Kokoro – The Origin Story

I have been practicing various Martial arts, Dance, Theatre, Movement and Holistic/Wellness Methodologies for over 50 years now, and teaching them for over 40.

Over the course of years, I realised two things – that to become really proficient at any one of the above, one needs a lifetime commitment and single-minded focus. Obviously, most of the folks I worked with over the years and taught – don’t have either that kind of time or commitment because they have so many other priorities that they have to cater to. And yet, most people do want to become healthier, happier and more wholesome!

The pressures of day to day living, work, family, society…place an inexorable weight on most people. And it becomes even more stark and obvious in an organisation where you have deadlines, the numbers crunch, the targets to meet, schedules to be met and adhered to etc. It’s like an assembly line and all that matters is the end result!

So, for me it became a real challenge to be able to come up with a methodology wherein I could work with a group or organisation, within a very limited time frame and attempt to impart the following…

• A reorientation of the self in terms of physicality and emotional receptivity.
• Actual tools at hand that one could use.
• Simple, easy to practices methods that had a visible and tangible effect.
• Exercises and techniques that genuinely and visibly made a difference.
• Methods of relaxing, breathing to take away and ease the stress and pressure of work orientation.
• A methodology of sensing, understanding and becoming more receptive and comfortable with one’s own body, physicality.
• And lastly to realise – that the keys to becoming, better, stronger, more wholesome, more productive and, more potent – lie within us and not outside.

So, after a whole series of trials and errors, over a period of 15 odd years, I created Kokoro – a combination of Chi Gong, Tai Chi Chuan and Dance your Senses/The 5 Rhythms.

Photos are from a Kokoro workshop conducted for the India Sensed program run by Direct Create for the students of the winter travel semester class of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on January 11, 2025, in Delhi

About Kokoro

‘The organic heart’ or ‘The heart of stillness’ or ‘The heart Of things’ (Having Heart).

To be still, to be silent, to slow down when life’s frenetic pace just about seems to overwhelm and suffocate one. Here, stillness and to quieten down doesn’t mean loss of productivity, on the contrary it actually means increasing productivity. To be able to realise one’s core strengths and attributes and, to strengthen those aspects that are lagging or needed in one’s repertoire – can actually only be done in quietness, not in chaos.

Kokoro does primarily that – it allows one to see the pathways to a stronger, more balanced and productive life – on all levels. Various aspects of the disciplines that Kokoro draws upon from – nourish, teach, realign, strengthen, rejuvenate, build upon all these aspects -biologically, physiologically, neurologically, intellectually and emotionally. To be able to live well, holistically, potently, gently with strength, both personally and professionally.

Using Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Gong and Dance Your Senses/The 5 Rhythms (Flow, Staccato, Chaos, Lightness and Stillness), is how the Kokoro methodology works – infusing one with a new sense of energy, balance and calm, rejuvenating the senses and the body.

Photos are from a Kokoro workshop conducted for the India Sensed program run by Direct Create for the students of the winter travel semester class of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on January 11, 2025, in Delhi

So, if you, your teams, or the larger organisation, are experiencing stress and burn out, or simply feeling the need for ‘stillness’, reach out to us at syngrity@syngrity.com and let us help you find your ‘inner calmness’.

Rashid Ansari is a practitioner and teacher of performing arts, martial arts and various mind-body Wellness integrated disciplines for over 45 years. He is an international master instructor in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean martial arts as well as a contemporary and modern dance instructor and choreographer and has delved deeply into Physical Theatre and Theatre Movement. Rashid is associated with Syngrity as a Master Facilitator and conducts our signature wellness program for stress management – Kokoro

For time immemorial, there has been this deep desire to be superhuman; have para normal abilities, mostly uncultivated. There has been a constant desire to conquer nature. People from across the world, for their few moments of bravado, claim how they beat nature or survived its wrath.

Mountaineers post pictures at Mt Everest saying they captured the tallest mountain in the world. Deep sea divers rejoice at reaching great depths in free diving competitions. Cars are sent into space. Animals are used for testing. Viruses are produced in labs. There had to be a Pay back time. And that is what we are living, these days.

In the last few days, work has stopped, needs have diminished, time has reappeared. It has given me time to sit and do nothing. The influx of social media meandering about the Corona virus and the pandemic has driven me away from social media. I find that my screen time has drastically reduced. I have this inherent need to protect myself, not only from the virus, but also the barrage of information that is going around town. I do not want to talk about the virus. I do not want to talk about our fate by the end of this pandemic. I want to sit and observe.

I am sharing some of these observations.

The air is cleaner, for sure.

