It’s
no secret that everyone gets nervous about something now and again. It could be
dealing with financial trouble or my worst nightmare – speaking before a crowd
of people. However for some people anxiety becomes so frequent and powerful
that it can take over and control their lives.
If
the anxiety that you deal with on a daily basis has become a real disorder how
can you tell? Anxiety comes in many forms such as social anxiety, phobias and
panic attacks and sometimes the distinction between what is normal and what is
an official diagnosis can be unclear.
Below
are five symptoms, if you experience any of them on a regular basis you may
want to seek help to overcome them.
1. Generalized
anxiety disorder (GAD) is
worrying too much about common everyday things no matter how big or small they
may be. GAD would be consistent anxiety for up to many months to the point it
would interfere with your daily life.
2. You
could have problems getting to sleep or staying asleep which is not that unusual
under normal circumstances. But if you consistently find yourself lying awake
in worry about specific things then you may be dealing with an anxiety
disorder. It has been estimated that about half of the people that experience
GAD have sleep trouble.
A
tip that anxiety may be playing a part is if you wake up feeling wired and your
mind is racing to the point you cannot calm yourself down
3. There
is anxiety that is related to specific things like crowds, flying or other particular
things. If the fear of these things is very overwhelming or disrupts your life
it is a sign you have a phobia which is a type of anxiety disorder.
Phobias
can be disrupting but they are not present all the time. They may not appear
until you are confronted by the thing that overwhelms you. You may go for years
without having a problem – then when you are confronted with the prospect of
your fear you will realize that you need help.
4. When
confronted with the prospect of addressing a crowd of people most people will
have butterflies. But if the fear is so overwhelming that no amount of practice
will make it better or if the worry is extremely strong then you have a form of
social disorder or phobia.
You
may worry for days or weeks before the event and if you pull off the event you
may feel deeply uncomfortable and think about it for a long time afterward,
worrying about how you were judged.
5. If
you suffer a panic attack you know how terrifying it is. You experience a
gripping fear and a feeling of helplessness that lasts for minutes with symptoms
of a pounding heart, tingling sensation, breathing difficulty, sweating,
dizziness, tight chest, stomach pain and weakness.
Having a panic attack does not mean you
have an anxiety disorder but those who experience them many times could be
diagnosed with panic disorder. If you have panic disorder you may live in fear
that you will suffer an attack at any time and will avoid places where attacks
have occurred before.
If you experience any of these symptoms
you can be assured there is help available to allow you to overcome them. It
will take only your action to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal being
it self-help or seeking the assistance of a professional.