Feeling anxious every now and then because of situations happening around you and to you in life is perfectly natural. This could be because something happens that is out of your usual routine, for example, and even if it is a positive thing, these small changes and disruptions can make us feel strange and out of place for a short period of time.
However, if you are suffering from an anxiety disorder as some people definitely do, our natural pre-determination to worry about things and, to some extent, to look for the negative in everything, can become a problem that affects you in all parts of life, and doesn’t let you go. It can take over your entire life and in some cases even lead to depression.
Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether you are suffering from anxiety because it presents itself in so many different forms, including social anxiety, panic attacks, all kinds of phobias, and more. Read on to discover some of the signs of anxiety and, if you think you are suffering, make an appointment with your doctor as soon as you can.
1. Excessive Worry
There are many different elements and terms associated with anxiety. The broadest, and the one that most people will tend to identify with is generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD. When someone suffers from GAD, it means that they worry about absolutely everything, no matter whether it is the smallest of issues or something more major.
The biggest problem with GAD is that it is a long-term condition that can go on for many months or even years, and a diagnosis can only really be made after six months. Because of the long-term nature of the condition, it makes every other aspect of life extremely difficult to deal with. It causes fatigue, problems with lack of energy, and can also affect your weight, causing you to either gain or lose pounds in an unhealthy way.
When someone feels worried all the time, they might consider self-medication and take drugs or too much alcohol so that they feel better. This is never a good idea and will often do more harm than good. This is why you should speak to a healthcare professional who will prescribe the right treatment for you. It might be therapy, pills, or medicinal marijuana from Canada Bliss Herbals. Once you know what works for you, you can continue to become better.
2. Problems Sleeping
Another factor that is associated with anxiety is being unable to get to sleep easily, or being unable to stay asleep for a full night. There will, of course, always be times when sleep is hard to come by; if you have an important event the next day that you really can’t be late for, or that is worrying or exciting (or both) then sleep can feel impossible. If you’re feeling sick and can’t get comfortable because you have a fever or your nose is blocked, it’s hard to sleep. There are many reasons, but if it is more than a one-off and happens most nights, that reason may well be anxiety.
What makes matters worse is that when you can’t sleep and you lie in bed in the middle of the night, your mind tends to turn to all the problems you are facing, and the issues go round in your brain. Financial worries, relationship problems, little things that you said or did that cause you embarrassment, and much more will make sleep even harder to come by. So it is a vicious cycle wherein you can’t sleep due to anxiety, and then you become even more anxious because you can’t sleep and allow yourself and your mind to truly relax.
Lack of sleep may sound trivial, but it can lead to all kinds of mental and physical problems including type 2 diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
3. Irrational Fears
Although in many cases anxiety is generalized, as mentioned above, sometimes it is much more specific, focusing on just one problem that becomes much bigger than it normally would be. Your phobias are often the problem that is heightened, and it makes no difference what this irrational fear really is – crowds, spiders, heights, water, clowns, or anything is – it will become bigger and more frightening when anxiety takes hold.
When this happens, the fear can become overwhelming. It can stop you from living your life normally because you are so afraid of your particular problem in a completely disproportionate way that you feel as though you can do nothing about. When this happens, you will be diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder.
What is interesting but is also one of the biggest issues to deal with when facing this more specific kind of anxiety disorder is that you may not feel this fear all of the time. There could be many weeks, months, or even years when your phobia goes almost unnoticed, and then there will be something to happen to trigger it, and it will come out again, worse than before.
4. Tense Muscles
You may not actually have realized, but are your muscles constantly in a state of tension? Perhaps you have lived with the feeling for so long that it seems normal, and it is only when you stop to think about it that you realize just how tense you really are. If your jaw is clenched and you are grinding your teeth, or your fists are turned into balls, or your shoulders are set higher than they should be, and if this is your permanent state, you may be suffering from anxiety.
When your muscles are always tense, you will have trouble sleeping, which is one problem, but it can also lead to injury because tense muscles don’t have the flexibility to move as easily, and can, therefore, be damaged in situations when they wouldn’t be if they were less stressed.
Regularly exercising is a good way to relieve the tension in your muscles and give your body much more flexibility. Working out will also help you to feel less anxious is some cases due to the hormones that are released into your body, so it can help you feel better in many ways.
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