget about it.
- Excitement stimulates muscle tension throughout the body, from which tremors begin. Do not wait for this and relieve physical stress yourself: shake your arms and legs, twitch, shake your whole body (this is how actors relieve stress).
- Use the opposite method to reduce the anxiety right at the moment it starts. If the excitement makes us breathe more often, then use breathing techniques to calm ourselves. Learn other self-regulation techniques in addition.
- Confidence in oneself and the world, on the contrary, increases the body’s defenses and induces calmness.
- The vicious circle of excitement described in the reasons also works in the opposite direction. That is, every victory, albeit small, increases self-confidence, gradually reducing anxiety, and a reduced anxiety provides even more new successes.
It is not necessary to completely eliminate anxiety; it is enough to be aware of it and control it. Don’t be afraid to tell yourself “I’m worried, but nothing is decided yet, I am in control of myself and the situation.” It is completely impossible to cope with anxiety, since there are a lot of situations and conditions for its manifestation. There is no single recipe, you need to increase overall stress resistance and self-regulation.
There is no need to deny the excitement, make excuses to oneself and others (“I haven’t come across something like this yet”), find an excuse for feeling bad like “I ate something wrong”, “I didn’t get enough sleep.” To successfully overcome anxiety, you need to acknowledge it and gain control over the situation.
