It’s easy to brush off real, detrimental anxiety as nothing more than stress. After all, we live in a hectic, stressful world. But, there is a vast difference between everyday stressors and what can cause full-blown anxiety attacks. If you ever feel as though something is ‘off,’ or you’re feeling more anxious than you think you should, don’t let those feelings be ignored.
By ignoring anxiety, it can get worse and start to affect your everyday relationships, your career, and so much more. If you’re not sure how to identify real characteristics of anxiety, you’re not alone. It can manifest itself differently for different people. But, there are several common characteristics linked to anxious thoughts and feelings that can make it easier to officially diagnose.
Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders
There are several different types of anxiety disorders. Many of them have overlapping symptoms. Once you’re able to determine whether or not you regularly experience these symptoms, you can get an official diagnosis. Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues associated with anxiety, and the symptoms that go along with them.
Phobias: Phobias are intense fears of very specific things. It could be a certain situation, or even a physical object. There are dozens upon dozens of different phobias, and learning how to deal with these fears in a rational and healthy manner is the key to overcoming them. Otherwise, they can be paralyzing.
Social anxiety: One of the most common types of anxiety comes from the social side of things. Social anxiety deals with everyday situations that make you feel anxious, nervous, and stressed. It often makes you feel self-conscious around others, and you feel embarrassed easily even if you have no logical reason to be. As you might expect, social anxiety can do a lot of damage very quickly to existing relationships, and prevent you from going out to form new ones.
General anxiety: General anxiety disorders can cause you to feel panic at any time. You may even have a panic attack, which can lead to heart palpitations, sweating, heavy breathing, etc. It is a constant state of worry or distress. If not managed correctly, it can take over nearly every aspect of your life.
How Can I Deal with Anxiety?
Anxiety isn’t always something that can be managed on your own. In fact, if you brush it off for too long, it can cause a lot of damage in your life, and to your overall mental state. Eventually, you may not even be able to live the life you want for yourself.
Thankfully, once behaviors like this are better understood, they can usually be managed. Together, we’ll work to determine the underlying causes of your feelings of anxiousness. Once you have a better idea of what’s causing your anxiety to begin with, it’s easier to learn how to deal with it.
Simply ‘overcoming’ one aspect of anxiety isn’t enough. You could struggle with these irrational fears and behaviors for quite some time. That’s why it’s important to equip you with the means to keep those feelings under control, even when you’re on your own. Anxiety is more common than you may think. You’re certainly not alone with what you may be thinking or feeling. With that in mind, know that you don’t have to be alone when it comes to managing those behaviors, either.
Dr. Takos is a Newport Beach Psychologist specializing in the treatment of adolescents and adults suffering from depression, anxiety, and trauma-and stressor-related disorders.