How to Recognize the Signs of Anxiety
They can be different for everyone…
While I’m not a professional in the psych field, it doesn’t take one these days to notice that anxiety is one of the most common psychological issues.
The condition is largely misunderstood because there are many different forms of anxiety. In fact, each of us may experience anxiety in a unique way.
When I hear that someone has anxiety, I expect to see them in some state of panic — shaking, leg tapping and twitching, hyperventilating and even sweaty hands.
When someone is anxious, all these things can happen, but not all the time.
The fact that you don’t experience the common signs doesn’t mean you don’t have anxiety or that yours is better in any way. It means you have a different experience of it.
There is one common thing though; everyone’s anxiety is an internally overwhelming and exhausting, and even crippling feeling.
Common signs of anxiety can include restlessness, irritability, difficulty in concentrating, tension, poor sleep, pains, nausea and teeth grinding.
Anxiety can have conflicting signs. Some people are not comfortable in a crowd, and they tend to withdraw and make themselves ‘invisible’. Having less attention around them makes them feel less likely to be judged.
Some people are not comfortable in silence and fill it by being overly loud. They tend to take on a lot of space and take command of the conversation.
There are people who say ‘yes’ to everything out of fear of being judged or losing friends. If they turn down invitations because they fear no one will want to socialize with them.
For other people, commitments, social events, or obligations are a prohibited area. They are not comfortable being in charge or responsible for anything because they fear they will be blamed if it doesn’t go well. They tend to constantly turn down responsibility.
For some people, anxiety makes time fly. Their world appears to be spinning too fast and they don’t see where the time goes. They feel like they can never get enough done and want everything to stop or slow down.
Others feel like everything is in slow motion. These are the people with social anxiety who are on stage giving a 10-minute presentation and it feels like a lifetime.
Anxiety can make us worry about the future and feel paralyzed about the things that could go wrong. This fear can get in the way of everyday life and keep them from doing even day-to-day tasks. This makes it challenging for them to plan for the future for fear of a negative outcome.
It can also make us focus on the past and make us feel unable to move on and do anything else. They think the mistakes they made could have been avoided and they are unable to try the same thing again.
Although these symptoms of anxiety might seem different, they are equally crucial and should be receiving attention by a professional.
We all have anxious moments, but if they continue and get in the way of our everyday lives, we should always look for help.
It’s important to note that your experience will not be exactly the same as another person, but it should not be taken for granted.
We should be spreading kindness to those around us as a form of ‘healing’ from the matters they do not feel at ease talking about.
