Understanding what your body is telling you is a critical skill. Once you are able to interpret the telltale signs of anxiety, for example, it gives you a better chance of developing a coping strategy and alleviating the symptoms.
There are many ways that anxiety can manifest itself. For instance, experiencing breathlessness in anxiety is a typical symptom associated with anxiety disorder.
Here are some of the typical symptoms associated with anxiety.
- Physical symptoms of anxiety
- Feeling dizzy
- Aches and pains
- Your heart starts beating faster
- Lack of restful sleep
- Mental health issues attached to anxiety
- You start to have very negative thoughts
- Worrying about a panic attack can be a self-fulfilling prophecy
- Your mood changes
- Losing touch with reality
Physical symptoms of anxiety
It is important to understand that anxiety manifests itself in numerous ways. These are revealed in either physical or mental symptoms.
A classic example of a physical reaction would be a churning feeling in your stomach.
Feeling dizzy
Another typical physical response to anxiety would be when you feel more light-headed than usual or dizzy. This might also include more rapid breathing as your body attempts to regulate your anxiety levels.
Aches and pains
You can experience aches and pains, or headaches, for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons could be an anxiety or panic attack.
You might experience pins and needles as well as suffering from noticeable aches and pains.
Your heart starts beating faster
Pay attention to your heartbeat. If it suddenly increases in tempo and produces a faster, or irregular heartbeat, that could be a symptom of anxiety. You might also notice your heart is thumping louder than usual and you are sweating more than normal.
Lack of restful sleep
Anxiety disorders can have a detrimental impact on the quality of your sleep. The inability to achieve a good restful sleep for any length of time will have an impact on your overall health profile.
You might also find that you start involuntarily grinding your teeth at night as a result of anxiety.
Mental health issues attached to anxiety
Your mental health can also suffer as a result of anxiety. As well as experiencing a range of physical symptoms there are also a number of key mental health flags to be aware of.
If you are constantly feeling tense and find it almost impossible to relax, that is a typical response to anxiety.
You start to have very negative thoughts
Your mind can respond to anxiety by producing thoughts where you start to fear the worst and have an impending sense of dread, even though you can’t say what in particular you are concerned about.
Worrying about a panic attack can be a self-fulfilling prophecy
There is an almost ironic twist to the fact that worrying about anxiety can lead to anxiety itself.
When you are constantly thinking that a panic attack is about to happen again, it can actually make you more anxious.
Your mood changes
Another common symptom associated with an anxiety disorder is experiencing low moods or even depression.
It is not uncommon to dwell on past negative experiences at this point, which only serves to exacerbate the anxiety.
Losing touch with reality
When anxiety takes hold of your mind it can make you feel that you are losing touch with reality. Feelings of dissociation are quite common.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms or generally feel like your physical or mental health is in a place where it should not be it is a good idea to reach out for professional help as soon as possible.
The content is intended to augment, not replace, information provided by your clinician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Reading this information does not create or replace a doctor-patient relationship or consultation. If required, please contact your doctor or other health care provider to assist you in interpreting any of this information, or in applying the information to your individual needs.