What Is Anticipatory Anxiety?

Anticipatory anxiety, as the name suggests, refers to a worry for the unpredictable future. It has high expectations for itself but can never be satisfied, so it causes anxiety. Psychologists point out that people with this type of anxiety always have a strong sense of frustration, and they think that something that has not happened is threatening, which will cause them to feel nervous and worried. At the same time, they have difficulty adapting to the things that cause anxiety, and they are getting worse. Even the minutiae of things are so sensitive that they are so irritable and hard to extricate themselves.

Anticipatory anxiety disorder

Anticipatory anxiety, as the name suggests, refers to a worry for the unpredictable future. It has high expectations for itself but can never be satisfied, so it causes anxiety.

Minmin, a girl in junior high school, one evening three months before the entrance exam. After finishing her homework, she had drowsiness and could go to sleep as usual, but she wanted to do more tutoring exercises, so she took control. Late at night I just fell asleep, but I couldn't sleep over and over again. Trying to count and take a deep breath didn't work. As soon as I got to bed in the next three months, I was afraid I couldn't sleep, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, and insomnia became more and more serious, which affected the normal study during the day, so I went to the clinic for psychological consultation.

Expert analysis:

The more worried about something like Minmin, the more it will happen, and even the phenomenon of fear or affecting learning is a type of anxiety neurosis in psychiatry, namely anticipatory anxiety. This disorder is only a psychological disorder, not a category of mental illness. The reason is that the acquired conditioned reflex is formed between insomnia and expected anxiety, and a vicious circle is formed between the two.

First, reduce self-attention, enrich your life, and divert attention with other things, such as sports and music.

Second, we must strengthen our self-confidence and motivate ourselves with successful experiences.

Again, don't expect too much of yourself, just do your best to do it, and don't focus too much on results.

Finally, avoid overesteem. Too much self-esteem can easily lead to gains and losses, and worry about what has not yet happened.

In short, anticipatory anxiety is a common psychological disorder in life, and it can be completely cured with proper adjustment and treatment. If the above self-regulation method is not effective, the patient needs to seek the help of a psychiatrist in time, take some anti-anxiety drugs under the guidance of a specialist, so as to alleviate his condition and avoid further development of harm.