What Does Anxiety Feel Like
Anxiety, when in moderation, can actually be beneficial. It can be the driving force to make us stay motivated to feel prepared for the job interview. Or for a big meeting, we have the next day at work. We are programmed to feel anxious because it was our ancient ancestor's response to life-or-death situations. Anxiety literally kept them alive in the wild or in situations where a split decision needed to be made.
Now, though? We don't need this response in the majority of cases. So while anxiety can keep us motivated, it can be downright debilitating. The truth is, many people out there are dealing with chronic anxiety or, Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD.) There is an estimate that from 2020 to 2021, adults with anxiety symptoms rose from 36.4% to 41.5%. There's no surprise why anxiety has been on the rise over the last few years.
After you live with feeling a certain way for so long, you often normalize that feeling or accept it. But just because anxiety disorders are on the rise does not mean we all understand what exactly it is. If you aren't sure what anxiety feels like, let's go over the mental and physical symptoms of anxiety.
Mental Symptoms Of Anxiety
Excessive Worrying
One of the biggest tell-tale signs of anxiety is the excessive worrying that comes with it. Once that big job interview is over, you may feel nervous until you hear back, but most of the anxiety disappears. With generalized anxiety, the worrying never stops. And you worry about every little thing, too. It's a vicious cycle that never ends.
Uncontrollable Thoughts For No Reason
With anxiety, your thoughts become out of control. You don't worry about any one thing; you cycle through many worries at once. It is causing you to feel as if you are going down a rabbit hole that you just can't get out of.
More mental symptoms of anxiety
Poor concentration
Difficulty remembering
Irritability
And here is where the physical symptoms of anxiety begin to happen.
Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety
There are many symptoms of anxiety. Not every person will experience every single one of the following symptoms.
Poor Sleeping Habits
When someone is experiencing anxiety, they are likely also struggling with maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. For instance, it's common for most people with anxiety also to experience insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep easily or to stay asleep. This results in chronic fatigue symptoms during waking hours. Worsening is that people who struggle with insomnia will begin to excessively worry about their sleeping habits, which exacerbates it.
Unexplained Pains
People who have anxiety are more likely to experience unexplained pain. It is common for those with anxiety to have muscle tension for no reason. They are also more likely to deal with stomach aches or headaches more frequently than other people.
More symptoms
Racing heart/palpitations
Rapid/Shallow breathing
Feeling clammy or warm suddenly
Never feeling relaxed/always on edge
How To Deal With Anxiety
It's one thing to know about the signs to look for with anxiety disorder. It's completely different from knowing what to do with this knowledge. Living with anxiety often means that your daily life is usually met with interference. It prevents you from wanting to leave the house or feeling relaxed even during your downtime.
While these symptoms are really hard to cope with, the good news is that it is a highly treatable condition. Even though you may have grown accustomed to these challenging symptoms, it does not mean it has to continue to be like this. By seeking support in anxiety therapy, you can learn to live a more carefree life with less tension. Let's connect soon to begin.
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