Anxiety is more common than people think. If you go through life chances are you will be faced with anxiety and depression at some point in your life. Ever told you might be anxious person? Keep reading to learn more about the six signs of anxiety.
First things first what is anxiety. Anxiety is the consist state of worry and feeling of uneasiness. The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an "emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure." Anxiety is more common than we think. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that anxiety is a mental health disorder that in 2019 has affected about 3.1 million people. Don't let that number intimidate you because it sheds light just how common anxiety disorders are and that information should serve as a reminder just how much people would benefit from professional support such as individual counseling and therapy, psychiatry, and behavioral modification for the treatment of anxiety.
Depression is also a common mental health condition.
Most people with anxiety have experienced seasons of depression at some point in their life. Anxiety and depression are recognized as comorbid conditions. Comorbidity is defined when a person experiences more than one symptom at the same time. Depression and anxiety can be experienced by an individual in the same day or even throughout the week. A study on published on the National Library of Medicine stated that approximately "85% of patients with depression also experience significant symptoms of anxiety (Gorman J. M. (1996)." Depression is characterized by low mood, lack of energy, sadness, hopelessness, irritability, lack of motivation, low self-worth, and low self-esteem.
On some extremes, without treatment by a mental health or medical professional, depression could lead to the thoughts of committing suicide. There is no doubt that you can experience anxiety and depression, as was mentioned earlier. There is a possibility that you may feel anxious in the morning and then experience depression later in the day. It is important to bear in mind that depression does not only affect adults, but also adolescents who are trying to find their place in the world. World Health Organization (WHO) reports that depression, anxiety, and behavior disorders are among the most common mental health conditions among adolescents and teens. There is a possibility that adolescents experiencing depression may experience problems with their self-esteem, their ability to focus on academics, their desire to socialize, and make them more susceptible to suicidal ideation and harmful behavior towards themselves.
But there is treatment available for those with anxiety so that it does not over consume your life. Treatment for anxiety could be through individual counseling with a licensed therapist, online counseling with a licensed therapist skilled at treating anxiety disorders, on occasion psychiatry might be needed. There are FDA approved medication for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Here are some blogs that offer information regarding medication for anxiety. These articles are not meant to be medical advice and would be best to consult with your doctor.
Mental Health Articles on Medication and Anxiety:
The six signs you might anxious
#1 You tend to overthink
An overthinker with anxiety is prone to overanalyzing everything. This can lead to excessive stress, difficulty making decisions, and feeling overwhelmed. It also leads to difficulty sleeping and difficulty concentrating. You tend to direct every situation thrown your way. In dating maybe you often second guess the relationship and overthink if your relationship will workout. In regards to dating you might also have an anxious attachment style if you tend to consistently overthink every detail of the relationship.
#2 You struggle with decision making
You struggle with decision making. For example, you often find yourself feeling overwhelmed by all the options and unable to choose between them. Anxiety can greatly impact your ability to make decisions by clouding your judgment and causing excessive worry about making the wrong choice. This anxiety can lead to procrastination and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the task at hand. It can also lead to feelings of self-doubt and a lack of confidence in your own decision-making abilities.
#3 You are easily overwhelmed
Do you recognize in your body you struggle with deadlines, you panic when driving, you feel uneasy when waiting on someone else or when you are not in control? These could be indicators that anxiety inducing situations make you easily overwhelmed. With anxiety you could be overwhelmed by tasks or deadlines. Sometimes anxiety can make you feel like you can't handle too many things at once, but at the same time wanting to complete many tasks. With anxiety you could have difficulty concentrating and find it hard to focus on the task at hand. You may also experience physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches.
#4 Struggle in sitting still
Is it hard for you to sit for a long period at time? Are you always feeling on edge like you can't relax or that your mind can't stop? Anxious people always feel like there is something that needs to be done. Just like the energizer bunny keeps going and going so do people with anxiety, but over time you come to a point where anxiety can create a crash. You crash because you are functioning in go-go mode constantly and this is not sustainable. As a result of this anxiety, you may notice that you are irritable, hard to approach, short-fused, and even sad at times as a result.
#5 Easily agitated and irritated
It is possible that you may notice that you are easily irritated if you suffer from anxiety. There is a possibility that those suffering from anxiety may be more likely to become angry or frustrated due to feeling overwhelmed or stressed. As well as this, they can also be more easily triggered by certain events or situations, resulting in an increase in their agitation level. Sometimes you find that your colleagues easily irritate you when they don't complete their homework or when they don't do things the way you would. This might come off as controlling to others and to a degree it is. However, it's usuallybecause an anxious person is so hypervigilant and task oriented that they want things done correctly. Most people with anxiety are solution focused and fixers and it irritates them when they can't fix or help.
#6 Assuming the worst possible outcome
If you have any history of trauma, neglect, and struggle with being an anxious person chances are you tend to assume that things will not work out for you. Most anxious people expect the worst in almost all areas of their life such as careers,relationships, personal goals, etc. This negative thought process is time consuming and mentally draining and it becomes hard for other people to get you out of it. Anxiety can lead to catastrophic thinking and further exacerbate anxiety. Therefore, it's important to recognize when a controlling attitude is coming from a place of anxiety and take steps to manage it.
Treatment of anxiety
Anxiety and depression can you leave you feeling, but there is treatment.
If you are struggling emotionally, have you ever thought, "Nobody likes me? I have no one to support me?" When in reality, you have people who care about you? Your anxiety is making you second guess yourself and can make you feel unwanted and feel like your life is spiraling out of control, but with therapy we can help you take your power back. Anxiety treatment is available in a form of counseling. Therapy can help you manage your anxiety, understand your triggers, thoughts, unstable emotions and improve your mood. With the assistance of a licensed therapist an anxious person can address their anxious thoughts with evidence based treatment. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety is an effective evidence based treatment. When working with a licensed therapist skilled in utilzing CBT in therapy sessions you can ovetime see a reduction in impulsive behavior, low self-esteem, catatrophic behvaiors and overthinking. Although therapy is a great option for the treatment of anxiety not everyone feels the need to participate in counseling.
As an alternative to therapy or psychotropic medication, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, running, hiking, etc. could be used to treat anxiety and depression, as well as writing, pottery making, and art activities. Yoga for anxiety can be a great way to reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing. Writing can help to express feelings and process emotions. Art can help to express creativity and provide a sense of satisfaction. Â Medication for the treatment of anxiety disorders can be an option but it doesn't have to be the initial choice. You can treat anxiety and depression with counseling and individual therapy as well as incorporating mindfulness and grounding activities (e.g yoga, meditation, deep-breathing, etc.) and reading self-help books or listening to self-help podcasts. Even making considerations of changing your diet, getting daily exercise, and increase in sleep can be effective in reducing irritability and anxiety. Bottom line is anxiety can make it challenging to function but it doesn't have to be that way. You can choose to get professional help and experience positive changes in your life.
Healing Therapy Services is a private therapy practice helping adults and teens with anxiety. They provide therapy in Campbell, Ca for the treatment of anxiety and depression.