In the last few years, awareness about mental health issues like anxiety has been gaining ground. As a part of our normal lives, we all experience some of the other forms of anxiety. This stems from financial concerns, career, and employment issues as well as health problems.
However, understanding how anxiety works and what should be done in case you are feeling anxious are areas where many of us need to work on. This is primarily because issues on mental health like anxiety are not acknowledged.
If unchecked, anxiety can cause a lot of mayhem in our personal and professional lives. It can lead to loss of sleep, invite health complications and create a negative headspace. In this article, we take help from leading counsellors to understand the signs that should tell you whether or not you are suffering from anxiety.
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7 signs that you might be suffering from anxiety
- Always sensing danger and panic in personal or professional spheres. If you are someone that always thinks about the negative outcome of a situation, you might be suffering from anxiety. In such instances, individuals tend to always think pessimistically about the worst possible outcome. This creates a sense of panic when something is about to happen. For example, if you have to address an audience, you might think about how bad you will do.
- Increased restlessness, sweating, and trembling of hands. Anxiety is not something that only manifests itself in the brain. Several physical tell-tale signs can tell you if you are suffering from anxiety or not. the most common among them are heavy sweating and trembling of the hands. If you have experienced this when confronted with issues or problems, you need to see an expert immediately.
- Suffering from sleep disorders, insomnia, and nightmares. Unfortunately, sleeping is one area that gets affected if you are too anxious. You might not be able to sleep easily or wake up multiple times during the night. You might also start having bad dreams and negative thoughts while you are sleeping. All this points to an underlying problem of anxiety. Once you can address the same, you will start getting proper sleep.
- Experiencing digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Our body gives us several signs that something is not right. One critical area that gets affected is your body’s digestion. Regular bowel movement is affected, which, if unchecked, can lead to long-term IBS issues. If you are suffering from anxiety, you will start feeling bloated and nauseous at all times. The body’s digestive system gets affected in a major way.
- Feeling weak, tired, and out of breath even after getting up in the morning. Your body is at its best after you get up in the morning. However, if you feel like not getting out of bed, or small physical activities drain you, then this is a sure sign that you are suffering from anxiety. Feeling tired, lethargic, and not wanting to do anything are all symptoms related to anxiety. This can affect your professional life if unchecked for a long time.
- Getting distracted, losing focus, and always worrying about an issue. Imagine you are at work where you have to complete an important PPT. However, you are not being able to focus and concentrate because something else is running at the back of your mind. Anxious individuals are always distracted and lose their ability to focus when they have to do something important. There is always an impending problem that runs in the background.
- Trying to isolate yourself from things, people, and situations that might trigger you. A lot of individuals that suffer from anxiety tend to start isolating themselves. They start identifying what triggers their worry and maintain a safe distance even when it jeopardizes their personal relationships or professional commitments. According to experts, this is a form of escapism that is not necessarily a solution, but a stop-gap arrangement to deal with anxiety.
Final thoughts
Addressing mental health concerns should be something that needs to be addressed positively. Conversations and positive engagements can help clear the stigma around such issues. If you want any more help with regard to dealing with anxiety or understanding how it can affect you negatively, let us know in the comments below. We will request the experts to offer constructive solutions.
Dennis Relojo-Howell is the managing director of Psychreg.
