10 Common Symptoms of Anxiety and Their Solutions

Anxiety is a common mental disorder affecting a large population across the world. As affirmed by WHO, a minimum of 264 million people worldwide alternate anxiety disorders currently, which makes this one of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the present world. Anxiety is quite normal in response to stress though the situation may become unmanageable when stress is constant. Anxiety takes on many shapes, it affects not only psychological and physical well-being and it creates considerable interference with daily living. Anxiety is not just in the realm of thoughts but in the form of many other things such as muscle tension and gastrointestinal problems.

One has to understand the manifestations of anxiety to prevent it or decrease its impact. The use of the approaches mentioned in this paper, therefore, enables those who experience anxiety to minimize the effects caused by anxiety. In this guide, you will be informed on 10 signs of anxiety and how to deal with anxiety. This article will help you if you are an occasional or a chronic anxiety sufferer to eliminate the problem and restore your normal life.

Here are the 10 Common Symptoms of Anxiety and Their Solutions;

Excessive Worrying

The most apparent sign of anxiety is too much worrying. This entails having undesired thoughts on certain dangers or forthcoming occurrences, beyond one’s control with overly preoccupation with these occurrences compared to their probability. Such kind of a concern acts like a preoccupation for most people and causes much mental and emotional strain.

Sufferers of anxiety will run raving, one fear or worry chases the other, and this results in a chain of events. Such a state of anxiety disrupts one’s functioning and daily activities; one cannot focus, have fun, or even just unwind. In the long run, the person develops some signs which are proven by research to include; headaches, muscular rigidity, and tiredness.

Solution: Psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are very useful in excessive worrying. CBT enables people to change negative thinking patterns into more suitable and realistic ones. Compared with the trigger, rumination, or the anticipation of the trigger, CBT can change the way one thinks about the worry, therefore, eliminating the cause of the worry is effective in interrupting the cycle of anxiety. Mindfulness meditation is another technique used to soothe the mind and prevent excessive thinking that leads to negative evaluations. The ability to practice present-moment awareness is very helpful in worry which is a type of rumination concerning future events. 

Restlessness

Another behavior related to anxiety is fidgeting, which means that the person finds it hard to sit or stand still and can’t relax. This is where one fidgets, walks, or feels anxious always as if something terrible is about to happen where there is no basis to warrant such feelings.

This is because anxiety can affect a person’s performance especially if he or she is feeling restless anymore to concentrate, read, or even relax and watch movies or be a couch potato. It comes hand in hand with physical sensations like muscle contraction, headache, and tiredness. Constant moving or the inability to sit still can also cause sleep disorder, and therefore complicating anxiety.

Solution: Thus, physical inactivity is among the leading causes of restlessness; therefore, exercising is among the greatest ways of preventing restlessness. Exercise reduces stress as it has a way of producing certain hormones called endorphins that help to reduce stress and ‘happy hormones’. Exercise also allows the nervous energy that is generated when experiencing anxiety to be released along with allowing the feeling of tension to be reduced and mood lift. This is also the reason why such techniques as yoga or tai chi are also beneficial, as these involve the use of proper breathing and gentle motions that can help alleviate restlessness. Such practices are not only effective in ensuring the correct posture and even the mental state of the person and his or her emotions.

Fatigue

Another twist in the anxiety picture is that while elevated neurological arousal is on average present to a significant extent, chronic fatigue is typical as well. This tiredness can affect the body and mind, which can severely affect the ability to accomplish daily tasks. It is quite different from being tired, though exhaustion is involved, where one feels extremely weary to the extent that performing basic tasks will be a monumental task.

Fatigue from anxiety can also be associated with sleep problems other than insomnia, constant worrying, and feeling alert which is most often associated with anxiety. Anxiety puts a lot of pressure on one’s mind and soul and leaves the person feeling worn out. In the long run, this can result in decreased health since the body and mind are straining to cope with the stress.

