Anxiety and depression have come to the forefront in recent years and with good reason. It is not uncommon to feel anxiety in any number of situations, but it is important to know the difference between “feeling anxious” and actually having an anxiety disorder.

There is a lot to know about anxiety and the impacts that it can have. With different types of anxiety, it can be difficult to know to what extent you are impacted and how it can change your life. Here is what to know about anxiety in your life.

How Do I Know if I Have Anxiety?

Millions of people ask, “how will I know if I have anxiety?” on a daily basis. But determining, “do I have anxiety” is a bit more complicated than it seems. There are some clear signs that you may be suffering from a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

A generalized anxiety disorder is a long-term condition. It has the capacity to make you feel anxious in any number of social situations or on a number of issues. It doesn’t pertain to a specific event, which would be an isolated case of feeling anxious.

There are a plethora of signs of a generalized anxiety disorder. For instance, working about situations that are uncontrollable and that ultimately cause stress. Those who feel generally anxious in certain situations are different from those who feel stress and anxiousness about situations that don’t necessarily impact them.

Perhaps you find yourself worrying about everything to the point that it impacts your daily life. Things such as school, work, and social life become impacted by your anxiety, making it difficult to partake in your daily life.

There is also an inability to let those stresses go. You worry about everything – your health, job, even minor things including household chores.

But it doesn’t end there. Depending on the severity of your anxiety, it is possible that there are physical and emotional manifestations of general anxiety. The constant distress can result in a variety of symptoms.

Things such as feeling restless or on edge, feeling irritable, having difficulty concentrating or feeling like your mind goes blank, difficulty sleeping or getting tired easily, and even having a tenseness in your muscles are all common.

If you’re experiencing anxiety or facing challenging situations like your husband yelling at you, it’s crucial to prioritize your well-being. Seeking support from mental health professionals, therapists, or counselors can provide you with valuable tools to manage anxiety and navigate difficult interpersonal dynamics.

Remember that reaching out for help is a positive step towards improving your mental and emotional health. For more guidance and resources, visit professionals who specialize in these areas.

Anxiety is more than simply worrying. It can wind up becoming a major issue in life for a variety of reasons. It can also have a physical manifestation that can take a toll on the body in more ways than one.

Why Do I Have Anxiety?

The most prevalent question that arises in situations like this is why we have anxiety. There are a number of scenarios and life situations that can result in the developing of anxiety on a clinical level. These can also be situational, a feeling that can dissipate with time.

Past Experiences

Some forms of anxiety can emanate from triggering or difficult life experiences throughout childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. These can lead to anxiety problems throughout life, especially if there are traumatic and stressful situations that have a large impact in life.

This can include things such as neglect, physical or emotional abuse, losing a parent, experiencing racism, being bullied and being socially excluded, and more. We are all impacted by the psychological experiences in our lives, and they play a role in who we become.

With particularly traumatic experiences, they can follow you around later in life. Which can lead to anxiety in itself.

Current Experiences

There are a variety of current experiences that can also lead to anxiety in some form. We all have stress in our lives from time to time. Sometimes those situations dissipate quickly, resolving themselves. But other times, they can drag on, leading to prolonged anxiety.

Current experiences can be working longer hours or being out of work, dealing with money issues (something that is extremely commonplace), feeling isolated or lonely, being abused, being harassed, or experiencing racism, and more.

There can also be changes in health that can have a drastic effect on quality of life. This isn’t something like getting a cold, it is about a major diagnosis, injury or change to quality of life.

What Type of Anxiety Do I Have?

The thing about anxiety is that it isn’t as simple as, “do I have anxiety?” While there are generalized anxiety disorders, there are also a multitude of other disorders that fall under the anxiety umbrella. Let’s take a look at the different types of anxiety so you can determine what type of anxiety you have.

Panic Disorder. There is a variety of anxiety known as panic disorder. This is where panic attacks are regular. They can be triggered for any number of reasons, but it isn’t just a matter of feeling anxious.

These can come in the form of physical manifestations. Shortness or breath, tightness in the chest, strained limbs, and a number of physical manifestations can make these attacks feel more serious in nature. It is important to treat panic disorders as the stress from these attacks can have serious detrimental impacts over the course of several attacks.

Phobias

Another common instance of anxiety is in the form of a fear or phobias. The vast majority of people have phobias of all kinds. For the most part, it is a fear of an animal or place, but phobias can present themselves in many different ways.

Phobias also tend to have a more serious impact than just “being afraid” of something. For instance, someone who is afraid of spiders may react far differently than someone who is “creeped out” by them. They may yell, scream, become extremely stressed, and even faint in some extreme situations.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

One of the most common anxiety-related disorders there is. Those who are obsessive compulsive often have repetitive behaviors that involve unwanted thoughts or urges. OCD can rear its head in any number of ways, but there are a lot of rituals involved.

For instance, someone who is obsessive compulsive may need to wash their hands several times per day. They may have to check the locks on their doors whenever they leave, doing so multiple times. These are just a few of the examples of suffering from OCD.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

We are most familiar with PTSD due to the traumatic impacts that soldiers experience. But PTSD can come from any distressing or frightening events. Certain triggers can create extreme fear and anxiety, making it difficult to breathe or function.

Combatting Anxiety

It is difficult to combat anxiety without help. We all wish that we could handle the anxiety in our lives effectively, but the most effective way to do so is with professional help. This comes in two forms: therapy and medication.

In the past, medication would be the preferred method. After all, these reactions are due to chemical imbalances in our brains. The right medication can help to bring that chemical balance, though there can be nasty side effects involved. Those side effects tend to be minor in nature most of the time, but there can be some serious side effects as well. This is enough to turn some people off of using them at all.

Therapy is becoming a more popular method. That is because the goal is not to treat the symptoms, but to get to the core of the issue and help to resolve it. There may be deep-seated psychological issues at play that need to be discovered to determine why the anxiety is there.

It is a long time treatment

Working with a mental health professional can allow for a greater understanding of your particular type of anxiety, including what causes it, what results from it, what techniques or exercises can be implemented to help it become less of an issue, and so on.

Working through more comprehensive anxiety issues takes time and they may never fully go away. But working to combat those issues can mean getting your life back, especially if you have been greatly impacted by the results of anxiety.

It can be easier said than done to begin treatment for severe anxiety. With the right help, it can mean gaining quality of life back in so many ways. Talk to a professional today if you feel like your anxiety is getting to a tipping point.

Conclusion

It is more common than ever to have anxiety issues in your life. While that can be an isolated incident for most of us, there are others who deal with it regularly. Anxiety can be diagnosed in a number of different ways as well.

If you think that you have anxiety in your life, it may be time to talk to a doctor. They can help with a more specific diagnosis so that you can start to find resolution to those issues. By talking to a professional, you may be able to find a way to cope with that anxiety and live your life normally once again.