Many times, we have the impression that something negative is going to happen to us, and we also feel the need to anticipate it and prevent it. This phenomenon is commonly called “apprehension.” But what does it mean and how to modify it? There are several difficult events that society around the world has gone through, especially in recent years. No one could be blamed for being apprehensive in times of pandemic, difficult economic situations, climate change, detriment to living standards, etc. And the reality is that this emotional state has become very common in people today. However, managing apprehension can allow us to be more effective, improve our emotional world and interact much better with other people. But let's specifically define what it consists of, what causes it, and how to work on apprehension.
Apprehension
Apprehension is an emotional state characterized by the fear that something bad will happen to us, it may be damage or illness. It is not considered a particular phobia, but rather a state of permanent distrust and fear that disturbs us when making decisions, in social relationships and, generally, in everyday life. The apprehensive persons usually feel excessive worry about all types of possibilities of negative events that threaten themselves or others around them, especially the people they love. For example, someone who does not go to the doctor, despite feeling bad, for fear that they may acquire some contagion in that environment, so they prefer to wait or extend the moment as long as possible until they can't take it anymore.
Does being anxious mean the same as being apprehensive?
Apprehension is commonly confused with anxiety, since both are dominated by fear and the desire to avoid situations that have not yet happened at all costs. Despite this, their fundamental difference lies in the level of damage they cause in daily life. Apprehension can be problematic if it occurs in excess. This has been considered an adaptive response to specific events, but it is always possible to prevent most unfavorable scenarios that constitute a threat. The negative here is that, sometimes, the situation tends to be perceived in a distorted way about the dangers or seriousness that a situation really implies. On the other hand, if apprehension becomes chronic, damaging our daily lives, we can already say that we are in the presence of an anxiety disorder. In this case, the events that cause anxiety are not a real danger. In this way, both cognitive and physiological symptoms begin to appear (sweating, tragic thoughts, breathing problems, excessive distrust, intense fear, avoidance, etc.).
Symptoms of apprehension
A typical example of apprehension could be a mother with constant fear that her child will be teased, hit, abused or mistreated by the other children with whom he plays and interacts at school or in the park. She will think about it whenever her son goes to school or asks her to play with his friends, feeling anxiety and worry, therefore, she will be hyper vigilant while her son is in any of these environments. When we feel fear, it becomes difficult to connect with the rest of our sensations and emotions at a bodily level. In case you want to know if you are someone who is apprehensive, you can try to recognize if you have had the following signs:
- Nervousness
-Avoidance
-Sleeping problems
-Agitation
-Hypervigilance
-Poor concentration
-High sense of danger
-High heart rate
Why does a person become apprehensive?
There may be several reasons causing apprehension. Some of the most common are the following:
- Prone to anxiety
- Hypochondria, since it favors an anxious and apprehensive emotional state.
- Affective variations, either due to interpersonal problems or conflicts in socialization.
- Exposure to adverse news, which may be true, but creates a lot of fear in people, which is understood as apprehension.
How to avoid being apprehensive?
Apprehension does not constitute a pathological emotional state, so you can work individually to reduce the discomfort it causes. Some mechanisms may be:
- Stop, take breaths and think.
- Pay attention to the present moment. Focus on what we are feeling, identify it and slow it down through breathing. Managing emotions and fears is very possible by doing exercises of this type.
- Train ourselves in techniques that allow us to relax and work on full attention. For example, practicing diaphragmatic breathing, mindfulness, and other meditations can help.
- Focus on what we can modify in our lives. Many things are out of our control, however, we can control many other aspects. This being so, we can identify them and work on them.
- Seek help if we believe that we do not have the tools. This is always favorable. Perhaps we can even join together with people who suffer from this same discomfort and together achieve positive results and overcome it.
- Try to work to achieve a positive mindset. We know that being optimistic has a positive impact on reducing anxiety, therefore, it is essential to try to make this the way we see things to stop being apprehensive.
- Seek help in therapy if nothing else works. It may be difficult to differentiate between anxiety and apprehension, but with the help of a professional, if we feel that this discomfort lasts for a long time and becomes more intense, a lot could be achieved in managing and eliminating it. Therapy will not only allow us to acquire good tools to manage apprehension, but it can also contribute to cognitive restructuring and the modification of our habits. For this reason, if we begin to notice that worries are controlling us, let's seek professional help immediately.
Comments