I was walking my dogs on a 50 meter stretch of road just outside my house, at night, two days back. There is a tree just next to a street light at the end of the lane. For the last 4-5 years, I have observed these tiny particles in the air that become visible with the street light. Sometimes these particulate matter is so dense that the leaves of the tree appeared hazy. Not any more. In Delhi, the AQI levels are ranging from 70 – 120 past these days. As I write this, the AQI is 67. Living in Delhi, these numbers almost sound unreal. We are used to the range of 250 – 999. Plus there is no construction and there is less/no traffic.

I wake up to the constant chattering of the birds.

From my balcony, you can observe various species of birds like the Black Drongo, Pigeons, Common Mynahs, Pariah Kites, tones of Rose Ringed Parrots, Indian Rollers, Laughing Doves, Koels and an occasional Shikra. It’s such a pleasure to wake up to this chitter chatter. With all the infrasouds in the atmosphere and human involvement, one hardly gets to hear a cacophony of birds, any more. Try identifying the bird calls that you can hear.

The animals are out.

Whilst my two beagles can’t get over the fact that I am at home, all the time, the dolphins have returned in Mumbai waters, the swans returned in Italy, the Neelgai is seen in Noida; sometimes I feel that they are thanking us for remaining inside so they can roam around freely. The waters are cleaner for the fish to swim. There is lesser pollution everywhere and animals are just rejoicing. They seem the happiest. The cats are a different story.

It’s such an irony.

The only way we can enjoy this beautiful dance of nature is by staying inside and not interfering. We are the only species that have spoiled everything we have touched. Our human involvement can be compared to Midas’s touch: gone completely wrong.

We are scared

We are scared of getting infected, infecting our loved ones, loss of income or loss of meaning; loss of safety both at a micro and a macro level. This loss of safety is what we are going through in the form of anticipatory grief. And as a community, and more over as a world community, we have not experienced grief, ever before, collectively. Elisabeth Kubler Ross first identified the five stages in her book, On Death and Dying published in 1969.

There are 5 stages that Elisabeth Kubler Ross wrote about, and we might be going through all of some or one of them:

We get to spend much needed time with our family.

We have become oblivious to connection. If an employee devotes 20 hours of his or her life for the company, then it has to definitely take a toll on their personal lives. The breakup of 20 hours is ( 10 hours work, 2 hours travel, 8 hours of sleep), incase you were wondering. During this crises, we are at home with our families or with friends. I see videos and posts of families posting photographs, singing and dancing together. There is a connection; a reignited one and is such a joy to watch. I often see a young kid living across me whose parents are working professionals. I haven’t seen the parents more than 5 times. Today morning, for the 20th time, I saw them talking and playing together.

We are forced to spend time with ourselves.

We have stopped. In order to realign ourselves, this is required. Even if you are living with other people at home, this period is also forcing us to spend time with ourselves to conserve our energy and also refuel ourselves. This can be tricky for people who are Extraverts (not extroverts). Extraverts need the outside world to replenish their energies and refuel themselves. Intraverts need to go within. Whilst, these are extraordinary times, even the intraverts would be feeling a need to spend their replenished energies, extraverts are finding it tough.

A lot of people are being thrown off their ivory tower.

There is no one to control. The designations don’t matter as of today. Most paths of knowledge systems that executives bank on, for their daily functioning, are for normal course of days. Even if there is fire fighting required, it is for most manageable situations. This time is extraordinary. Our minds were not really geared for an international shut down. Humans are under duress. Processes fail without people. A lot of people who were always “unavailable” are now “available”.

The online world

These days, the online world has become the epicentre of meeting each other. It’s like the city centre. In old times, whenever anything needed to be announced, it used to be done at city centres and in villages, under the Banyan tree. Today Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and other social media have become the Banyan trees for everyone.

Compassion in abundance

Compassion exists in this world and we get to experience and see this now. It’s so overwhelming to see how people are coming forward to help in every possible way especially towards the lesser privileged. In the security company that I also run, a lot of clients came forward to help the security personnel guarding their offices and residences. They have provided accommodation to the guards, they provide them meals. Some of our clients have told the guards to not come for duty but promise to pay their salaries. People are offering help for the elderly, online consultations for people with anxiety and other mental health issues, food for the poor, food and water for birds and animals; the list goes on. These are some wonderful examples of how people are supporting and helping each other; being compassionate towards the existence of another living being.

Vikram Badhwar, CEO, Syngrity, is a communications coach, an experiential educator, and an artist trying to bridge the gap between the creative and the analytical side of our brain. He consults individuals and teams in the space of learning & development to enable transformations at a personal, professional and organizational level.

