Danger or threat that a person feels causes an inflow of adrenaline. It is a chemical messenger in the brain which leads to the anxious response of the person towards the ‘danger’ they might be feeling. When an individual starts feeling anxiety too often or worries too much, it is not considered normal for their daily lives. And, then the person is said to have anxiety disorders.
But how do you identify that the person has any disorder or not? It is normal to feel anxious when you have some challenging situations to face, for instance, an interview or a first date. So, to prevent an anxiety disorder, you need to first understand the symptoms of it.
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders
There is a long list of signs and symptoms to identify an anxiety disorder. But since the chemical reaction in the brain varies in different bodies (due to the chemical uniqueness of the body), the anxiety attack symptoms may also differ from person to person. It can have a different effect in terms of intensity, duration, type, or frequency.
Psychological effects may be:
- A feeling of restlessness – If people start feeling anxiety or any other related disorder, they have a sense of being on edge in that particular period. They might not feel comfortable in any situation leading to confusion. Consequently, they also might feel irritated and agitated.
- Fear of embarrassment or humiliation – People with any anxiety disorder think too much about how they look in front of other people. They feel that they might look embarrassing or humiliating to others. There think that people judge them and therefore avoids social gatherings even.
- Fatigue – A feeling of tiredness is always there if a person feels anxious in a day. They might not want to work or do anything. Moreover, they might prefer to sleep because of the constant feeling of fatigue.
- Worry too often – Any person facing any anxiety disorder worries too often. They even think about small things and give too much importance to small matters. And hence, they feel weak in their knees and are unable to control their worry.
- Feeling of nervousness – Anxiety disorders lead to the building of nervousness in a person. They feel too cautious while doing anything, as to avoid any mistakes and further embarrassment to themselves. Additionally, the feeling of losing control is another problem they face.
- Emotions of sadness – There is always a feeling of crying. Small disturbances in the person’s life may have a huge impact on their mood. Any negative or de-motivating talk around them may bring sadness easily. Eventually, they might also have a feeling of being choked or tightening of the throat.
- Lack of concentration – Anxiety disorders decreases the concentration power in a person. They cannot keep their focus on a single thing for a long time. This might also lead them to feel dis-interested every time.
Physical Effects may be:
- Shortness of breath – A person feeling anxiety disorder may have problems in breathing. Anxiety brings panic along with it. And the body might not be able to inhale properly because of the panic the chemical reactions are causing.
- Dry Mouth – Along with shortness of breath, the person might also feel their mouth be dry. You may have experienced this whenever you feel nervous, your mouth gets dry and you need water.
- Sweating – Anxiety disorders increase sweating in a person. People who do not feel comfortable in a situation sweat a lot. Do not confuse this sweating with one that happens in a warm environment. For example- our hands get wet when we have to present in front of a whole class.
- Shaking – People who feel nervous or anxious starts shaking. They are not able to control their bodies and they might have a feeling of shaking. Like we feel that our hands or legs are shaking when we are nervous.
- Muscle pain – There might also be muscle pain during an anxiety attack. A person might feel unbearable chest pain.
- Increase in heart rate – People with anxiety disorders feel an increase in the racing of heartbeat. The heart starts beating faster than usual. This might also be the reason behind chest pain.
- Vomiting – A feeling of vomiting might also be there. Anxiety disorders can make the person feel hollow inside or as if something is bothering them inside. Hence, the feeling of taking it out, comes in the form of vomiting.
- Discomfort in sleeping – People with anxiety disorders tend to stay up late at night. They might feel difficulty in sleeping and are unable to sleep for long hours.
Conclusion
There are many physical, psychological, and emotional signs and symptoms of an anxiety attack. But symptoms differ from person to person. For example, one person may feel only the minor signs of an anxiety attack, while the other might feel all the symptoms to great intensity.
The signs and symptoms of an anxiety attack may last for a few seconds to many hours. Furthermore, it is not limited to one age group. People of all ages might feel these symptoms, including children, teenagers, and adults.
You do not need to fear anxiety disorders as calming yourself can easily end any problem. Taking a healthy diet, doing exercises regularly, and implementing stress management techniques can help to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorder. Hence, anxiety disorder has a variety of symptoms but there are many natural and medical solutions to it that will help you to get relief from it. Talk to a therapist now.
To understand anxiety disorders, click here.