Mood and anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health disorders that Canadians face today. Today, an estimated 3 million Canadians reported that they had suffered from a mood disorder.
It is normal to feel worried sometimes. Whether you are starting a new job, leaving your kids for the first time, or moving cities, worry is a natural response to stressful situations. When that worry becomes constant and persistent, however, you can feel like you're constantly on the edge of an attack, and it can begin to affect the way you show up in the world. When worry becomes constant, feels intense, and plays an unwanted role in our thoughts and behaviors, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.
People with acute anxiety regularly have intense, persistent worry about everyday scenarios. Acute anxiety involves having repeated episodes of sudden fear or worry. With anxiety, this intense fear is persistent and will manifest itself in your mind, body and actions.
Whether your anxiety is caused by social situations, drug withdrawal, separation from a loved one, a specific phobia or because of a medical condition, all individuals often experience similar symptoms when experiencing anxiety. Anxiety can be identified and will manifest itself in very specific ways.
Do you think you or your loved one suffers from an anxiety disorder? Ask yourself the following questions to identify whether or not you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.
Do you feel nervous, restless or tense regularly?
Anxiety manifests itself as physical symptoms and because of this, you may feel tense, restlessness or nervous. If this happens daily, it may be an anxiety disorder manifesting itself in your nervous system.
Are you always on the edge of panic, fear or bracing yourself for the worst?
If you feel constantly on the edge of panic, or bracing yourself for the worst-case scenario, in turn feeling tense and restless, it may be a sign of acute anxiety.
Do you experience random physical symptoms throughout the day ie: an increase in heart rate, sweaty palms?
Our bodies begin to show physical symptoms that are in line with our emotions. When something is funny, we laugh, when we’re sad, we cry. An increase in heart rate, bad belly, increased rate of breathing, tensing, and sweaty palms are all telltale signs of anxiety. Try tuning in to your body, is there anything happening that is showing signs of panic or fear?
Are you feeling exhausted or worn out?
One of the most common signs of anxiety is fatigue. During the fight or flight response, our body is filled with adrenaline and always is on high alert. Our bodies only have a limited capacity to work with and once our cups are full, our bodies can feel the toll. When your body is in a constant state of high alert and stress it can wear you down and make you feel drained. This can come off as a lack of motivation, and a lack of strength but in reality, it is our body's way of telling us that we are overworking it both physically and mentally and that it requires a break.
Do you have trouble concentrating throughout the day and often find yourself thinking about anything but the present moment?
With anxiety, it may be hard to focus on what is right in front of you. Let’s face it, this is a very common problem in today’s very busy world, however, trouble focusing on a persistent basis can cause problems in work, school, in your relationships and when you need to carry out important tasks. This can manifest itself as brain fog, careless mistakes, difficulty with short term memory, difficulty making decisions, missing important meetings or deadlines, and losing things frequently or not remembering where they are. If you find yourself often thinking about past or future events and not able to focus on the task at hand, you may be experiencing anxiety.
Are you having trouble sleeping?
Insomnia is a very common symptom of anxiety. Anxiety and sleep affect each other interchangeably meaning anxiety can cause a lack of sleep and a lack of sleep can cause anxiety - they go hand in hand. Anxiety may appear as ruminating thoughts, worries, and fears that are keeping you awake at night, and keeping you from getting a good night's rest. If you are up at night tossing and turning and having difficulty getting some shut-eye, you may be experiencing the symptoms of an anxiety disorder.
Is your stomach upset or experiencing gastrointestinal issues?
Much like the brain, the gut is also filled with nerves that are affected by anxieties release of stress hormones. The result? Indigestion, stomach cramping, diarrhea, loss of appetite, constipation, tensing in the stomach, and IBS. If you are experiencing GI issues, your gut may be trying to tell you something.
Do you feel the urge to avoid situations that trigger your anxiety? (ie: social events, driving, etc)
Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety is a way for people who suffer from anxiety to control negative thoughts or feelings with the hopes of not feeling or dealing with them. If you feel the urge to avoid social situations or specific actions, it may be your anxiety triggering you to avoid feeling stressed, anxious or upset. This is a natural coping mechanism to try to avoid feeling negative emotions but is not healthy in the long run.
There are many reasons individuals experience anxiety and can be a symptom of many events. Some people experience anxiety because of:
A traumatic event as a child
A medical illness
Stressful life circumstances
Drug or alcohol use
Other mental health issues
Genetic predisposition
If any of these symptoms begin to interfere with your life, job or relationships and become upsetting to you, you may want to consider counselling. Sometimes individuals feel shame and guilt around having an anxiety disorder, which makes the experience even heavier than it needs to be. If you find yourself feeling upset about your anxiety or finding it difficult to control your emotions of panic and worry a counsellor can help walk you through the steps necessary to begin to heal and understand your fear to conquer it.
Anxiety can be caused by trauma, drug abuse, stress or as a result of other mental health disorders but it can also be caused by underlying health issues. If you’re experiencing a sudden onset of anxiety, without any previous history or family history of it, your doctor may conclude this to be a result of a medical condition. If any underlying medical condition is suspected, your doctor may send you for medical testing for heart disease, diabetes, thyroid issues, asthma or respiratory issues, chronic pain or IBS, and in rare cases tumours that trigger the fight or flight response, as a response to medications.
Final thoughts
Anxiety may feel debilitating but it doesn’t have to play a major role in your life. If you find yourself stressed out by ruminating or racing thoughts, heart palpitations, or find yourself missing important events, you may want to consider counselling to help ease your symptoms.
We’d love to help you get to your best self. At Sana Counselling, we offer both online and in-person counselling options. If you would like to explore the option of counselling with a focus on somatic counselling approaches to help with anxiety, we offer a free consultation to assess your needs.
Do not hesitate to reach out to us to see what works best for you. Book a consultation with us when you’re ready.
To learn more about anxiety check out our blog where you can find all of our previous blog posts on anxiety.