In our journey of understanding the Anxiety Disorder, we have discussed Anxiety and it’s several symptoms in detail. This blog is also about the next symptom of anxiety disorder, which is very common among children and adults. Separation anxiety is a normal stage of development for infants and toddlers. Young children often experience a period of separation anxiety, but most children outgrow separation anxiety by about 3 years of age. In some children, separation anxiety is a sign of a more serious condition known as separation anxiety disorder, starting as early as preschool age. Separation Anxiety is also associated with adults as well. Children 7 years old or older who show signs of being distressed when apart from their caregivers may be diagnosed with separation anxiety.

An adult’s separation anxiety can stem from a parent, partner, or a child who moves away. Their anxiety may also be related to another underlying mental health condition. These may include delusions from psychotic disorders or fear of change relating to an autism spectrum disorder. On occasion, people may categorize an adult with a separation anxiety disorder as being controlling or overprotective. However, their actions are often an adult’s way of expressing their fears in regard to separation.

What Causes Separation Anxiety Disorder?

Separation anxiety often develops after a significant stressful or traumatic event in the child’s life, such as a stay in the hospital, the death of a loved one or pet, or a change in environment (such as moving to another house or a change of schools). Children whose parents are over-protective may be more prone to separation anxiety. In fact, it may not necessarily be a disease of the child but a manifestation of parental separation anxiety as well — parent and child can feed the other’s anxiety. In addition, the fact that children with separation anxiety often have family members with anxiety or other mental disorders suggests that a vulnerability to the disorder may be inherited.

Symptoms

Separation anxiety disorder is diagnosed when symptoms are excessive for the developmental age and cause significant distress in daily functioning. Symptoms may include:

1. Recurrent and excessive distress about anticipating or being away from home or loved ones
2. Constant, excessive worry about losing a parent or other loved one to an illness or a disaster
3. The constant worry that something bad will happen, such as being lost or kidnapped, causing separation from parents or other loved ones
4. Refusing to be away from home because of fear of separation
5. Not wanting to be home alone and without a parent or other loved one in the house
6. Reluctance or refusing to sleep away from home without a parent or other loved one nearby
7. Repeated nightmares about separation
8. Frequent complaints of headaches, stomachaches or other symptoms when separation from a parent or other loved one is anticipated

Separation anxiety disorder may be associated with panic disorder and panic attacks ― repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes.

Treatment and management options

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11460893
2. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/separation-anxiety/related/separation-anxiety-statistics/
3. https://barendspsychology.com/adult-separation-anxiety/adult-separation-anxiety-2/
4. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/separation-anxiety/#gref
5. https://www.visionpsychology.com/separation-anxiety-disorder-in-children/

Are you extremely afraid of being judged by others? Are you very self-conscious in everyday social situations? Do you avoid meeting new people?

We all know the feeling of being nervous or uncomfortable in a social situation. Maybe you’ve clammed up when meeting someone new or gotten sweaty palms before making a big presentation. Public speaking or walking into a roomful of strangers isn’t exactly thrilling for everybody, but most people can get through it.

If you have been feeling this way for at least six months and these feelings make it hard for you to do everyday tasks—such as talking to people at work or school—you may have a social anxiety disorder.

In our ongoing research on Anxiety and its symptoms, today’s blog deals with the third symptom of anxiety.

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. A person with a social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain or all social situations, such as meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things in front of people—such as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroom—also causes anxiety or fear. The person is afraid that he or she will be humiliated, judged, and rejected.

The fear that people with social anxiety disorder have in social situations is so strong that they feel it is beyond their ability to control. As a result, it gets in the way of going to work, attending school, or doing everyday things. People with social anxiety disorder may worry about these and other things for weeks before they happen. Sometimes, they end up staying away from places or events where they think they might have to do something that will embarrass them.

Some people with the disorder do not have anxiety in social situations but have performance anxiety instead. They feel physical symptoms of anxiety in situations such as giving a speech, playing a sports game, or dancing or playing a musical instrument on stage.

What Does It Feel Like?

Again, the experience may be different for everyone, but if you have social anxiety and you’re in a stressful situation, you might have physical symptoms like:

1. Rapid heartbeat
2. Muscle tension
3. Dizziness and lightheadedness
4. Stomach trouble and diarrhea
5. Inability to catch a breath
6. “Out-of-body” sensation

You may start having symptoms and getting anxious immediately before an event, or you might spend weeks worrying about it. Afterward, you could spend a lot of time and mental energy worrying about how you acted.

What Causes It?

Like many other mental health conditions, social anxiety disorder likely arises from a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors. Possible causes include:

1. Inherited traits. Anxiety disorders tend to run in families. However, it isn’t entirely clear how much of this may be due to genetics and how much is due to learned behavior.
2. Brain structure. A structure in the brain called the amygdala may play a role in controlling the fear response. People who have an overactive amygdala may have a heightened fear response, causing increased anxiety in social situations.
3. Environment. Social anxiety disorder may be a learned behavior — some people may develop the condition after an unpleasant or embarrassing social situation. Also, there may be an association between social anxiety disorder and parents who either model anxious behavior in social situations or are more controlling or overprotective of their children.

