Sound the Alarm

By ALICE O’BRIEN Alice O’Brien Counselling, Newmarket

It is fair to say that all responsible home owners have a smoke alarm system in their homes. It is a very useful tool to detect a treat of an impending disaster. Warning us to take action early to avoid our homes burning down. We react differently to this device depending on when we hear it. For example, if your smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night, the loud noise breaking the silence will spur you into action, you will move fast to protect yourself. But, if the smoke alarm goes off after someone has burnt toast or spent too long in a steaming shower- the alarm will be an irritation that you will try to silence without any drama.

Anxiety plays a very similar role. It is a threat detection system in our bodies. It is designed to keep us safe from harm. Anxiety in the body is there to warn us by acting- our heart begins to race, our palms might get sweaty, our face flushed, our limbs weak or our stomach may churn. All ways anxiety tries to get our body to be vigilant, to keep safe.

Anxiety is very useful at times and shouldn’t be ignored. Certain situations require us to be vigilant. The problem is that our inner alarm can go off when there is no treat- a false alarm- someone is making toast and our house is not on fire. Our brains however, takes all alarms seriously, so it is difficult for us to tell the difference between a potential treat and a false alarm. We can help ourselves by being aware of our bodies. Deep breathing can help us to see that our alarm system is sending a false alarm. Mindfulness and mediation is another tool to use as well as physical activity. These things can help our body to stay grounded and to know that it is safe.

So, when it comes to alarm systems, it can be tempting to take the batteries out to silence the noise- but we all know that is dangerous for our safety. Within your body, you can’t silence the alarm all the time, but you can learn which alarms needs your attention, and which don’t.