Anxiety 101

Anxiety is a mental illness that has the power to run our lives if we let it. It is very common among people of all ages, with more than 3 million cases per year in the United States alone. Anxiety comes when we have low levels of serotonin, a hormone that is known to stabilize our moods and keep us happy. It is natural for everyone to have some level of anxiety, but once it starts to get out of control it can become a roadblock in our lives. Some symptoms that could result from anxiety are excessive worrying, feeling agitated, restlessness, fatigue, difficult focusing, trouble falling asleep, panic attacks, and more.

Excessive worrying:

This happens when distracting, severe and intrusive thoughts constantly fill your head over a long expanse of time. Excessive worrying can become serious if it starts to affect your way of living and the people around you.

Feeling agitated: Feelings of agitation oftentimes cause your heart rate to pick up, your palms to start sweating and shaking, and your mouth becomes dry.

Restlessness: People who usually experience anxiety describe themselves as feeling like they can’t sit still. They need to keep moving or else they fear their thoughts will completely take over.

Fatigue: Fatigue usually consists of feelings of overwhelming tiredness. It can correlate with both feelings of physical tiredness and sleepiness. Both types could be due to an anxiety disorder.

Difficult focusing: This is when you constantly find yourself struggling to keep your attention on one thing for even a short period of time.

Trouble falling asleep: We have all experienced this, but when it happens all the time, it can be caused by anxious thoughts keeping you up.

Panic attacks: Everyone’s panic attacks are different, but they usually consist of trouble breathing, blurred vision, crying, and confusion. They happen when we become overwhelmed by fear and don’t know how to handle it.

There are more symptoms other than the ones described above, but these are the most common among those who have anxiety. Having only one or two of these symptoms doesn’t automatically mean you have anxiety. However, once you start to experience many of these feelings together and often, it is possible that you struggle with anxiety. To be sure, you can always talk to a doctor for an official diagnosis.