Solution: One has to ensure that he or she follows some kind of a good rhythm that requires enough rest, adequate nutrition, as well as exercise, which often helps in the fight against drowsiness. It is also important to get enough sleep as well as get a chance to rest in between activities to gain back the strength that was used. It is also important to include relaxation strategies into one’s schedule to minimize the amount of energy that anxiety takes from a person. Autogenic training, rhythmic breathing, and the use of a rigor statu musculature are other general relaxation techniques that may also be useful in enhancing recovery.

Difficulty Concentrating

One of the effects of anxiety is the inability to focus and this is a problem that can manifest in several aspects of a person’s life including career side hustle, or personal projects. This happens because the mind is always occupied by matters that are causing worry hence disturbing the undertaking of the task at hand. This gradually culminates in low productivity, delayed projects, and almost an injustice done to ourselves.

If one is unable to concentrate, it will get into a cycle of frustration, and at some point, the civilian will doubt himself. Lack of concentration results in delay or inability to start working and the resulting anxiety of having so many things to do and little time to do them. This can be especially very bad in places like work or school where one needs to focus and work efficiently.

Solution: The technique of meditation or deep breathing calms the mind by focusing on the present which can also enhance the concentration level. They assist in minimizing mental lists that distract an individual to enhance concentration on a particular task. To prevent such feelings of being overwhelmed from affecting one’s focus, it is also important to subdivide the work activities into smaller and easy-to-handle segments. This is advantageous as it helps people approach a task at a particular level meaning large tasks are easier to handle.

Sleep Disturbances

A lot of people, when experiencing anxiety, also contend with sleep disorders such as insomnia, where one has difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or having a peaceful sleep. These could include insomnia or sleep that is interrupted, hence resulting in tiredness in the morning despite having been to bed.

As noted, various sleep disorders associated with anxiety may worsen other manifestations of anxiety, including fatigue, irritability, and poor concentration. Lack of sleep also affects physical well-being, for instance, by increasing one’s vulnerability to infections, chronic diseases among more.

Solution: Another significant step is making changes in the behavior and routine of an individual to reduce sleep disorders. Sleep hygiene therefore means the behaviors that people follow to enjoy sound sleep. This encompasses keeping to a consistent sleep schedule, having a sleep-inducing routine, and making the bedroom sleep-promoting. Other benefits include reducing the use of screens before bedtime and avoiding coffee and other products that contain caffeine. The blue light emitted by screens affects the flow of the hormone melatonin that controls the sleep cycle; reducing the time spent with the screens before bed helps the body understand it’s time for rest.

Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are acute instances of high anxiety that put an appearance without any prior signal. These are often marked by physical manifestations such as; palpitations, breathlessness, chest pains, and a feeling of losing control. The attacks are significantly distressing, and this may make the sufferer anxious about having the attacks again in the future, hence the increased overall anxiety.

Panic attack itself generates the fear of having another panic attack and thus the individual adapts to strategies of avoidance where he or she refrains from certain places or situations in doing activities where the attack may occur. It can have a severe effect on daily living and also result in social isolation and agoraphobia.

Solution: Many grounding approaches can be extremely useful in overcoming the attacks of panic. Grounding can be used to help alleviate the symptoms of an anxiety disorder by helping you center yourself on your immediate surroundings to avoid focusing on the feeling of fear. One of the frequently used techniques is the “5-4-3-2-1” method, whereby, one counts the number of things seen, felt, heard, smelled, and tasted, respectively. This is mainly a way of exercising the senses and a way of trying to help focus on what is happening in the present time.

Muscle Tension

One of the physical signs of anxiety is tension in muscles, and this be in the neck muscles, the shoulders, or the back. This tension is the phenomenon of stress the body has been developing, but when anxiety becomes persistent, this muscle tension will remain steady, which may cause discomfort and pain.

Muscle tension can also cause such problems as headaches, pain in the jaw area, and even sleeping disorders. This tension exerts pressure on muscles, leading to a change in posture and the general health of an individual if not corrected.

