UAE: Living with anxiety? Stress-management specialist explains how to manage it

Why is everyone so anxious?

According to stress and anxiety specialist Dr Geraldine Naidoo, it’s because life in 2024 is distressing for everyone.

“Even if you feel like you’ve found balance within yourself, the world itself can feel destabilised, making it hard to stay grounded. Our physical and emotional environments, economics, world politics, even school playgrounds are permeated with excessive overwhelm and conflict. Add to this, the stress inherited from the generations that came before us, which are indelibly imprinted into our genetic makeup, and it’s no wonder people are more anxious and stressed than ever: we live in a very traumatised world.”

Dr Geraldine explains that while people have always experienced anxiety, our inherent culture of suppression makes asking for help difficult. The recent pandemic largely contributed to global anxiety statistics as people around the world tuned into the same awful frequency: fear.

“The whole world was destabilised, and most of us received a clear life or death message,” explained the Dubai-based therapist. “Even those who seemed to be doing OK were tuned into fear because the virus was unseen and no one knew exactly where the threat was, so everyone’s nervous system went on super high alert.

“And when it was over, like Pandora’s box, many people couldn’t put a lid on it. Now we’re faced with generations of people who are operating from this survival mode that shows up as anxiety.”

For Maia, a 47-year-old creative director being treated by Dr Geraldine, the post-pandemic world was when she finally began to address her lifelong anxiety.

“As far as I can remember, I have always been anxious,” said the Indian-Canadian mother of two. “I lived with a very uncomfortable, unsettling feeling like something horrible would happen one day. Year by year and as I grew up, there were more things to worry about, so my anxiety increased.

“I couldn't go to sleep at night because I was anxious . I was convinced that my house would catch fire, and everyone would die. I would picture my kids falling down the stairs, cutting their head open, and me having to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night. Anxiety, fear and worrying was just a constant for me.”

Her work with Dr Geraldine provided relief and insight into what was really at play in terms of her seemingly unfounded anxiety.

“I just thought this was the way I was; the way everyone was. But Dr Geraldine taught me about the nervous system, and how mine was not settled down properly since I was a child which was the root of my anxiety.”

Dr Geraldine explains that information about our world is received through our senses and is mostly captured by the nervous system, which then interprets and relays one simple message: “Does the information I’ve received mean I’m safe or unsafe?”. This then initiates a cascade effect on the rest of the mind and body.

“When we experience trauma, our nervous system becomes hard wired towards safety, and thus keeps us anxious because it then interprets all experiences as a life and death situation. This impacts breathing, heart rate, sleep, digestion, hormones and indeed the whole mind-body system. But how we learned to survive may not be how we wish to continue living. The great news is that the nervous system can be retrained to receive, and to send, cues of safety,” said the trauma-certified professional.

“As we are a product of our biology – our life experience, our ancestral heritage (genetics), our environmental, cultural, and social exposure — the reasons that cause anxiety are unique to everyone. The fears, threats, emotional states, luxuries, and privileges you were exposed to before birth matter as much as how your ancestors handled stress which wires you epigenetically and predisposes you to certain patterns.

“With my patients, I look at what is going on in their body to identify where the patterns of disconnect manifest. Essentially, I support people to compassionately observe their life story and assess its impact on the body.”

After establishing root causes, Dr Geraldine works with her patients to create capacity within the nervous system and the whole body so they are not in a constant state of overwhelm.

“Wellness is more than just practising calm in the moment. It’s about retraining the body and mind and increasing your window of tolerance — your bandwidth or capacity for how much you can take before you’re overwhelmed. I help people with knowledge and practices to increase their window of tolerance so they can bounce within that space more comfortably and sustainably."

Maia has credited Dr Geraldine with managing her anxiety.

“My only regret is that I waited so long to get help. I was afraid of the judgement people face when they say they have anxiety. It’s not seen as a real issue, but it has crippling consequences on your relationships, mental health, quality of life, and can be passed onto others too. I am so grateful for the help I have received, which has, in turn, positively impacted all these spheres of my life.”

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

Why is everyone so anxious?

According to Stress and Anxiety Specialist, Dr Geraldine Naidoo, it’s because life in 2024 is distressing for everyone.

“Even if you feel like you’ve found balance within yourself, the world itself can feel destabilized, making it hard to stay grounded. Our physical and emotional environments, economics, world politics, even school playgrounds, are permeated with excessive overwhelm and conflict. Add to this the stress inherited from the generations that came before us, which are indelibly imprinted into our genetic makeup, and it’s no wonder people are more anxious and stressed than ever: we live in a very traumatized world.”

Dr Geraldine explains that while people have always experienced anxiety, our inherent culture of suppression makes asking for help difficult. The recent pandemic largely contributed to global anxiety statistics as people around the world tuned into the same awful frequency: fear.

“The whole world was destabilized, and most of us received a clear life or death message,” explained the Dubai- based therapist. “Even those who seemed to be doing OK were tuned into fear because the virus was unseen and no one knew exactly where the threat was, so everyone’s nervous system went on super high alert.

“And when it was over, like Pandora’s box, many people couldn’t put a lid on it. Now we’re faced with generations of people who are operating from this survival mode that shows up as anxiety.”

wknd@khaleejtimes.com