10 not-so-obvious signs you have anxiety
IT’S completely normal to feel anxious about different things throughout your life. Speaking in public, job interviews, important tests, romantic dates, and other such occasions can cause some amount of emotional distress and angst, and these usually subside once the events have occurred.
What’s not normal, however, is to constantly be in a state of intense fear, worry and dread, or to be inexplicably nervous about everyday situations. Constant anxiety can eat away at your quality of life over time, and cause you to become withdrawn and intense.
The signs of an anxiety disorder are not always obvious; however, especially for people who manage to function with the condition. If you experience one or more of the following, you may be suffering from anxiety and should seek professional advice.
You have constant digestive problems
It’s like the butterflies have decided to just never leave your stomach. Diarrhoea, constipation, acid reflux and just a constant tummy ache may not be caused by what you ate, but what you are constantly worried about. The brain sends certain signals to the stomach to help activate the natural ‘fight or flight’ response in stressful situations, so when this is constant, you may have constant digestive issues.
You are always bouncing
Don’t worry too much if you catch yourself tapping or rocking your leg rhythmically to help you concentrate, but if you find that you can’t stop shaking certain body parts, and generally feel agitated, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder.
You’re easily frightened
Anxiety causes your heartbeat to pick up pace, which causes you to startle easily. If you notice that you’re easily and frequently startled by the simplest and most innocent things, it can indicate that there’s a problem.
You’re a perfectionist who can’t slow down
Many people who suffer from anxiety have a terrible fear of failure or inadequacy. This can easily mask itself as perfectionism. You want everything to go a particular way and you are thrown off by the slightest change in schedule. You must get all the details right or the world will end. It has to be perfect. Plus, you are always in a rush to nowhere in particular. You walk very fast. You are always almost out of breath, but not quite enough for you to stop. You must move on to the next thing. Now.
You keep flaking on events
Social anxiety is one of the most common forms of anxiety. It’s normal to want to run away when you see your old schoolteacher in the supermarket, but it’s another thing to always cancel on your friends last minute because the thought of socialising makes you feel stressed.
You’re very forgetful
You walk to the door with the groceries and realise that you left the keys in the car, so you rush to get them. When you get back to the door, you realise that you left the groceries in the car. Repeat five times. Did you remember to buy the bread, by the way?
You’re constantly in pain
While anxiety is a mental issue, it can also become physical. Constantly releasing the chemicals your body needs to escape stressful situations can slowly cause your overall health to decline, and your anxiety can lead to aches, pains, and several other physical conditions.
You have trouble sleeping
Being anxious means you’re constantly sensing a threat, and the brain is not programmed to rest when it perceives a threat. Even when you do get some sleep, it’s not very deep, restful sleep.
You cry randomly
You’re not even sure why you’re crying, but you feel like you must.
You have trouble making decisions
You tend to make great decisions, you just don’t do it often enough. You find yourself putting off even simple decisions (like how to respond to an e-mail), indefinitely and procrastinating until you feel too guilty to even bother.
