Anxiety isn’t always just worrying about every little thing. Sometimes it can manifest in physical symptoms, it can be constantly underlying everything we do, or it can come on in debilitating waves. Anxiety might be causing you to sabotage areas of your life without you even realizing it. These are five ways that anxiety can show up in your life:
- Physical symptoms. You might be aware that symptoms like muscle pain, digestive problems, or racing heart are symptoms of anxiety, but there are many more physical byproducts of anxiety. Anxiety can trick us into thinking we are physically ill. We might feel lightheaded, tingling in our extremities, shortness of breath, shaking and trembling, feeling excessively hot and sweaty, feeling cold and shivering, headaches, and chest pains.
- Feeling out of touch with reality. Anxiety can make us feel like we are floating through space. Sometimes, we might feel like things around us aren’t real or like we are detached from our bodies. Things might look dull and we find it difficult to take in our surroundings.
- Fearing we are losing our minds. Anxiety can make us worry that we are going out of our minds. It might convince us that we are becoming psychotic, when we aren’t, or like our thoughts are getting away from us.
- Isolating ourselves and being secretive. Anxiety might tell us it is dangerous to open up to others. We might be afraid to be vulnerable or afraid to take risks. This can limit our opportunities and connections to others. It can lead to isolation and loneliness, convincing us we are the only ones having a certain experience. It can prevent us from getting help and building supportive networks.
- Procrastinating or overburdening ourselves. When we are anxious, we tend to take on too much. We might have poor boundaries and agree to everything, while neglecting ourselves. We then may procrastinate activities because we resent signing up for them or because we are holding ourselves to an unattainable standard.
Anxiety can be a nuisance, at best, and a debilitating experience, at worst. It can cause us to believe things about ourselves, an about life, that are untrue and cause us fear and distress. It can manifest in self-doubt or crushing panic symptoms. Regardless of how anxiety shows up in your life, it is possible to get help and live an anxiety-free life.If you are interested in anxiety therapy in Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter, Florida, please give me a call for a free consultation.