Social anxiety disorder usually comes on at around 13 years of age. It can be linked to a history of abuse, bullying, or teasing. Shy kids are also more likely to become socially anxious adults, as are children with overbearing or controlling parents. If you develop a health condition that draws attention to your appearance or voice, that could trigger social anxiety, too.

How It Affects Your Life

Social anxiety disorder prevents you from living your life. You’ll avoid situations that most people consider “normal.” You might even have a hard time understanding how others can handle them so easily.

When you avoid all or most social situations, it affects your personal relationships. It can also lead to:

1. Low self-esteem
2. Negative thoughts
3. Depression
4. Sensitivity to criticism
5. Poor social skills that don’t improve

How is social anxiety disorder treated?

First, talk to your doctor or health care professional about your symptoms. Your doctor should do an exam and ask you about your health history to make sure that an unrelated physical problem is not causing your symptoms. Your doctor may refer you to a mental health specialist, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, clinical social worker, or counselor. The first step to effective treatment is to have a diagnosis made, usually by a mental health specialist.

Social anxiety disorder is generally treated with psychotherapy (sometimes called “talk” therapy), medication, or both.

Psychotherapy

A type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is especially useful for treating social anxiety disorder. CBT teaches you different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to situations that help you feel less anxious and fearful. It can also help you learn and practice social skills. CBT delivered in a group format can be especially helpful.

Support Groups

Many people with social anxiety also find support groups helpful. In a group of people who all have a social anxiety disorder, you can receive unbiased, honest feedback about how others in the group see you. This way, you can learn that your thoughts about judgment and rejection are not true or are distorted. You can also learn how others with social anxiety disorder approach and overcome the fear of social situations.

Medication

There are three types of medications used to help treat social anxiety disorder:

1. Anti-anxiety medications: Anti-anxiety medications are powerful and begin working right away to reduce anxious feelings; however, these medications are usually not taken for long periods of time. People can build up a tolerance if they are taken over a long period of time and may need higher and higher doses to get the same effect. Some people may even become dependent on them. To avoid these problems, doctors usually prescribe anti-anxiety medications for short periods, a practice that is especially helpful for older adults.
2. Antidepressants: Antidepressants are mainly used to treat depression, but are also helpful for the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. In contrast to anti-anxiety medications, they may take several weeks to start working. Antidepressants may also cause side effects, such as headaches, nausea, or difficulty sleeping. These side effects are usually not severe for most people, especially if the dose starts off low and is increased slowly over time.
3. Beta-blockers: Beta-blockers are medicines that can help block some of the physical symptoms of anxiety on the body, such as an increased heart rate, sweating, or tremors. Beta-blockers are commonly the medications of choice for the “performance anxiety” type of social anxiety.

Your doctor will work with you to find the best medication, dose, and duration of treatment. Many people with social anxiety disorder obtain the best results with a combination of medication and CBT or other psychotherapies.

Don’t give up on treatment too quickly. Both psychotherapy and medication can take some time to work. A healthy lifestyle can also help combat anxiety. Make sure to get enough sleep and exercise, eat a healthy diet, and turn to family and friends who you trust for support.

Things ‘you’ can try to overcome social anxiety

Self-help probably will not cure your social anxiety, but it may reduce it and you might find it a useful first step before trying other treatments. The following tips may help:

1. Try to understand more about your anxiety – think about what goes through your mind and how you behave in certain social situations to help you get a clearer idea of the problems you want to tackle.
2. Replace your unrealistic beliefs with more rational ones – for example, if you feel a social situation went badly, think if there are any facts to support this or if you’re just assuming the worst.
3. Do not think too much about how others see you – pay attention to other people instead and remember that your anxiety symptoms are not as obvious as you might think.
4. Start to do activities that you’d normally avoid – this can be tough at first, so start with small targets and work towards more feared activities gradually.

References:

1. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-anxiety/
2. https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-social-anxiety-disorder#2
3. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/social-anxiety-disorder-more-than-just-shyness/index.shtml
4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353561

Taking forward from the discussion on the previous blog on Anxiety, this blog talks about the second symptom of Anxiety called ‘Panic Disorder’.

