How to Recognize the Signs of an Anxiety Disorder and Learn to Manage Them

We all suffer from anxiety, if that’s any consolation.

Some feel shame. Others feel humiliated. Others worry that they are becoming increasingly unable to deal with everyday challenges. Anxiety sufferers’ emotions might distance them from their loved ones just when they need them the most.

Do not feel isolated. Millions of individuals across the globe suffer from anxiety, and it has nothing to do with age, gender, color, etc. More and more people are being diagnosed with this mental illness every year.

Listen, we’re all anxious. It’s just something that happens, something that’s integral to living. That’s a peculiar thing to say, especially from someone with anxiety. Worrying is a natural protective mechanism, hardwired into every human being. Therefore, we all experience it occasionally.

Worry is beneficial because it heightens alertness, essential in the face of genuine threats. Without caution, we might do some foolish and potentially harmful things. Anxiety is considered chronic when it lasts six months or longer or causes significant impairment, such as social withdrawal or loss of interest in pleasurable activities.

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Classifications and Targeted Relief for Anxiety

Disorders such as generalized anxiety, panic episodes, social anxiety, PTSD, and OCD are all subtypes of anxiety. Identifying and treating your specific form of stress is more likely if you know the symptoms.

Anxiety can range from mild to severe. In less severe cases, treatment by a medical practitioner or medication may not be necessary. Instead, it’s helpful to have someone you can talk to about the stresses and frustrations of daily life. If you can identify the situations or circumstances that cause you to stress, you can take steps to alleviate your anxiety. And remember the importance of sleep!

You can count on having some help along the way. Your mental and emotional well-being will greatly benefit from reducing your overall activity, responsibilities, and duties. Extreme anxiety, though, may leave you with little choice but to seek professional counseling and even medication.

It can be tempting to evaluate your anxiety in light of the abundance of self-help and pop psychology materials available today. Please exercise extreme caution. Psychologists and psychiatrists spend a great deal of time in school learning about the slight problems of mental health. No book or magazine article can replace a professional medical evaluation. But these can help you understand what questions to ask doctors and other medical professionals.

Signs of Anxiety

Here is a list of some of the more typical anxiety symptoms that, if ignored, could develop into more severe problems. You should get it if you need treatment, even if it’s just a mental evaluation. If you’re embarrassed to admit you need help, know that the anguish and loneliness you’ll feel if you wait to get it are far worse. Others will have a more challenging time dealing with you when your behavior worsens.

Increasing heart rate
Anger
Keeping yourself out of potentially stressful situations
Poor sleep
Having irrational worries
No longer able to handle ordinary tasks
The constant sense of sorrow and despair
Persistent anxiety
Having a hard time keeping cool
Highly agitatedly
Public-Session Anxiety Disorder (PSAD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
Experiencing tension and tightness
Misplaced anxiety
Constant gaps in memory
Insomnia due to hoarding
Added pressure
Intolerant
Rhythm disturbances
Depression and low self-esteem
preoccupied with filth or disease
Additional Compulsive Habits
Attacks of Panic
Lack of Focus
Remembering Tough Times
Difficulty in breathing
Gets tired easily
Shaking that can’t be stopped
Vertigo
Stressed out upon arising
Relieving Your Anxiety, Part 1: Say It!

Like the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step is to come to terms with the fact that you have an anxiety disorder and require assistance. Then, and only then, can you begin to treat or perhaps cure your illness. If you recognize your anxiety, you are more likely to seek treatment (and stick with it).

Recognizing and accepting that you have anxiety is a huge first step on the road to healing, and I can’t stress that enough. Far too many people either refuse to acknowledge their problem or attempt to “tough it out.” They’re just making things more difficult for themselves and pushing away the people who care about them and could help them the most. The sooner you realize you have a problem and start looking for solutions, the better off you will be.

Period!

Not Everyone Has the Same Worries

Because of these individual differences, no two people will ever share a similar experience of anxiety. Anxiety circumstances can alter from almost minor to overwhelming daily and even hourly, just like the weather in some regions.

If your anxiety isn’t too severe, several self-care practices you may implement at home have been shown to help. Slowing your heart rate and soothing your mind, like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing techniques, can yield excellent results.

When anxiety becomes overwhelming or if it lasts for an extended period, it’s time to seek professional help. Your primary care physician, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and social workers can all work together as part of your “team” to help you identify the specific kind of anxiety you’re dealing with and develop successful ways of managing it.

Your Anxiety Can Be Treated

Even if you’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as you can remember, getting expert therapy is the key to overcoming it. You must have complete faith in and cooperation with your team to improve. These experts have the skills necessary to identify and address the root causes of issues. In most cases, the problem disappears forever after its source is eliminated.

Can we talk about medication? Intriguing query! Medication can help restore a chemical balance in the brain, typically disrupted by anxiety. That’s why trying the more basic forms of treatment is useless, including talking to loved ones or engaging in counseling or psychotherapy.

In conclusion, if talking things out and trying to relax aren’t helping, it’s time to contact a specialist. It’s not hopeless; there is assistance available.

Take charge of your anxiety with this 12-part article series. Relieve Anxiety Right Away [http://www.lovethatfeeling.com/blog/taking-control-of-anxiety-disorder-how-to-tell-when-you-have-anxiety/] if you suffer from generalized anxiety.

Best wishes from Toronto

Mr. Russ Hamel

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