Everyone worries. It's a normal part of being human.
But, when stress, worry, and overwhelm crowd your thoughts, interrupt your ability to make decisions, cause you to avoid social situations, disrupt your ability to maintain relationships, find pleasure in activities you once enjoyed, or cause persistent feelings of panic when engaged in everyday tasks, it may be a good idea to speak with a mental health professional.
Anxiety disorders can take many different forms, but what they all have in common is that the body's reaction to a stressful situation becomes overblown, lingering, or otherwise unmanageable, making it difficult to return to a more relaxed or calm state.
Chronic feelings of worry and stress don't only limit how you interact in your social, familial, and professional arenas, they also harm your physical wellbeing. It's not uncommon for those struggling with chronic anxiety to also experience headaches, difficulty breathing, digestive issues, disrupted sleep, and even an increased risk of heart disease.
While anxiety disorders are common, it would inaccurate to assume that overwhelming anxiety is just part of daily life, or something that you have to live with forever.
Help is available, and mental health professionals can help you understand what type of anxiety you are dealing with, and how to best manage it so that you can move forward living life well.
Feelings of dread or panic
Trouble concentrating
Difficulty making decisions
Heart palpitations
Interrupted or poor sleep
Irritability, tension, and restlessness
Abdominal distress
Avoidance of social situations
Fear or panic during common or everyday events
Overuse of alcohol or other substances to calm down
This is not an exhaustive list of symptoms, and not everyone has overt symptoms of anxiety. Additionally anxiety disorders can co-occur with other mental health conditions, especially when you have experienced significant, and rapid changes in life, or have experienced a traumatic event.
If you're struggling privately, or your symptoms are not mentioned or look different than the list above it's still a good idea to check in with a mental health professional. You never need to suffer in silence.
There is good news. Anxiety is treatable, and often through therapy and lifestyle changes, or in some cases therapy and lifestyle changes in combination with medication, you can find more ease in everyday life. A therapist may work with you to better understand and manage anxious thoughts and reactions, create strategies to better deal with stressful situations at work and home, develop tools to regulate your nervous system, and support you in developing positive exercise, sleep, and nutritional changes that support a healthy mind and body. A psychiatrist or psychiatric clinician may also be a part of your care if medications are recommended.
