Anxiety is not a pleasant feeling, but it can be controlled or managed. Sometimes, it can even be helpful in keeping us focused and vigilant to the things that are going on around us. It keeps us to be alert at all times and invokes us to call to action when unexpected circumstances arise.
Anxiety even motivates us to think and find ways to solve problems. However, if the feeling is not properly managed, it may go out of hand. Normal anxiety develops into a more intense condition when you run away from what you think is threatening instead of battling it, when you allow the feeling to knock you off your strength to overcome it, and when it gets in the way with your relationship with other people and your normal day-to-day activities.
Self-Evaluation
We can never get away with anxiety because we all experience the feeling. Just like any other form of emotion, anxiety is a general and natural reaction to a certain fear or threatening condition. It is important that we know how to tell or recognize the feeling when it comes to us so we would know what to do. Here are some questions you can try asking yourself to check if you are getting the symptoms of anxiety:
• Do you worry about things more often?
• Do you believe that a negative or undesirable outcome occurs if you failed to do things the way it should be?
• Do you run away from your everyday problems at work or at home?
• Do you keep things to yourself when you feel something bad?
• Are you eaten by your fear or nervousness when it gets to you?
• Do you feel like danger is everywhere or threat can attack you any minute?
• Do you think more of the negative consequences over a situation rather than the brighter side of it?
The signs and symptoms of anxiety can either be emotional, psychological, or physical. The mind dictates what the body does and so does the feeling. Some people misinterpret the anxious feeling for depression. So, they consult physicians before anxiety is finally diagnosed.
Emotional and Psychological Signs and Symptoms
Some find it hard to distinguish emotional from the psychological symptoms of anxiety but an important realization to remember is that our thoughts and feelings manifest. The most common emotional symptom of an anxious person is constant worrying.When you worry, the mind is bothered and troubled. The anxious person feels that things are not going to work out fine. Sometimes, the person would feel that the mind has gone blank. Nervousness starts to build up and some signs that a person is nervous are nail biting, fidgeting, shaking, and the like.
Being restless is also nervousness. A person may pace back and forth or keep on constantly moving and those are signs of being restless. When you are feeling tense and agitated and you have trouble concentrating, you are anxious. An anxious person keeps on anticipating the worst and always watches out for any sign of threat or danger. This is otherwise known as paranoia.
Physical Signs and Symptoms
Since our thoughts, feelings, and actions are always a match, anxiety is more than just an emotion. Physical conditions also affect an anxious individual. There are many physical signs that a person is anxious. The most common physical indication of anxiety is muscle tension and weariness or fatigue.Some people experience aching muscles and trembling. The body gets the person ready for any form of physical action. It could also result to shaking of the body. Adrenalin in the blood is pumped up at an increasing level and this would cause the palpitation or increase in heart rate and breathing difficulties.
These physical conditions affect other systems of the body and so the anxious person would also possibly experience stomach trouble, headache, frequent urination, and sleep trouble or insomnia. Exerting physical effort to battle anxiety makes the body produce sweat. Sweating is a physical symptom of anxiety.These symptoms occur in a normal anxiety. But it may lead to anxiety attack or disorder if it is not managed well. Nevertheless, anxiety attacks are very much treatable. But should you allow the feeling to worsen when you can do something about it?
