Checklist: 10 signs that you have increased anxiety
Text: Polina Nepomnyaschaya
Worry about financial problems, exam or move to another country naturally. But if feelings about and without growing like a snowball, turn into fears, begin to interfere with leading a normal life and cannot cope with them, it seems that anxiety disorder develops. According to the WHO, 264 million people in the world have anxiety disorder (there are more women among them). Fortunately, unlike some other mental illnesses, it can be cured. One of the effective methods is cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy.
According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, it is not completely clear how anxiety occurs. Various factors affect: from genetic predisposition and psychological trauma experienced in childhood to alcohol and certain drugs. In anxiety disorder, people complain about many things: from stomach problems to feelings of impossible fatigue. According to some estimates, the possible symptoms of the disease are about a hundred. We chose the most common ones.
1
Your concern is disproportionate
Increased anxiety differs from ordinary anxiety in that it is intrusive, negatively affects the quality of life and disrupts daily human activity. In addition, to be considered a sign of frustration, anxiety must appear regularly for six months and it is more difficult to control every day. At the same time, the level of concern does not reflect the seriousness of the situation that caused it. Even ordinary things provoke strong anxiety, such as an obsessive thought about the iron turned off (which is actually turned off) or pillows that are somehow not so laid.
2
You are physically ill
Anxiety disorder has symptoms associated with the deterioration of not only emotional, but also physical condition: dizziness, dry mouth, increased sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea, headache. All these unpleasant symptoms are the result of an overload of the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates breathing, digestion and blood circulation. Having learned about the danger (he does not understand whether it is real or not), the brain prepares the body for a stressful situation - in case a person has to fight or run away. With a real threat, such an organism reaction is really necessary, but with an imaginary one, these effects will only harm - they will continue to disturb until the anxiety goes away.
Diagnosing anxiety disorder based only on these symptoms is a bad idea. They may be symptoms of other diseases, so it’s best to see a doctor and talk about your complaints. If a specialist determines that nausea, high blood pressure, malaise are not caused by physical health problems, you should contact a psychotherapist.
3
You get tired quickly
Fatigue is associated with the production of cortisol (a stress hormone) in response to anxiety caused by real or imagined problems. Cortisol induces the brain to get rid of the source of the experience, but in anxiety disorder it is often not clear what caused the anxiety. Subsequently, the brain gets tired to work under the pressure of this hormone, especially when it happens almost every day, and this causes a general feeling of fatigue. Theoretically, fatigue may be the result of other symptoms of anxiety disorder - insomnia or muscle tension - but scientists have not yet confirmed this.
Of course, on the basis of fatigue alone, anxiety disorder is not diagnosed, because it is a common symptom of many diseases, including depression and hypothyroidism. The treatment of all these conditions varies, therefore, the diagnosis must be approached carefully, given the full range of complaints and symptoms.
4
You can not sit still
Patients describe this state of anxiety as "an overwhelming desire to move." Anxiety disorder is common among children and adolescents, and restlessness is common in them. In a study of the behavior of 128 children with this diagnosis, scientists found that 74% of the participants were worried about this symptom. For comparison: abdominal pain occurs in 70% of people, increased sweating - in 45%. Parents may consider this behavior normal, but if bursts of activity recur almost every day for six months, this is a reason to visit a psychotherapist.
5
You have trouble concentrating
Have you been complaining about poor concentration for a long time and trying to solve the problem with the help of books on self-development and self-discipline? Surely the authors of such works will say that the matter is in laziness, unwillingness to move forward or dislike for work. Sometimes there is really enough good motivation for the situation to change - but it can be an anxiety disorder. In a study of 157 children with increased anxiety, it was found that more than two thirds of them had difficulty concentrating. In another study, where they studied the behavior of 175 adults with anxiety disorder, scientists found that 90% of the participants complained of low concentration, and the greater their anxiety, the worse the concentration.
Anxiety attacks can reduce productivity and adversely affect working memory. Working, or operational, memory helps to store information while a person uses it (it must be borne in mind that working and short-term memory is not the same thing). And, of course, anxiety disorder is not the only reason that makes it difficult to carry out standard tasks at work or to remember who you just called. Problems with memory and concentration are also considered signs of attention deficit disorder and depression.
