Anxiety is a mental health issue that can range from mild to severe. For those battling episodes of intense anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed, there’s no doubt it impacts every life component. Understanding anxiety symptoms can help you to see that it may be time to seek out help. In doing so, it may be possible to see a significant level of improvement in the quality of life. The key is seeing that it’s time to get help.
What Are Common Anxiety Symptoms?
Those with an anxiety disorder will experience worry and tension at a much higher level than is healthy. That is, while most people feel anxious from time-to-time due to normal stressors, those with an anxiety disorder become overwhelmed. The anxiety a person with a disorder feels is much more intense than the fear some have over giving a speech. The best way to see the difference is to look at the anxiety symptoms many people have:
- Racing thoughts, often an inability to calm the mind due to the intensity of those thoughts
- Uncontrollable over-thinking; what seems simple and not-a-problem for others is debilitating for you
- Heightened alertness, hyper-focus on what’s happening around them, and an inability to relax
- Feelings of dread or panic, a feeling of impending doom
- Changes in appetite leading to either weight gain or weight loss
- Feeling irritable and unable to focus on tasks at hand no matter how important they are
People who have anxiety symptoms feel this way often. Sometimes they do not know why it occurs. Often, they have no control over it and cannot just “calm down” or be realistic. Anxiety can be crippling as a result, especially when it impacts daily tasks and responsibilities.
How Does an Anxiety Disorder Impact Life?
Another way to look at the signs of anxiety is to consider how it impacts daily life. For example, some people struggle with an anxiety attack. This causes an increased heart rate and rapid breathing. A person may feel as though the world is spinning around them. They cannot catch their breath and feel a sense of losing control. It’s a terrifying experience that can cause not just those few minutes to be difficult but cause ongoing fear.
An anxiety disorder can cause problems related to:
- Accomplishing tasks at home or work
- Connecting with other people often leading to isolation
- Relationships, especially when a partner does not understand
- Changes in physical health
- Mental health disorders, including the onset of major depression
Everyday life can become challenging for those battling anxiety. That includes just getting through simple tasks at home, work, or school. When your mind cannot focus on tasks at hand due to anxious thoughts, it can impact every area of your life.
How Can Anxiety Treatment Help?
It is possible to find significant help for anxiety. That help comes in the form of learning to control symptoms and thought processes. Anxiety treatment can also include medications that can improve chemical and hormone imbalances that lead to anxiety. What is most important to know is that it’s not easy to simply turn off anxiety. There’s no cure for it, but you can learn to manage it. Doing so starts with understanding the condition and then finding help to support change.
Anxiety treatment is effective because it allows a person to gain control over thoughts and feelings. If you continue to live with these symptoms, it may limit your quality of life and will lead to complications with relationships. It can be challenging to reach out for help, but doing so can create new opportunities for growth while also enhancing your ability to live a life you love. The key first step is to recognize the signs of anxiety and to take action to treat it. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, treatment options also include virtual telehealth appointments.
At Treatment Connection, we’ve made it easy to find the substance use and mental health treatment you need, so that receiving critical care is no longer a hard process. Find an anxiety treatment center in your area by visiting our website.