Have you ever felt an intense wave of fear? The room you are in suddenly starts spinning, you feel like throwing up. Your whole body starts to shake severely, you are out of your breath and your heart is pounding out of your chest. Yes, this is something that everyone does not experience regularly but when you experience it; it makes you feel like you are about to explode! This episode is called a Panic Attack. A panic attack may be a one-time occurrence, although a very significant amount of population experiences it regularly. When Panic Attacks start happening episodically in a regular manner they are called Panic Disorder.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), A panic attack is an abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and during which time four (or more) of the following symptoms occur;

The abrupt surge can occur from a calm state or an anxious state.

1. Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate.
2. Sweating.
3. Trembling or shaking.
4. Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering.
5. Feelings of choking.
6. Chest pain or discomfort.
7. Nausea or abdominal distress.
8. Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed, or faint.
9. Chills or heat sensations.
10. Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations).
11. Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself).
12. Fear of losing control or “going crazy.”
13. Fear of dying.

According to the DSM-5 manual, Panic Disorder is characterized by repeated unexpected panic attacks, combined with major changes in behavior or persistent anxiety over having further attacks. As we have discussed above that panic attacks only last a few minutes, the effects of the experience of going through a panic attack can leave a long-lasting imprint on your psychology. These attacks can shake a person emotionally; the memory of intense fear and terror that you felt during the attacks can negatively impact your self-confidence and can cause serious disruptions in your everyday life. All of these accumulated together, eventually lead to the following panic disorder symptoms.

ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY

If you have panic disorder, you may find yourself anticipating many life events. Driving to work, going into a store, attending a social gathering, and other activities may be a daily focus of your anticipation. Before you had panic attacks, you probably didn’t give much thought to any of these common events, but now anticipation may cause you to feel anxious and interfere with your ability to fully function in your everyday life.

Anticipatory anxiety happens when people experience increased anxiety and stress when they think about an event that will happen in the future. Such anxiety may occur in response to large events such as a presentation at work, but it can also precede minor, everyday activities such as mentioned above. While this is not a distinct mental condition, anticipatory anxiety is a symptom of other conditions including panic disorder and general anxiety disorder.

Phobic avoidance

You begin to avoid certain situations or environments. This avoidance may be based on the belief that the situation you’re avoiding caused a previous panic attack. Or you may avoid places where escape would be difficult or help would be unavailable if you had a panic attack. Taken to its extreme, phobic avoidance becomes agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia was traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces. However, it is now believed that agoraphobia develops as a complication of panic attacks and panic disorder. Although it can develop at any point, agoraphobia usually appears within a year of your first recurrent panic attacks. If you’re agoraphobic, you’re afraid of having a panic attack in a situation where escape would be difficult or embarrassing. You may also be afraid of having a panic attack where you wouldn’t be able to get help. Because of these fears, you start avoiding more and more situations.

WHAT CAUSES PANIC ATTACKS AND PANIC DISORDER

If you are prone to experiencing negative emotions and are sensitive to anxiety you may be at risk for the onset of panic attacks and panic disorder. Childhood experience of sexual or physical abuse, smoking, and interpersonal stressors in the months before the first panic is also a risk factor.

Furthermore, it is believed that genetics play a role in susceptibility to panic disorder, although the exact genes, gene products, or functions that are implicated are not known. Individuals with a parent or parents diagnosed with anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder are also thought to be at a higher risk of developing panic disorder.

HOW TO DEAL WITH A PANIC ATTACK

1. Plan Ahead

When being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, having a rescue plan created for your self is a good option. You can create a set of instructions for yourself, whenever you feel like an attack is coming. One plan might be to take yourself out of your current environment, sit down, and call a friend or family member that can help distract you from your symptoms and help you to calm down. Then you can incorporate the following techniques.

2. Practice Deep Breathing

Shortness of breath is a common symptom of panic attacks that can make you feel frantic and out of control. Acknowledge that your shortness of breath is a symptom of a panic attack and that this is only temporary. Then begin by taking a deep breath in for a total of five seconds, hold for a second, and release it for a total of five seconds. Keep repeating this pattern until your breathing becomes controlled and steady. Focusing on the count of four not only will prevent you from hyperventilating, but it can also help to stop other symptoms in their tracks.

3. Use Muscle Relaxation Technique

During a panic attack, it’s inevitable that you’ll feel like you’ve lost control of your body, but muscle relaxation techniques allow you to gain back some of that control. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a simple but effective technique for panic and anxiety disorders. Start by clenching your fist and holding this clench until the count of 10. Once you get to 10, release the clench and let your hand relax completely. Next, try the same technique in your feet and then gradually work your way up to your body clenching and relaxing each muscle group: legs, glutes, abdomen, back, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, and face.

4. Repeat a Mantra

You may feel a little awkward doing this at first but repeating an encouraging, positive mantra to yourself during a panic attack can serve as a coping mechanism. Try repeating something as simple as “This is temporary. I will be okay,” or “I’m not going to die. I just need to breathe.”

