Anxiety: Do you know your triggers?

When it comes to anxiety often times there are certain sensations, particular places and even specific foods that can set off an alarm in your mind. These can be very individualized or they can be similar among people. These things can “trip” the trigger and begin a cycle of fear and anxiety that feels difficult to stop, a cycle that feels just awful!

When I was at the height of my worst bout with anxiety and anxiety/panic attacks there were very certain “triggers” that I became aware of and some of which led to some major avoidance behaviors as well. I recall one semester in college I had a very large set of stone stairs to scale in order to reach the top of the campus hill where one of my classes was held. As a result of climbing these stairs, naturally, my heart rate increased. As my heart rate increased I could feel the thumping in my chest and as a result, waves of fear, fear of the anxiety itself, would come rushing over me. It became almost impossible to force myself to scale those steps eventually, because of the fear I had of experiencing an anxiety attack. It has been more than a decade since I have seen those stairs, but I can picture them so vividly in my mind. That particular trigger was very obvious to me and carries with it an almost haunting memory.

Not all triggers are as obvious though, some seem to kind of sneak up on us. For example, I had my first full blown anxiety attack at night, lying in bed, as I was trying to relax and fall asleep. I had classical music playing on my stereo and all seemed well in my world, on the surface. I don't believe that the music had anything to do with my anxiety attack, but even now...I rarely listen to classical music by choice for enjoyment like I had before. I recognize this now, but it took me a long time to realize that it is a trigger for me. It just was not something I noticed. But if I were to listen to classical music at this time in my life, although I know I would be fine, it might stir up and trigger a little anxiety in me still.

You may already know that certain foods and beverages can “trigger” anxiety...but I found an article that clearly spells out the three main foods that can trigger anxiety and/or panic attacks. These are caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. Who knows...perhaps the night I had my first anxiety attack I had been consuming a large amount of caffeine...it certainly would not have been unheard of for me at the time! I can tell you now, that I avoid large amounts of caffeine, for this reason in particular. I don't want to set myself up or increase the likelihood of any additional anxiety in my life if I can avoid it.

These are just some examples of some of the triggers that I have contended with and that perhaps you or others in your community have experienced. The most important aspect of identifying these triggers is not so that they can be avoided, but so that they can be addressed and understood. For I do believe we must face our fears in order to get beyond them.

I would like to introduce a great resource/ blog that I found regarding this topic:
The Reality of Anxiety: “10 Common Ways to Trigger an Anxiety Attack”
Additionally, an article about “Body Sensations as a Trigger for Anxiety” on AnxietyConnection.com