Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety to some extent. Anxiety is the body’s natural response to anticipated danger. Biologically, your body is designed to keep you alive and anxiety contributes to that. This means experiencing some anxiety is completely normal and even healthy for you.
Your body when anxious
Think about how you feel both mentally and physically when you are nervous about something. For instance, you might have an upcoming job interview, doctor’s appointment, a class presentation, or perhaps you’ll be rooting for your favourite sports team during a game!
Your stress levels during that “wait period” are high because the future cannot be predicted and we all want to know what the outcome will be. This, however, takes away from the enjoyment of the present moment and the pursuit of your goals whatever they might be.
When your anxious feelings begin to consume your life where you’re beginning to avoid certain situations or people and it lasts longer than six months, this becomes an issue. There may also be a good chance you have an anxiety disorder.
Check in with yourself a few times daily. Specifically, notice your body and emotions. How are you responding to feeling anxious? Are you thinking too far ahead? Are you imagining the worst-case scenario? Where does your anxiety physically present itself in your body? Is that unbearable? Do you feel out of control?
Use this information as a guide to help you take notice of what your body might be telling you when you are anxious.
What does anxiety feel like?
The feeling of anxiety varies from person to person. It also depends on the type of anxiety that someone deals with.
Typically, for the average person, anxiety can feel like butterflies in your belly. As previously mentioned, anxiety is normal when you’re anticipating something.
But on the other end of the spectrum, anxiety can feel like intense worry or panic with your heart racing, you’re having trouble catching your breath, and you’re shaking. If the latter occurs for everyday activities then this is something that needs to be addressed before it worsens and disrupts your life further. There can also be a space in between each end of the spectrum where your body feels tight or tense, and your energy feels uncomfortable.
Feelings of panic can persist and be repetitive. Due to the repetitive nature of anxiety attacks, some individuals may experience their emotions interfering with their daily life resulting in avoidance of places, people, or scenarios to prevent those feelings.
Anxiety and its symptoms
There are a few different types of anxiety such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or separation anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety can begin in childhood or teenage years and continue throughout adulthood.
Common signs of anxiety include:
Feeling nervous
Racing heart rate
Hyperventilation
Shakiness
Feeling fatigued
Trouble focusing
Insomnia
Avoidance of triggers or things that could be triggering
Paranoia of danger
Final thoughts
Whichever form of anxiety you may deal with, there is a treatment that you can partake in to help combat or manage your anxiety 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.