Anxiety: what you need to know

Have you ever noticed that you can't stop worrying or feeling afraid?

Anxiety is an umbrella term used for multiple disorders that can cause extreme symptoms such as: nervousness, fear, excessive worry, as well as some physical symptoms. Such as accelerated heartbeat, dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, insomnia, upset stomach, among others. Severe anxiety will affect the daily life of the individual. One of the goals of our sessions is to help the individual recognize and change their anxiety-related thought patterns. Treatment can help or change the way the individual reacts to typical triggers. Another goal is to understand the root cause of anxiety, understanding where it comes from is key to successful and long-lasting work.

If for the last two weeks, you have been constantly worried, scared or panicked about things that could happen or for no reason, you may be experiencing anxiety.

But with a little help, you can learn to take back control.

What is anxiety?

Everyone experiences anxious feelings at some point in their life, whether it's at a job interview, meeting a prospect for the first time, or about to have a baby.

A little bit of anxiety is helpful, it helps us react to potential stress or threats by speeding up our reflexes and focusing our attention, and it usually calms down once the stressful situation has passed.

Anxiety is when those feelings won't go away, they're extreme to the situation, and you can't seem to control them.

When anxiety is severe or present all the time, it makes it difficult to deal with daily life.

These feelings are quite intense, they can last for weeks, months, or can keep going up and down for many years, negatively affect your thoughts, behavior, and overall health, and can leave you feeling distraught and not enjoying life.

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as pain, palpitations, or stomach cramps. For some people, these physical symptoms are their main concern.

Anxiety can also affect other areas of your life, such as your ability to cope, perform at work, and can affect your relationships with friends, family, or a partner.

It is common for people who have anxiety to also feel depressed.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression can overlap, you may also want to take a look at information on depression.

Anxiety feels like you're alone, what are the signs and symptoms?

Worry and anxiety symptoms may appear gradually. This can make it difficult to know how much worry is too much.

Some common anxiety symptoms include:

Hot flushes

Shaking chills

Accelerated heart

Feeling of tightness in the chest or chest pains

Difficulty breathing

accumulated worries that get bigger and bigger

Racing mind full of thoughts

Constant need to check that things are okay or clean

Persistent worrying ideas that seem 'dumb or crazy'

If you think you have any of these symptoms, we recommend that you review the different types of anxiety disorders mentioned above and then seek help.

Here are some of the changes you may notice yourself doing or experiencing when you're anxious:

staying up too late

Drinking alcohol and/or using recreational drugs excessively

little exercise

Unexplained aches and pains

Not showering, or not wanting to change clothes.

eating more unhealthy food than usual)

Accelerated heart

Wet and sweaty hands

Difficulty breathing or a lump in the throat.

You may even believe that he is having a heart attack.

cloudy mind

These are some of the changes you may feel or experience when you are anxious:

Crying more often than usual

Avoiding going out with your peers

have trouble concentrating

permanent frustration

Worrying so much about your work that you can't finish it

Feeling that people don't understand or "don't understand where you're coming from"

Difficulty making decisions.

Here are some actions you can experience in times of anxiety:

Avoid talking to others

Avoid gatherings or occasions

Yelling at your kids all the time

Avoiding other parents at school or day care

not wanting to socialize

Not seeing your relatives

Pick fights with your partner.

So could it be depression or anxiety?

The examples above cover a variety of signs of anxiety.

If you are mainly worried, or experiencing moments of panic, it could be anxiety, which is why it is important that you seek help.