Anxiety: the 14 most common symptoms

Anxiety or fear can turn everyday situations into something that becomes a real challenge. But if you are aware of its presence,

Anxiety: the 14 most common symptoms
Anxiety: the 14 most common symptoms

Anxiety or fear can turn everyday situations into something that becomes a real challenge. But if you are aware of its presence, you have just taken one of the first and most important steps towards minimizing its symptoms.

It is important to remember that when a person begins to feel anxiety or fear, it is not enough to overcome it by focusing solely on the symptoms themselves.

In that case, attention should rather be focused on the more useful and practical aspects of the problem. These can be, for example, all kinds of constructive activities, increasing physical activity, allocating more time to rest, etc.

Your goal should be to avoid the disruptions in your daily life caused by the symptoms of psychological anxiety. Of course, they should be properly identified and recognized beforehand. Only then will it be possible to begin to discover their causes. Undoubtedly, some of them will be familiar to you (because you've probably already dealt with them before), and some of them will turn out to be completely new to you.

We know very well that we are very different both biologically and psychologically. This means that each of us reacts differently to anxiety and may have different symptoms.

What are the most common symptoms of anxiety?

It's time to look at the most common symptoms and conditions that can be caused by severe anxiety or anxiety. They are as follows:

 

  1. Feeling as if you are short of breath and having difficulty breathing.

These symptoms are some of the most disturbing because you feel as if you are being strangled with a pillow. In such cases, it is extremely important to remember that the cause of the experience is fear, which has caused the nerve connections to be overstimulated. These symptoms are in no way harmful or dangerous for you. Your breathing will not be stopped.

  1. Chest pain.

The symptom is caused by excessive tension in the chest muscles caused by severe anxiety. Chest pain can even trigger a panic attack, as it may even indicate a heart attack at first.

Naturally, however, this is not the case, these are just psychological symptoms. When they do happen, the most important thing to remember is that they did not start directly in your chest. They are caused by the body's reaction to anxiety. Deep breathing and various relaxation exercises can help you reduce this unpleasant phenomenon.

  1. Palpitations.

Anxiety also increases the level of adrenaline in the blood, which can cause severe heart palpitations. This is also something we are not used to. Disturbances in heart rhythm are also a common feature that anxiety can manifest.

  1. Pale skin.

When we experience a strong feeling of anxiety, the blood flow to the muscles is significantly increased. This is because your body becomes guided by an instinctive fight-or-flight response. Your skin color may return to its natural colors a moment after your body begins to return to its normal state. However, when an anxiety attack occurs, most people turn pale in that case.

  1. Sweating.

During periods of anxiety, body temperature rises in preparation for the fight-or-flight response described above. To get back into balance and stop sweating, you can try to lower your body temperature. For example, it's a good idea to go outside in the cool air. In many cases, it will even work to rinse the neck and wrists with cold water.

  1. Chills or convulsions.

Chills are a perfectly normal reaction to anxiety, fear, or anxiety. Of course, without taking into account the other common cause of lowering body temperature. If you are suffering from an anxiety attack, it is normal for you to get chills. They will pass as soon as the fear that holds you in its grip decreases in intensity.

  1. Pain in the arms and neck.

These parts of the body appear to be the first to suffer from stress-induced excessive muscle tension. The face also tends to twist due to the stiffening of the upper body muscles and the tension in the tendons and ligaments.

  1. Digestive problems.

The digestive system is the area of ‹‹your body that uses your blood as much as possible. Its job is to transport nutrients from the food we eat that are absorbed in the intestines.

When you have severe anxiety, blood is immediately transferred to the muscles as a result of the instinctive "fight or flight" response. As a result, all digestive processes slow down. Additionally, the muscles around the stomach and in the abdomen tighten. This can cause digestive problems such as indigestion, stomach acidity, and diarrhea or constipation.

  1. Skin problems.

Some of the very common symptoms of anxiety and stress are blemishes and excessive dryness of the skin. Acne can appear on the nose, cheeks and forehead. Usually the pustules will go away on their own as soon as you start feeling better and the anxiety goes away.

  1. Weakness and tingling in the legs and hands.

The fight-or-flight reaction is a really intense response of your body to a potential threat. This has a huge impact on any signals that are transmitted to you by your body's receptors. The tingling sensation is caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood in your extremities. These symptoms are in no way harmful, the situation will return to normal after light exercise.

  1. A feeling of dry mouth.

During an attack of anxiety or restlessness, body fluids are diverted to other parts of the body. This is why your lips may suddenly feel dry. To avoid this sensation, remember to drink plenty of water. This will keep you well hydrated and your lips won't feel dry. This symptom is not harmful, it will go away by itself as soon as the fear leaves you.

  1. Insomnia.

One of the most difficult effects of anxiety or anxiety attacks to overcome is insomnia. It translates into an inability to fall asleep or sleep uninterrupted. In this case, it is important not to struggle with these problems by force.

Just follow your standard bedtime hours. After one or two sleepless nights, your body will recover and the insomnia problem will disappear. Of course, this will only be true if you have already got rid of the cause of your fear or anxiety.

  1. Nightmares.

Dreams usually reflect what happens in our daily lives. If we are relaxed and happy, we will have positive and pleasant dreams. True, nightmares are unpleasant, but also completely harmless. However, they can have a negative impact on the sleep cycle, with exceptional severity.

This means that you will regularly wake up in the middle of the night in a sweat, which naturally disturbs your relaxation. To avoid these types of problems, it is a good idea to practice relaxing during the day, preferably right before going to bed.

  1. Excessive irritability.

You've probably noticed many times that people become more irritable when they are tired or sick. One of the main causes of this problem is anxiety or sadness. Irritability is a normal reaction to these kinds of experiences.

Above, we've outlined some of the most common symptoms caused by anxiety or anxiety. However, these are not all, and you may also experience the following ailments for the same cause:

  • Fear of losing control of your own life.
  • The onset of depression and suicidal thoughts.
  • Visual disturbance.
  • Hearing disturbance.
  • Hormonal problems.
  • Headaches and migraines.
  • Eye pain.
  • Agoraphobia