What is Latent Anxiety? As a layperson, I am describing latent anxiety as anxiety that we cannot generally feel unless a very specific trigger is addressed.
Many of us are anxious people and we are familiar with the sensations of anxiety such as feelings in the abdomen, a heightened warning state, etc. Many of us have lived with anxiety so long that we are excellent at repressing it. As children, we might have frequently had "butterflies in the stomach," but we don't get those anymore. We don't breathe fast, our heart rate doesn't accelerate. Yet I assert that we are still anxious. I believe that some of us have mastered this process of anxiety repression and taken it to the extreme, creating Latent Anxiety. In this form, we become consciously unaware of an issue that makes us anxious. We generally feel anxiety-free and may even be enjoying our free time. Yet we start to develop increases in our pelvic pain symptoms.
What are the signs of latent anxiety?
- Avoidance: Is there something you should do that you generally avoid or put off? Social interaction, doing your business's accounting?
- Compulsion: Is there something you frequently do to 'fill up time' and you end up spending far longer on it than you intended? During that time, are you 'zoned out'?
- Trigger Issue: Are there certain personal situations where you find yourself suddenly getting very angry, disproportionally so?
- Feeling of 'fakeness' in anxiety response: Do you suddenly confront issues in your life that make you feel like you could choose to say that you are ok, or could 'pretend' to be anxious and breathe hard and let your pulse race, but you feel guilty 'pretending'?
Is this similar to the beliefs of Dr Sarno? Yes and no. Dr Sarno used to believe that repressed emotion leads to pain, but has since developed a theory that pain is a product of a frightened and angry subconscious distracting us from its emotions--a child like part of our mind. I don't necessarily disagree, but I have found that addressing trigger issues directly relieves some of the problems. If a subconscious mind needs to be addressed, it clearly has something to do with these trigger issues. I suggest you consider what Sarno is saying in full as a theory, and consider how latent anxiety may be a form of the problem.
What evidence do you have?
Since I developed CPPS, I have had five or six occasions in which the relationship between my symptoms and what I term, latent anxiety, have been self evident. I will now list some of them.
- A long vacation: A little over a year ago, my wife and I took a long vacation to Britain. We spent three weeks hiking around the country. Within a week my symptoms had disappeared. I went from having moderate pain all of the time and while sitting to having no symptoms whatsoever. On the way over on a plane, I sat on my hip in two seats. On the way back, I sat straight up in one seat. Thanks Britain!
- Conference blues: I was attending a technical conference for work. I really didn't want to go to this conference. I had been feeling well, but that week had more symptoms. I drove to the hotel and had pain for two days of the conference. A snowstorm hit and I 'decided' that the 'right thing to do' was to leave early By the time I got home, I was symptom free for the next month.
- Party Crisis: My wife was having a party at our home. I had never had a party at my place before, and I was very anxious. I had told her that I would help out, but that for a few hours I wanted to work on a hobby. Anyway, I was having increased pain symptoms. At some point, I "freaked out" about an issue I can't even remember, and threw a plastic patio chair at a plastic patio table (the $25 dollar variety). This broke the table. I stomped off and got in my car and drove around for a while. Needless to say, this scared my wife, as I am never violent. And I had very little control over the incident, I didn't see it coming. After driving home, I was fine. I had no pain at all, the party was great, and I had no pain for the week after the party.
- Job Hunt: Recently, I informed my boss that I was leaving academics and getting a job in industry. That week, my bladder started to hurt and my urethra started to sting. The flare got really bad and I chastised myself for thinking that I was well enough to go get a new job. A week and a half later, it faded away and I was fine again. Although I have had some irritation. This past Sunday, I sent out my first resume. I had been avoiding doing this for 6 months. By telling my boss, I had cornered myself and made myself face the issue. When I was about to finish the cover letter, I started to breathe really hard. I didn't 'have to'. Two years ago, I would have told myself to stop exaggerating my anxiety. Now I realize that it is real,so I let it out with heavy breathing, and finished the letter. Monday morning, I woke up feeling better than I have in 5 months. Not even the slightest tiny spec of unusual sensation in the pelvis.
So
- If you feel good when you first wake up , but then end up with pain within the hour that gets worse all day long until you sleep.
- If you have a history of anxiety
- If you are under stress and you feel like you are 'exaggerating' or 'play acting' if you show it.
- If you find yourself procrastinating or in compulsive behaviors.
In that case, I still recommend the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol. I also recommend daily practice of the stretching, relaxation, and moment-to-moment activities found in the protocol. In particular, I have found that the first stage of the yoga 'Pigeon Pose' is very helpful for me. Keep in mind that a daily stretching routine can be very relaxing and rewarding.
Pay special attention to the issues that you may be repressing without even realizing you are doing it. Let your feelings out, and get ready to learn to find issues that you think you have 'conquered' but have in fact merely repressed.
In order to get at Latent Anxiety, I have found the following helpful for me:
- Play act the anxiety behaviors you don't exhibit: Ever wonder why some people talk about 'panic attacks' and 'anxiety' with fast breathing and rapid heart rate, etc? Ever wonder why you just never get those symptoms? Make them. Next time you sense that you are facing an issue that you are probably anxious about, play act those symptoms. You may feel guilty or weak, or whatever internal dynamic you have learned to use to repress anxiety, but deal with it. You will be surprised what the play acting might turn into.
- Learn to face your procrastination in a new way You may avoid your trigger issues. But you do eventually get around to facing them. When you do, make sure that you acknowledge your anxiety, directly, in your body. Do the play acting if you can.
- Learn to get angry successfully If you find yourself lashing out some, make sure you learn how to do it in a way that won't hurt anyone. But do not use the idea that anger is bad prevent you from displaying your anger. Just make it clear to those around your that your anger is not directed at them. Then make sure you don't direct it at them. Then let it out. Try not to break things. :)
- Notice the connections. Fortunately for me, my wife likes to point out exactly how often my pain levels correspond with anxieties in my life, When I tell her 'but I can't feel it', she just smiles and says, "I know you can't." She is right. I am now done with the playacting phase and can feel it. You will to over time, and that is a good thing. Cause it is going to be there even when you can't feel it. Repressing it is not conquering it. You conquer it by feeling it through.
I hope this helps someone out there.