5. Find an Object and Focus on it

Pick an object that you can see somewhere in front of you and note everything you notice about that object—from its color and size to any patterns it may have, where you might have seen others like it, or what something opposite to the object would look like. You can do this in your head or speak your observational aloud to yourself or a friend.

Clinical treatment for Panic Disorder

A form of psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been found by several studies to be the most effective treatment for panic attacks and panic disorder. CBT is a structured, action-oriented type of psychological treatment that was created in the 1960s by Dr. Aaron Beck, founder of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and restructuring negative patterns of thought and behavior. During CBT, you will work with a therapist on relaxation training, restructuring your thoughts and behaviors, mindfulness, exposure treatment, and stress reduction. Many people that suffer from panic attacks start to notice a reduction within weeks, and symptoms often decrease significantly or go away completely within several months.

Even if all these techniques do not provide you the solution for your Panic Attacks, it is the right time to go and consult a Psychiatrist, who can provide some medical treatment for the problems. These medications can be extremely helpful in managing panic attack symptoms, as well as anxiety and depression.

References:

1. https://www.verywellmind.com/anticipatory-anxiety-and-panic-disorder-2584252
2. https://www.psycom.net/panic-attacks-panic-disorder-symptoms
3. https://www.healthline.com/health/panic-disorder#risks
4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dont-panic-It-is-only-a-panic-attack/articleshow/54974742.cms
5. https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/pb-assets/dsm/update/DSM5Update2015.pdf

As we have tried to comprehend different aspects of stress in our previous blogs written beautifully by Niharika Sharma, which discussed what is stress, what causes stress and how technology has affected the lives of humans by contributing towards the stress. In this blog of our ongoing research work on KOKORO- The Heart of Stillness, we talk about how stress & anxiety can work together hand in hand and disrupt the daily routine of a person.

We all have experienced stress from time to time. But how do we differentiate between positive stress and negative stress? For example, if you have an assignment due and the deadlines are approaching. This can lead to the development of stress, but if this stress makes a person increase his proficiency and output and he/she manages to finish the given assignment before the deadline. The stress is considered to be positive in nature, as no harm was done to the person both mentally and physically. If the stress results in insomnia, poor concentration, distraction, and impairs the person from getting any job done, then the stress is negative in nature, as it has hampered both the mental and physical abilities of that person.

Is anxiety a disorder?

One can say that a normal amount of stress is healthy. When stress becomes disproportionate and starts occurring at a regular interval it can lead to anxiety. In this blog, we will keep our focus towards the first type of Anxiety and will discuss the other types of anxiety one by one in detail in our upcoming blogs.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): it has been seen and observed by psychologists that people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder have the tendency to display excessive stress, for most of the days for at least 6 months. This stress can be about personal health, work, social interactions, and everyday routine life circumstances. The fear and anxiety can cause significant problems in areas of life.

Unlike a phobia, where your fear is connected to a specific thing or situation, the anxiety of GAD is diffused—a general feeling of dread or unease that colors your whole life. This anxiety is less intense than a panic attack, but much longer-lasting, making normal life difficult and relaxation impossible. Generalized anxiety disorder is mentally and physically exhausting. It drains your energy, interferes with sleep, and wears your body out.

If you have GAD you may worry about the same things that other people do, but you take these worries to a new level. A co-worker’s careless comment about CAA and NRC, a phone call to a friend that isn’t immediately returned becomes anxiety that the relationship is in trouble. Sometimes just the thought of getting through the day produces anxiety. You go about your activities filled with exaggerated worry and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke them.

Signs and symptoms of GAD

Not everyone with a generalized anxiety disorder has the same symptoms, but most people experience a combination of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms that often fluctuate, becoming worse at times of stress.

Emotional Symptoms of GAD include:

1. Constant worries running through your head
2. Feeling like your anxiety is uncontrollable; there is nothing you can do to stop the worrying
3. Intrusive thoughts about things that make you anxious; you try to avoid thinking about them, but you can’t
4. An inability to tolerate uncertainty; you need to know what’s going to happen in the future
5. A pervasive feeling of apprehension or dread

Behavioral symptoms of GAD include:

1. Inability to relax, enjoy quiet time, or be by yourself
2. Difficulty concentrating or focusing on things
3. Putting things off because you feel overwhelmed
4. Avoiding situations that make you anxious

Physical symptoms of GAD include:

1. Feeling tense; having muscle tightness or body aches
2. Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because your mind won’t quit
3. Feeling edgy, restless, or jumpy
4. Stomach problems, nausea, diarrhea

Overcoming Generalized Anxiety Disorder

There are many ways by which a person can deal with Anxiety.

