Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world. However, that doesn’t mean everyone fully understands what anxiety feels like. Most people equate feeling stressed to what anxiety feels like. But, anxiety isn’t as simple as that.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the clinical term for anyone who experiences chronic anxiety. To better understand what anxiety feels like, we’ll go over some basics of what causes anxiety.
In ancient times, our ancestors developed anxiety as a means to survive dangerous situations. They could either choose to flee from the danger or stay and fight through it. It was a helpful response. Even today, experiencing some anxiety is normal and helpful. It can be the driving force to help keep someone motivated and driven.
At some point, though, anxiety goes from being helpful to being damaging to our mental and physical health. Here’s what anxiety feels like.
What Does Anxiety Feel Like?
No two people experience anxiety in the same way. Of course, there’s a general list of mental and physical symptoms that are a result of anxiety. Not everyone will experience all of the symptoms of it, either. Due to the variety of ways anxiety impacts people, it can be confusing for many to know if what they are feeling is actually anxiety.
Signs of Anxiety
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Racing or uncontrollable thoughts
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Excessive worrying
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Rapid or shallow breathing
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Difficulty focusing
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Indecisiveness
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Nausea
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Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
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Headaches
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Stomach aches
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Insomnia
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Changes in appetite
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Muscle tension or joint stiffness
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Racing heart
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Panic attacks
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Feeling clammy or sweaty
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Feeling on edge/unable to relax
In short, anxiety feels completely overwhelming. When it becomes chronic, it impacts the quality of somebody’s daily life. It makes someone feel as if they are unable to control anything in their life. It causes many people to struggle throughout their day.
For some people, anxiety becomes so out of control that they will want to stay in the house as much as possible. This can be due to severe social anxiety or intense fears that something bad will happen. Anxiety has an unfortunate way of convincing someone that things are or could be worse than they actually are. Even when there is no evidence that could warrant their fears.
How To Deal With Anxiety
Even though anxiety is really challenging, there are definitely ways to manage it. Most people will manage their anxiety differently than another person. Learning to deal with anxiety is a trial and error process to find what works best for them.
Deep Breathing Techniques
Deep breathing techniques can be one of the most effective ways to counteract anxiety.
When your mind begins to race and anxiety ramps up, it impacts your nervous system. In turn, your nervous system reacts by changing your breathing patterns. Making it difficult to breathe or causing your breath to become shallow and rapid.
You can use your nervous system to counteract this response by forcing your breathing pattern to change. If you look up guided deep breathing exercises on Youtube you’ll find a wealth of videos.
Mindfulness and Self-Care
Self-care involves more than just a hot bath after a long day. Mindfulness also involves:
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Exercising which releases endorphins in the body like serotonin to promote feelings of contentment.
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Fueling your body with healthy and nutritious foods to give it the energy it needs
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Social time with friends and family to help you get your mind off things for a little while
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Journaling, which helps you to release the thoughts that are inside your head
In some cases, medication is the right course of action to treat anxiety. With all of this said, the best way to deal with anxiety is through anxiety treatment or therapy.
Working with a therapist can help someone get to the root of what is causing their anxiety and find effective ways to lessen its impact. Feel free to contact us to learn more.
