Anxiety – What is it and how to measure it?

Article by Carina Rodrigues Nave, Psychologist Soul Bliss

Anxiety

Anxiety is, in fact, a normal response to the presence of threats, and in some situations it can even be useful, preparing us for action! An optimal level of anxiety can help improve our performance in certain situations. The problem happens when anxiety is felt too often, for no apparent reason, and it starts to interfere too much with our life.

The reasons that make anxiety a problem are countless and can vary from person to person. Problematic anxiety may arise:

➔ After a long or intense period of stress and worry;
➔ As a result of stressful and unpleasant life events (such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, ending a relationship, etc. others);
➔ As a result of our life experiences and how we learn to deal with them;
➔ After a sequence of negative thoughts, such as “I can’t do this” or “I’m going to pass out” ;
➔ When we lack confidence or self-esteem
➔ After being involved in an accident or threatening experience, which can result in feelings of anxiety the next time we are in similar situations;
➔ After a period of depression where we have lost confidence, although we may feel anxious and depressed at the same time.

There are countless theories, techniques and strategies that help to understand and control anxiety. The benefits of seeking specialized help to deal with other problems are already well known. Anxiety is no exception. If you are experiencing these difficulties, seek help. It is possible to get out of this state of restlessness and constant worry and achieve a healthier, more balanced and happier life.

How to measure?

measuring anxiety

Did you know you can measure your anxiety? Yes it is true!

Anxiety is usually accompanied by a wide range of symptoms (physical and emotional) that help us identify what we are experiencing at the moment. By identifying the frequency and intensity of each of these symptoms, you can measure whether you are feeling anxious.

Answer the following questions, according to this scale, considering how often you have felt each of the symptoms described below, over the last week:

0 = never

1 = occasionally

2 = often

3 = almost always

 

Ask yourself the questions below, thinking about how often you have felt this in the last week:

    • Dumbness or tingling,

    • Feeling hot

    • Tremors in the legs

    • Inability to relax or relax,

    • Fear or fear that the worst could happen,

    • Vertigo or dizziness,

    • Tachycardia,

    • Feeling unstable or inconstant

    • Feeling terrified,

    • Feeling nervous

    • Feeling suffocated

    • Tremor in the hands,

    • Feeling insecure or shaky

    • Feeling afraid of losing control

    • Experience difficulty breathing

    • Fear of dying

    • Feeling scared

    • Indigestion or abdominal discomfort,

    • Feeling faint or fainting

    • Feel your face flushed

    • Sweating (not due to heat).

Give each answer its corresponding score. At the end, add everything up and check your total score. If you get a score above 20 points, consider that you are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. In this situation, consider seeking professional help.

You don’t need to learn to live with this discomfort! You can look for someone to help you learn to overcome it and regain control over yourself, your emotions and your life.

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Thoracic Hyperkyphosis

Article by João Pedro Soares:

In other words, the typical “teal” on the back.

“Straighten your back!” – this was a phrase I heard many times when I was a child.

“Put your shoulders back!” – this was another one, and, on one occasion or another, I was accompanied by the person putting my shoulders back in the hope that my posture would remain that way.

What did I do? Anything. But I got better. Or rather, I didn’t do anything with the intention of changing it, but I did something.

I started training. Which led me to high competition, training every day. Sometimes bidiaries. I know now that this was not the reason for the improvement.

Causes

The sedentary style, jobs that force us to spend many hours in front of the computer, teleworking mean we spend many hours in the same position. No matter how much we try to have a straight posture, after a while, we end up giving in and leaning over.

But these are not the only jobs. Detailed work in which attention is paid to detail (potters, seamstresses), or others that we might not associate with, such as dentists. Even children wrongly classified as hyperactive, forced to “behave”.

Thoracic Hyperkyphosis cause

Thoracic Hyperkyphosis cause

Thoracic Hyperkyphosis cause

But…

If this condition is related to lack of exercise, why does the morphology of some athletes tend towards this state? Answer: It is and at the same time it is not related.

A sport in which this type of “back” is very common is climbing, however crossfit, bodybuilding, windsurf or kitesurf, Muai thai or others you don’t know, they also show.

How does it materialize in the body?

To explain this I will remember a little anatomy and bio mechanics.

Our shoulders are relatively loose. They have freedom to move. Even now as you read these words you can raise your shoulders. You can pull them back. Bring your shoulders forward. Move them in various directions and directions. The shoulder blade, in addition to articulating with the humerus, articulates exclusively with the clavicle. What maintains the position of the shoulder blade are our muscles, ligaments and tendons.

human trapezius muscle

Now let’s imagine that we have one muscle pulling the shoulder forward and another pulling the shoulder back.

In our body we have many synergies (muscles that work together, that help each other). Agonist muscles (which make a certain movement) vs antagonist muscles (which resist the agonists, and therefore the movement) are the closest example to what I want to describe.

Let’s now visualize in our mind weak back muscles. The rhomboids and the lower bundle of the trapezius (see image). Which have, among others, the function of raising, lowering or rotating the shoulder blade.

Associated with this, the pectoral muscles are tense, strong and/or shortened. What happens in this combination is that our resting position (in which we are not using any of these muscles) begins to tend towards rotated and forward-inclined shoulders, and the back with an increase in thoracic curvature.

human chest muscle

But then why do people who play sports, and sometimes a lot of sports, have this condition?

We are talking about relative weakness and not absolute weakness. In a person who does not play sports or any activity we can understand absolute weakness.

In an athlete this is a relative weakness. Your rhomboid muscles cannot match the tension and force exerted by your pectorals. This is why telling someone to straighten their back doesn’t work.

If a person has muscle or fascial shortening, they may not even be in the “correct position” for long. In cases where you can straighten your back, as soon as you stop consciously forcing the posture, your body will immediately return to its comfortable default position.

It is impossible for a person to be aware of their posture uninterruptedly. But when the strength of the posterior muscles matches that of the front ones, you don’t even need to think about it because the posture will naturally be straighter, with the shoulders further back. This requires treatment and strengthening.

If you have this condition or know someone who does, you can book a treatment session.

Call for attention

Superior cruciate syndrome (this is the name given to this difference in muscle strength) is not, however, the only cause of thoracic hyperkyphosis. There are structural situations that are inherent and sometimes very difficult to deal with. This condition that I describe is one that is increasingly common and has a relatively simple treatment.

This is the first of four articles dedicated to this topic.

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Thanks

To Luís Ganso for sending me the photo used on the “cover”
To Luís’ sister for taking the photo.

Illustrations

Drawings made by me using art by 加藤公太