As human beings we are wired to bond, we crave authenticity. We have an inherent need to connect and when we lose that connection either with others or with ourselves the result is anxiety. This can manifest in different ways; disturbed sleep, fatigue, a butterfly feeling or queasiness in the stomach, a tightness in the chest, heart palpitations or a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Our loss of connection with others is more prevalent now than ever before, and our younger generation are particularly suffering. The explosion in technology, in particular social media, in recent years is having a major detrimental effect in how we are communicating with each other and how we perceive ourselves. We are vicariously watching other people’s lives, thinking they have it all and that our life is somewhat deficient. We should look better, have more, aim higher, be more! We are ‘connecting’ with people that we have never even met but we instinctively know at a deep level that it is false, that these connections are not authentic. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We are now trying to find a life partner online; we are able to discard someone with a swipe of our finger. We now have the ability to ‘ghost’ someone, even a romantic partner, just by ignoring their texts or messages.

The other side of being constantly ‘on’ means we are also losing our connection to ourselves. We are spending less time alone with our thoughts, appreciating nature, exercising and properly connecting with the people around us. Just look at any group of people in a restaurant of coffee shop…how many of them have their head stuck in phones while ignoring the people right in front of them? In addition to all that, we are not giving ourselves time to emotionally deal with the traumas that life throws at us. Instead we are told to numb ourselves with medications.

It is no wonder the levels of anxiety have soared in general and particularly amongst our teenagers That is why when I treat clients for anxiety I use a holistic approach. As well as treating the physical symptoms, I coach patients in making life changes so that they can create strategies to cope in the future. It is very empowering for the client to feel that they have control over their life again. It is only by acknowledging how big this problem is that we can finally begin to deal with it.