Solution: One should also do relaxation exercises, including stretching exercises like yoga or Pilates to ease tension in the muscles. These practices are beneficial to make one relaxed and loose by gently pulling muscles that have tension. Massage therapy also has benefits in the reduction of tension and in helping one to relax. Taking short exercise regimes in between working may help with muscle stiffening, especially for one who spends many hours in front of the computer.

Social Withdrawal

Avoidance is a form of anxiety that hinders a person’s experience and living, and one of the main signs is social isolation. People with anxiety will start avoiding the places or events that cause anxiety, such as fear of being judged or embarrassed or even high levels of anxiety. Such withdrawal can lead to loneliness, and in some cases, it will worsen the feeling of depression.

This brings about social isolation, which also results in reduced social skills, meaning the affected person will struggle to reintegrate into society. The longer the person stays isolated from other people, the more terrifying such situations seem to be and so, the person experiences a continuous cycle of avoiding other people and becoming more anxious.

Solution: People ought to be taken through a progressive series of social environments, hence, easing the burden of social withdrawal. Another benefit of this approach is that people are allowed to be conditioned to become comfortable with social situations at a slow pace, and this helps in forming confidence in the process. Another way is to get support from a therapist or join a support group where one can get motivated as well as learn something new. It can be helpful to connect with people who have similar experiences, as it helps to alleviate the feeling of loneliness and comes with useful tips.

Increased Heart Rate

Palpitations, which amount to an increased heart rate, are common anxiety triggers. It is usually experienced with feelings of nervousness or fear and is worse during panic attacks. The feeling of an accelerated pulse will cause more concern if it is combined with pain and, further, with potential life-threatening pathology.

The arrhythmias may also occur even in a resting position and are usually precipitated by stress or situations that cause anxiety. Although they are normally not serious, it is important to consult a physician if one experiences a continuous palpitation in a week.

Solution: Becoming conscious of the nature of breaths taken, such as the diaphragm/abdominal breathing or the box/4-7-8 technique, are some of the strategies that can help in lowering an elevated heartbeat rate. Deep breathing involves taking slow breaths that make the muscle known as the diaphragm expand, thus reducing the heart rate and bringing in relaxation. Another function that exercise fulfills is the regulation of the pace of the heartbeat by improving the physiological mechanisms of the heart. In this manner, exercise aids in the discharge of endorphins that are useful in lowering anxiety levels and that can also be useful in managing some of the physical effects like palpitations.

Gastrointestinal Issues

Some of the digestion-related symptoms of anxiety include nausea, diarrhea, or IBS, which can be accompanied by abdominal pain or bloating. The idea that there is an association between the gut and the brain is not at all new, it has been proven that stress and anxiety can impact digestion, and in the same way, digestion can impact stress. This reciprocal nature of the relationship is that it can be found that one can treat anxiety effectively leading to enhancement of gastrointestinal symptoms and vice versa.

Solution: In the case of anxiety-related gastrointestinal problems, the best strategies include changes in diet and changing the approach to stress. Some remedies for the symptoms are; taking balanced meals, steering clear of foods that cause flares, and learning to relax. They also stressed the necessity of physical activity to enhance digestion and adequate taking of water throughout the day. It may be useful to fully incorporate exercise because it aids in digestion while relieving anxiety, which is one of the common cause of digestion problems. All of the above-mentioned symptoms should ideally cease after the meal.  We, however, recommend that if the symptoms persist, then one should consult a doctor.

In its characteristics, anxiety is a mental disorder that manifests itself in various forms and affects the psychological and physiological conditions of the human being. However, learning the signs of the disease and how they can be handled will help one a lot in improving the quality of life of the patient. That is very correct, and this is why we need to exercise a lot of patience when working on anxiety attacks. The application of these approaches is useful and helps in learning to control anxiety and prevent it from changing life as envisioned.

If anxiety depletes to this degree or prevents one from engaging in his or her normal activities, then professional help should be sought. Understanding that coping with anxiety is a process and that there is a chance to cope with the problems and find happiness – all this is the result of treatment.

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