Anxiety Symptoms

Each one of us has probably experienced the feeling of impending doom before an important event at one time or another in our lives. However, for some people, these feelings are persistent and impact their quality of life and relationships. Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health issues in the world. This blog aims to explore what is an anxiety disorder, its types, and the complexities behind it — making it easier to understand, seek help, and offer support to those who live with it.

What are the Symptoms of Anxiety?

A persistent feeling of dread, fear, and panic in anticipation of an event or occasion is known as anxiety. For most people, it is a temporary feeling that they experience once in a blue moon. Anxiety disorder on the other hand produces persistent and long-lasting feelings of anxiousness that don’t go away and may even worsen with time.

To understand anxiety disorder, we have to understand what anxiety is in a clinical sense. Symptoms of anxiety disorder include:

• The feeling of impending doom

• Anxious thoughts

• Tension

• Restlessness

• Increased heart rate/palpitations

• Breathlessness

• Aches and pains without cause

• Faintness or dizziness

• Behavioral changes

• Avoiding certain situations

Anxiety symptoms may be felt by any one of us during daily life activities. However, for a person suffering from anxiety disorder, these feelings are ever-present, crippling, and prone to getting worse with time. There are various types of anxiety disorders. The same person may suffer from multiple types of anxiety disorder symptoms at once.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Agoraphobia

Triggered by unfamiliar situations, locations, crowds, or places outside the comfort zone, Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes paralyzing feelings of fear that are overwhelming.

Panic Anxiety Disorder

Individuals with this type of anxiety disorder suffer from panic attacks. A panic or anxiety attack is an encompassing feeling of intense fear with no obvious trigger. The anxiety attack symptoms include pain in the chest/abdomen, nausea, pounding heart, dizziness, etc. These symptoms occur suddenly and without warning and remain for multiple minutes or longer. Panic disorder may overlap with Agoraphobia in some individuals.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety manifests itself as the fear of being judged by others in a social situation. People with social anxiety disorder often feel like others are looking at them when they go out in public.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

The fear of being away from a loved one is a pretty normal response, especially in toddlers and infants. However, in adults/older children, it usually is crippling and excessive.

Health Anxiety

Previously known as hypochondria, health anxiety is a type of anxiety where people persistently worry about having or developing a serious health issue. It is also known as illness anxiety disorder. Patients often feel compelled to constantly search online for symptoms of health issues they believe they might have.

Selective Mutism

It is fairly common to encounter a child who refuses to speak under certain conditions (E.g., in school) while they interact normally with parents or at home. This condition can also present in adolescents and adults due to fear/anxiousness.

Effects of Anxiety on Your Body and Mind

The symptoms of anxiety can be both physical and psychological. Where the psychological impact of anxiety leads to feelings of constant dread and fear, the physical symptoms can take a toll on the overall health. People with anxiety disorder live in a state of “fight or flight”. The physical effects of always being on guard against a perceived non-existent threat put a strain on the body leading to ill health and injury.