The Effects of Anxiety on Cognitive Function
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in the United States and it can significantly impact your daily life. If you have *diagnosable* anxiety, good news: There are many ways to manage it and its effects on your life.
What is Cognitive Function?
Cognition is the mental process of acquiring new knowledge and understanding. It is a central aspect of human experience that is frequently studied in the field of psychology. In layman’s terms, cognition is essentially your ability to think. When we talk about the effects of anxiety on cognition, we’re essentially talking about how anxiety impacts your ability to think. Anxiety can have a number of different effects on cognition, including slowing down your mental processing speed, making you more forgetful, and reducing your attention span.
How Does Anxiety Affect Our Brains?
Anxiety disorders can be incredibly scary. They can be caused by a combination of genetics, life experiences, and brain chemistry. They can make you feel like you’re losing control over your own thoughts and emotions. Cognitive function is a particularly important aspect of how anxiety affects our brains. There are a couple reasons that anxiety can impact your ability to think. Anxiety can cause your brain to secrete excess cortisol. High levels of cortisol can weaken your hippocampus. This makes it difficult for your brain to transfer short-term memories into long-term memories. It can also make it challenging for your brain to process information efficiently.
A Short List of Effects of Anxiety on Cognition
– Slowing down your mental processing speed
– Making you more forgetful
– Reducing your attention span
– Compromising your short-term memory
– Compromising your long-term memory
– Making you less creative
– Increasing your risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease
– Making it more challenging to problem solve
Strategies to Manage the Effects of Anxiety on Cognition
Managing your anxiety can be incredibly helpful in reducing its effects on your cognition. Here are a few strategies to help with this:
— Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a therapy technique that can be incredibly helpful in reducing anxiety levels. CBT helps you learn how to break down problems into smaller pieces and tackle them one by one. This can be incredibly helpful in managing anxiety levels. CBT can also help you learn new ways of thinking so that you can avoid getting stuck in negative thought patterns. As you learn to break down your problems, manage your stress levels, and break out of your negative thought patterns, you’ll likely notice a reduction in the effects of anxiety on your cognition.
— Exercise is shown to be incredibly helpful for anxiety and mental health issues in general. It can be particularly helpful in managing the effects of anxiety on cognition. Exercise is a great way to release endorphins, which can help you calm down. It’s also a great way to boost your mood and reduce your stress levels, which can be helpful in managing the effects of anxiety on cognition.
Conclusion
Now that you understand how anxiety affects your brain, you can take the necessary steps to manage it. This will allow you to reduce its impacts on your everyday life and regain control over your mental health.
The author of this article is a therapist from the Sensera app. Sensera is a daily 10-minute self-therapy app. It’ll help you to cope with various mental problems (anxiety, self-esteem, relationship issues). Feel better with CBT audio sessions and exercises. Download now to become happier!