1) Help yourself

In order to do so, there are a few steps that can actually help in overcoming anxiety disorder.

Connect with Others

Support from other people is vital to overcome the effects of anxiety. Social interaction with someone who cares about you is the most effective way to calm your nervous system and diffuse anxiety, so it’s important to find someone you can connect with face to face on a regular basis—your significant other, a family member, or a friend, perhaps.

Build a strong support system

Human beings are social creatures, we are not meant to live in isolation. Few people you can trust and count on to be there for you, creates a very strong support system.

Talk it out when your worries start spiraling

If you start to feel overwhelmed with anxiety, meet with a trusted family member or friend. Just talking face to face about your worries can make them seem less threatening.

Know whom to avoid when you’re feeling anxious

When considering whom to turn to, ask yourself whether you tend to feel better or worse after talking to that person about a problem.

2) Learn to calm down quickly

While socially interacting with another person face-to-face is the quickest way to calm your nervous system, it’s not always realistic to have a friend close by to lean on. In these situations, you can quickly self-soothe and relieve anxiety symptoms by Making use of one or more of your physical senses.

Sight- Look at anything that relaxes you or makes you smile. Like a beautiful view, family photo or your favorite person
Sound– Listen to soothing music, can be live or recorded. Ocean waves, rainfall or wind through trees.
Smell- Light scented candles, smell the flowers in the garden. Smell your favorite perfume.
Taste- Slowly eat a favorite treat, savoring each bite. Herbal tea, coffee, mint or a favorite candy.
Touch- Give your self a hand or neck massage. Cuddle with a pet.

3) Exercise

Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment. It relieves tension, reduces stress hormones, boots feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and endorphins and physically changes the brain in ways that make it less anxiety-prone and more resilient. It can be walking, running swimming, dances, going to a gym.

4) Professional Help

If you’ve given self-help a fair shot, but still can’t seem to shake your worries and fears, it may be time to see a mental health professional. But remember that professional treatment doesn’t replace self-help. In order to control your GAD symptoms, you’ll still want to make lifestyle changes and look at the ways you think about worrying.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that is particularly helpful in the treatment of GAD. CBT examines distortions in our ways of looking at the world and ourselves. Your therapist will help you identify automatic negative thoughts that contribute to your anxiety.

The five components of CBT for anxiety are:

Education- CBT involves learning about generalized anxiety disorder. It also teaches you how to distinguish between helpful and unhelpful worry.

Monitoring- You learn to monitor your anxiety, including what triggers it, the specific things you worry about, and the severity and length of a particular episode.

Physical control strategies- CBT for GAD trains you in relaxation techniques to help decrease the physical over-arousal of the “fight or flight” response.

Cognitive control strategies- Teach you to realistically evaluate and alter the thinking patterns that contribute to generalized anxiety disorder.

Behavioral strategies- Instead of avoiding situations you fear, CBT teaches you to tackle them head-on. You may start by imagining the thing you’re most afraid of. By focusing on your fears without trying to avoid or escape them, you will feel more in control and less anxious.

Medication for anxiety

Medication for GAD is generally recommended only as a temporary measure to relieve symptoms at the beginning of the treatment process, with therapy as the key to long-term success.

References:

1. http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/ADSI/ADSI2016/chapter2%20suicides.pdf
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303918537_Academic_Anxiety_among_
   Higher_Education_Students_of_India_Causes_and_Preventive_Measures_An_Exploratory_Study
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/opinion/indias-mental-health-crisis.html
4. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
5. https://thesystemsthinker.com/overcoming-organizational-anxiety/

Technology is defined as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. Since the advent of technology humans have progressed and devised remarkable ways of doing things and performing functions in new ways. Current trends have witnessed a shift from use-dependence-abuse of technology making technology one of the major causes and sources of stress.

As mentioned in one of our earlier blogs (http://www.syngrity.com/what-causes-stress/) that discussed various sources of stress, we dedicate this blog to one of the major sources of stress these days; TECHNOLOGY and how it impacts our lives at various levels.

THE DARK SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY

Perpetual Distraction

Deloitte (2016) mobile consumer survey (cited below)- suggests that one third of the smart phone users don’t actually make traditional phone calls and checking their phones is their first and the last activity for the day.

Most of us reach out to our phones even though there is no new notification. There is an urge to constantly (at times purposelessly) scroll and surf through the Internet, sometimes every 30 seconds. Individuals have deadlines to meet, pay attention to a conversation or attend an event but this urge forces one to reach out to the devices which is perceived as being disinterested. Apart from consuming a major chunk of our daily productive time, it causes a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings in the personal and professional front.

