Anxiety is an important and normal part of life. Not all anxiety is bad, and not all anxiety should be medicated away into oblivion. Can you imagine being so stoned on Xanax that you don’t even notice a bear tearing into your camp along the Appalachian Trail?? So again, some anxiety is necessary for us to exist and survive.
But the anxiety of needing to save your own life is one thing, what about the anxiety of public speaking or of rejection? I’d call this emotional survival! Sometimes this type of anxiety makes you perform better, or be more focused on what you want to say or do. So for some, anxiety can be a force for good.
For others, however, anxiety can be debilitating and very troubling. It can make you unable to get out of bed, or go to work. It can even make you unable to complete your assignments at school, or to get out of the bathroom on time. If you are experiencing anything like this, then it’s definitely worthwhile to speak with a professional.
Anxiety can take many different forms, from simple stage fright and performance anxiety to obsessive-compulsive type anxiety. Let’s talk about some of these different types:
Excessive Worry
When we worry about everyday small stuff, that usually normal. “Are the kids going to get home safely?” “Will my old car get me there?” Other types of anxiety cause people to think “what will they say…?” or “did I turn the stove/iron off?” or “is the door locked properly?” or “are my hands clean?” or “am I going to die?” or “am I having a heart attack?” etc.
The problem occurs when these types of everyday worries become so
excessive that you can’t shake the thoughts even when you try. The thoughts keep coming back over and over again, kinda like you’re trying to close the door on them in your mind but they keep coming back in. People with this type of worry find that they start worrying about everything under the sun! Even stuff that they know they shouldn’t be worrying about. These people become irritable and feel like they are always on edge.
When you have this type of anxiety, sometimes you feel so overwhelmed by it that interferes with your work or from school or your daily activities.
Trouble Sleeping
How do you sleep every day? How do you sleep before a big test or job interview? Usually not very well, but that’s normal.
People who have a lot of anxiety feel like they have trouble sleeping every day. It’s as if they have a big test coming up every single day! Anxious people tend to have difficulty shutting off their brains at night and feeling like their thoughts are all over the place.
Muscle Tension
Anxiety can sometimes lead to a person constantly clenching their teeth or balling up their fists, or tensing up their shoulder muscles. This type of muscle tension can also lead to headaches at times. The anxious person doesn’t usually remember doing this nor is it intentional at all. It seems to just be an expression of the anxiety that you are feeling.
Digestive Problems
There is such an amazing and interesting phenomenon that happens all
the time in the body, where your psychological state gets translated into physical issues. The muscle tension is one example of this, but an involuntary form of diarrhea or other digestive problems. These digestive problems can look like irritable bowel or inflammatory bowel diseases.
Some types of anxiety can cause abdominal cramps or pain, and even nausea or vomiting. The problem then worsens when the diarrhea or bowel issue leads to more anxiety about the possibility of being sick! That’s a recurring loop!
Intrusive Thoughts
Different types of anxiety can lead to different types of thoughts. Earlier we talked about the excessive worry that you just can’t get out of your head. Sometimes it can be thoughts like the unshakable need to count, or do a ritual in just a certain particular way, which if you mess it up, then the whole routine has to start again from scratch. This can potentially take hours and hours and hours of your time, causing you to be late to work or school, every day.
You can also have intrusive images that keep coming to your mind, or bad thoughts like you are going to do something that you otherwise find so detestable, but you just can’t shake the feeling. Most people tend to recognize that these thoughts are illogical and excessive, but still can’t get rid of them.
Intrusive Thoughts
Different types of anxiety can lead to different types of thoughts. Earlier we talked about the excessive worry that you just can’t get out of your head. Sometimes it can be thoughts like the unshakable need to count, or do a ritual in just a certain particular way, which if you mess it up, then the whole routine has to start again from scratch. This can potentially take hours and hours and hours of your time, causing you to be late to work or school, every day.
You can also have intrusive images that keep coming to your mind, or bad thoughts like you are going to do something that you otherwise find so detestable, but you just can’t shake the feeling. Most people tend to recognize that these thoughts are illogical and excessive, but still can’t get rid of them.
Do You Have Anxiety?
Sometimes a whole set of anxious symptoms come on all of a sudden, making you have to breathe rapidly as if you can’t catch your breath or feeling like you are about to “die” or faint, etc. These can be so debilitating that you start staying at home and you start getting worried about the next time you may have another attack.
When anxiety sets in and starts affecting you like this, you may find that you have difficulty getting your daily activities done properly, or holding onto a job, etc. This can be so problematic that you might feel like there’s no hope and no help. A mental health professional can be so helpful that you will be surprised. There are medications, there are supplements and there is therapy that we can help you get connected to.
So if you or someone you know is having any of these symptoms, contact us now to set up an appointment
