It feels like it hits you out of nowhere. You attempt to mentally and physically prepare yourself, but you know it’s already too late for that. Your hands get sweaty, your heartbeat quickens, and your breathing has changed. It even feels like there are butterflies in your stomach.
You sit down, close your eyes, and try to slow your breathing. You can’t remember when or why this started happening, but you know that you can’t continue to have this happen. It’s starting to impact your daily life and routine, and you have to find a way to prevent it from happening, especially so frequently.
Let’s learn more about what anxiety looks like and why it happens.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is an extremely common mental illness that can cause an individual to experience worry or fear. Anxiety is as common as other emotions like happiness, sadness, jealousy, and anger. Everyone can experience anxiety every now and then. If anxiety is starting to impact your daily life and routine, it may be a sign that it’s a larger issue.
The Signs and Symptoms
Anxiety is unique to each individual. Although anxiety can present itself in similar signs and symptoms, these signs and symptoms can feel different depending on who is experiencing anxiety and why they’re experiencing it.
Anxiety has the ability to have an impact on someone’s body, mind, and overall health and wellness. Let’s dive into some of the most common signs and symptoms of anxiety.
These are some of the most common signs and symptoms of anxiety in the body:
- Aches and pains
- Butterflies in your stomach
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Increased breathing
- Lightheaded
- Nausea
- Panic attacks
- Quickened heartbeat
- Restlessness
- Sleeping problems
- Sweating
The effects of anxiety on the mind can show the following signs and symptoms:
- Depression
- Fearing the worst-case scenario
- Feeling like the world is changing speeds (ex. slowing down or speeding up)
- Inability to relax
- Mood swings
- Nervousness
- Ruminating
- Tense
Anxiety can also impact your overall mental health, wellness, daily life, and routine. Someone experiencing anxiety may have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships, caring for themselves, keeping a job, or enjoying free time.
The Causes
There isn’t one exact cause of anxiety. Anxiety will impact different people in different ways. There may even be several different factors that can impact someone’s anxiety. For some, public speaking may trigger anxiety. Others may be able to give a presentation in front of a large group of people and not feel a single ounce of anxiety.
These are some of the most common causes of anxiety:
- Abuse
- Drug use
- Emotional abuse
- Financial issues
- Harassment
- Losing a loved one
- Medication
- Neglect
- Physical abuse
- Racism
- Stress
- Work
Treatment Options
If you’re experiencing some of the signs and symptoms of anxiety, you’re not alone. Many people all over the world deal with anxiety too. Fortunately, there are things that you can do on your own to help reduce some of the signs and symptoms you may be experiencing. If you’re struggling with anxiety, try some of these useful tools:
- Change your diet
- Deep breathing
- Exercise
- Incorporate relaxation techniques
- Join a support group
- Learn more about anxiety
- Medication
- Practice mindfulness
Next Steps
Sometimes you can’t figure everything out on your own, and that’s okay too. You’re not expected to know everything or solve every issue alone. If you need a little extra help, try reaching out to a therapist for additional support. A therapist will be able to work with you to help you get to the root cause of your anxiety and help you find ways to better manage it in the future.
Reach out to us today to set up a consultation for anxiety therapy.