Disrupted Sleep Cycle

Recent analyses pointed out that in the 24/7 lifestyle, adolescents use multiple gadgets and technology the entire day and late into the night, which is in turn related to consumption of higher levels of caffeinated beverages. Subsequently their ability to stay alert, be attentive, energy levels and sleeping patterns are disrupted which is a major source of stress to them as well as their parents. It is scientifically proven and well known that the blue light emitted by various devices (cell phones, laptops, tablets and the like) reduces the production of melatonin (the hormone that regulates our sleep/wake cycle). An imbalance in the production and regulation of melatonin makes it difficult for the person to fall asleep.

FEAR OF MISSING OUT (F.O.M.O)

According to a report (cited below) generated by the Economics Times in 2019, Internet users in India reached a whooping 627 million, in a country that has 46 million people living below the poverty line. This makes us second to China in terms of Internet users. These alarming figures point out at the constant urge to not to be “missed out”. People want to be a part of the social network and access the various platforms to explore, gain information and for entertainment. It leads to anxiety and chronic stress that one might miss out on something. This is a vicious circle, the more one is connected, the more is the fear of missing out. In order to stay connected people explore various social media platforms and spend most of the productive hours of the day doing the same. This leads to stress generated by being disconnected with the people in proximity and perpetually being connected over the Internet.

Social Comparison

In order to not miss out, one spends most of the time exploring social media platforms, which has a great control over how one evaluates and feels about oneself and significant others. Individuals try and ape others and develop certain archetypes of partners, parents, friends and others. As mentioned by Emily Southwood, the author of Lessons I Learnt When My fiancé Filmed Porn, that people tend to take things way too literally and perceive fantasy expectations as reality. This causes stress at two levels

1. Constant pressure to perform better.
2. Having unrealistic expectations of your partner.

In both the cases the relationship becomes toxic and is a constant source of chronic stress

The same holds true for other relationships. Increased exposure to the Internet and various social media platforms influences us and we create certain unrealistic archetypes. We want to be a certain way, expect our parents to be and act a certain way. This social comparison stemming from unsupervised Internet surfing is a perennial source of personal and family stress.

Social Comparison is not confined to comparing other people with those on social media platforms. People are in a bid to portray themselves as someone else. They want to showcase a perfect lifestyle on social media platforms. This is a momentary distraction but keeps on adding to the suppressed feelings and emotions. Such circumstances result in a bottleneck situation where the individual is focusing more on social media and forgets to pay attention to how he/she is feeling actually. This creates a dissonance between what Carl Rogers defined as an individual’s actual self and real self.

This dissonance leads to conflict and stress and if not addressed at a preventive stage can lead to cognitive discomfort.

Technostress Among Students

Students, academics, scholars and corporate employees have a perpetual source of stress; the pressure to keep using the latest technology and the fear of being left behind has escalated many folds. Also, there is this constant dilemma of doing what others are doing. Students see other adolescents of their age sharing pictures of them trying new places, alcohol, substances, driving expensive cars etc. This not only causes stress for the confused teenagers but also for their parents. There is stress and tension due to conflict between the demands of the children and what their parents feel is right for them. In this manner technology becomes a cause of stress for individuals and causes conflict between parents and children.

Increases Vulnerabilities

While exploring and surfing the net, one need to be very cautious. Parents (especially working parents) experience a lot of stress because of the amount of vulnerabilities their children are exposed to while surfing the internet. In order to keep a check, parents are looking for ways in which they could keep the child’s use of technology supervised. For most part of the day children are affixed to the electronic gadgets and the Internet. This consequently turns out to be a major cause for obesity among children, nature deficit disorder, weak eyesight and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Conclusion

Technology is the major cause of stress among the masses. We all are surrounded by technology, as it is an essential part of our lives. Just like a coin, technology has a flip side too; technology has contributed in making our lives and business easy to manage but over exposure leads to disruption. We should aim at regulating our exposure and use of technology in a manner that it turn out to be beneficial for us rather than adding on to the list of stressors.

References

Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey 2016: Deloitte India: Press Release. (2016, December 27). Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/in/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/deloitte-india-mobile-consumer-survey-2016-press-release.html.

https://www.sleep.org/articles/ways-technology-affects-sleep/. (n.d.).

Sharma, N. (2019, September). What causes stress?

http://www.syngrity.com/what-causes-stress/)

The Economic Times. (2019). Internet users in India to reach 627 million in2019. Internet users in India to reach 627 million in2019(1st ed., Vol. 1). Delhi, Delhi.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-after-china-report/articleshow/71311705.cms – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-

McLeod, S. A. (2014, Feb 05). Carl Rogers. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html

Why our children need to get outside and engage with nature. (2010, August 16). The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/16/childre-nature-outside-play-health