6
You are irritable
Irritability arises from the fact that the nervous system becomes hypersensitive to everything that happens, and not because you have a bad temper. An acute reaction to things that previously would not have knocked you out of the rut is a characteristic sign of increased anxiety. Last year’s study found that more than 90% of the 6166 participants feel extreme temper during periods of acute illness.
It is difficult to control emotions, but you can try to learn this. Take a deep breath and analyze what annoys you or under what circumstances it happens. Take a time-out or limit communication with a person-trigger - this will help prevent mood swings. And if anxiety disorder is the basis of irritability, then as it is treated, this symptom should also pass.
7
Your muscles are constantly tense.
Muscle tension as a symptom of anxiety disorder is poorly understood. But why it occurs, it is known: the body reacts to stress with muscle contraction, preparing for any development of events (it will suddenly have to run). In the case of anxiety disorder, it is not necessary to run anywhere, but the muscles remain tense. This manifests itself in different ways: compression of the jaw or fists, muscle pain, cramps, clamps. Sometimes the discomfort comes to the point that a person cannot get out of bed and you need to take medicine to alleviate the situation.
According to the doctor of psychological sciences and co-director of the Institute of Anxiety and Stress Disorders (Maryland, USA) Sally Winston, physical activity helps control muscle tension. The main thing in this question is regularity, otherwise it will become more difficult to cope with new bouts of anxiety and pain. Relaxation methods also help to reduce muscle tension - for relaxation therapy, efficacy in the treatment of anxiety disorder has been demonstrated.
8
You sleep badly
It is not unusual to wriggle around half the night before a responsible performance or appointment to a new position. But if this happens again and again - including for no apparent reason - it is likely that you have an anxiety disorder. Most often, people with such a diagnosis complain that they do not sleep well or wake up in the middle of the night. In the morning they get up broken and, not having time to get out of bed, they think only about how to go to bed as soon as possible - and so on in a circle.
Scientists have repeatedly stated the connection between insomnia and anxiety disorder. It is not yet clear exactly what is the cause and what the consequence. Most likely, they affect each other, that is, the disorder causes insomnia and vice versa. So, in the Royal College of London conducted a study - it turned out that insomnia in childhood provokes the development of disorder in the future. Sleep disturbance is not only dangerous: according to the American Association for the Study of Anxiety-Depressive Disorders, this problem can lead to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke and obesity. But there is a solution: for example, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps to get rid of anxiety disorder and insomnia, as Canadian scientists believe.
9
You are scared
Phobia is a distinct type of anxiety disorder; it is an irrational fear of specific objects or situations, such as snakes (herpetophobia) or flying on an airplane (aerophobia). If fear becomes overwhelming, destructive and disproportionate to actual risk, this is a clear sign of a phobic disorder. A person understands that there are no objective reasons to fear, but he cannot control himself. Phobias complicate and spoil life, often influencing the choice: for example, because of the fear of flying, a person denies himself traveling to countries where he wants to go, or spends a weekend watching television, and not in the forest with friends, fearing insects.
In a separate type of anxiety disorder there is another phobia - the fear of society, or social anxiety disorder. With this disease, people are afraid that others may condemn them, humiliate them, reject or negatively assess their actions, feel anxiety or fear of events, where there will be many guests, or avoid them altogether. Being in public, a person with a social phobia worries about his every step and word, begins to blush, hesitate - and feels even worse because the situation cannot be controlled. Social phobia is a fairly common problem. In America alone, 15 million people have it, but few of them seek professional help.
10
You are a perfectionist
It is normal to make mistakes, analyze, try to avoid them in the future and move on. Condemn, scold yourself, afraid not to meet someone's standards and expectations - no. The pursuit of excellence through self-flagellation threatens with emotional health problems: scientists have already established a link between perfectionism and anxiety disorder, where illness is a consequence.
Perfectionists are convinced that you need to be perfect in everything - this applies not only to personal and professional qualities, but to any trifles: from tile in a bathroom polished to squeak to books arranged alphabetically on a shelf. But usually the result does not bring pleasure, a person begins to reproach himself for what could have been done better - and he starts to redo everything, not understanding how and when to stop. Doctor of Psychology Kataria Mokru in this case advises to set the timer for two hours - when they expire, stop, no matter how you feel and how well you have completed the task. Try this life hacking first in everyday life, and then at work - so you will begin not only to save time, but also to control your actions.
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