Nobody wants to feel anxious. Experiencing that overwhelming tightness in your chest or living with the feeling that something terrible will happen at any moment is not pleasant. However, anxiety itself is not negative. In fact, we all have a baseline level of anxiety that we must learn to deal with. The key is to recognize when it begins to increase beyond reasonable limits to prevent it from getting out of control and affecting our functioning and well-being.
What is Baseline Anxiety?
In Medicine, the term basal is used in a general sense to refer to the patient’s ability to maintain an adequate level of activity and independence. It is also used to indicate his state of health before becoming ill or the natural functioning of the metabolism.
Therefore, baseline anxiety is the constant or background level of anxiety that the person experiences in their daily life, even in the absence of particularly stressful situations or specific triggers.
It is a type of underlying anxiety, a base state whose intensity varies from one person to another, so that it can manifest with symptoms such as worry, restlessness, muscle tension or feeling of discomfort, or occur almost asymptomatically.
Unlike acute anxiety, which arises in response to particular stressful situations, such as a major life change on the horizon, baseline anxiety is present continuously. It is not a pathological state, like generalized anxiety, and although it fluctuates over time, it generally does so within a limited range, as can be seen in the graph below. However, when baseline anxiety levels skyrocket, it can affect our overall well-being and quality of life.
From the biological factor to the situational influence
To understand the mechanism by which anxiety is established in our lives, we must take into account that it exists:
1. Trait anxiety. It is a stable and enduring characteristic of the person, which reflects a general tendency to experience more or less anxiety over time, in different situations and contexts. It is a predisposition or tendency that pushes us to react with greater nervousness or, on the contrary, with more calm and serenity, to external circumstances. Obviously, this type of anxiety depends largely on genetic and biological factors, as well as early life experiences.
2. State anxiety. It indicates a temporary and transitory state of anxiety that we experience in response to specific situations or stressful events. It is a normal and adaptive emotional reaction that can arise in the face of circumstances that add a dose of additional stress to life, such as taking an important exam, speaking in public, or doing a job interview. However, when the stressful situation disappears, the intensity of state anxiety usually decreases until it returns to a baseline level.
Consequently, the higher the trait anxiety, the higher the baseline anxiety will be since we will have a tendency to worry even about situations that for most people do not represent a source of stress.
In the same way, if we are continually subjected to stressful circumstances, our baseline anxiety level will increase, making us more likely to become stressed.
What are the consequences of high baseline anxiety?
Many people get used to living with a high baseline level of anxiety, but that does not mean it is positive. In fact, anxiety sustained over time will end up having a significant impact on our emotional well-being and cognitive functioning.
A study carried out at the University of Hacettepe revealed that the baseline level of anxiety can even influence such everyday aspects of our functioning as the perception of flavors. However, its consequences go much further:
• Feelings of constant restlessness. People with high baseline anxiety experience a persistent feeling of nervousness and worry, even at times when there is no apparent reason to feel tense or stressed.
• Fatigue. One of the first symptoms of anxiety, and also one of those that tend to go unnoticed, is precisely emotional and mental exhaustion. This is because basal anxiety keeps us in a constant state of alert that ends up exhausting us, so it is normal for us to get tired quickly.
• Difficulties concentrating. Anxiety unleashes a state of hypervigilance that will make us pay attention to some things, but it will make it very difficult for us to concentrate on what really counts because our mind is constantly distracted by anxious thoughts, looking for dangers everywhere.
• Mood alterations. Anxiety usually brings us on an emotional roller coaster. We can quickly go from irritability and frustration to sadness and hopelessness. These emotional swings generate a deep feeling of instability in us that also ends up affecting our interpersonal relationships, creating friction and unnecessary problems.
• Excessive worries. High baseline anxiety will trap us in the loop of catastrophic thinking and anxious anticipation of the future. It will prevent us from enjoying the present moment, it will be an obstacle to relaxing and it will make us feel trapped in our mind.
Of course, high basal anxiety also impacts our physical health. In addition to affecting sleep, causing insomnia, it can also trigger or worsen other health conditions, especially those that have a large emotional component.
Research carried out at the University of Dublin, for example, found that high levels of baseline anxiety delay recovery after some surgical interventions. Another study developed at Wake Forest University found that it can accelerate the progression of disability in affected people, while researchers at Harvard University revealed that it increases the perception of pain and, therefore, the need to resort to painkillers.
How to reduce the basal anxiety level?
The first step is to know the thresholds within which our basal anxiety oscillates. Is it usually low or high? We must remain attentive to the situations that tend to elevate it and the physical signs of stress that indicate that we could reach the point of no return.
It might help us to have a personal mantra that we can turn to when we feel more stressed or notice that worries are taking over. This mental exercise gives us strength and, at the same time, helps us disconnect from anxious thoughts, so it becomes a kind of grounding cable.
In any case, since anxiety is both a physical and mental condition, it is also useful to do some activity that helps us release tension. Many people find it beneficial to practice diaphragmatic breathing for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Others find yoga or tai-chi more relaxing. Whatever the activity, the truth is that maintaining a healthy relationship with our body helps us get out of the loop of negativity that our mind sometimes builds and channels that nervous energy in a more positive direction.
References:
Cullen, K. et. Al. (2017) Effect of Baseline Anxiety and Depression Symptoms on Selected Outcomes Following Pulmonary Rehabilitation. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev; ;37(4): 279-282.
Ileri-Gurel, E. et. Al. (2013) Effect of Acute Stress on Taste Perception: In Relation with Baseline Anxiety Level and Body Weight. Chemical Senses; 38(1): 27–34.
Brenes, G. et. Al. (2005) The Influence of Anxiety on the Progression of Disability. J Am Geriatr Soc; 53(1): 34-39.
Schupp, C. et. Al. (2005) Pain and Anxiety during Interventional Radiologic Procedures: Effect of Patients’ State Anxiety at Baseline and Modulation by Nonpharmacologic Analgesia Adjuncts. J Vasc Interv Radiol; 16(12): 1585-1592.
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