5 Signs of Anxiety
Written by Ryan Greenwood
Anxiety is one of the most common mental afflictions, affecting over 4 million adults in the United States alone. However despite the fact that anxiety is so common, many people have difficulty recognizing whether or not they struggle with anxiety. Here are several questions that may help you determine if anxiety is something you are struggling with.
1. Do You Feel Restless or Keyed Up?
Restlessness is a feeling of being “on edge” or having an uncomfortable urge to moving or to be working. In many ways, restlessness is an attempt at addressing an undefined, invisible problem. Unfortunately, since we are often not able to clearly solve or escape this undefined problem, we find ourselves in a state of exhausting constant mental motion.
2. Do You Have Difficulty Concentrating or Find That Your Mind is Blank?
The very nature of anxiety is disruptive. It may be that you have “intrusive” thoughts or that you are unable to shut-down a single thought that eventually runs out of control. Either option often makes it difficult to focus on a single task at hand, or even to be present in the moment. Often, you may find that your ability to concentrate may be directly connected to how much anxiety you are currently experiencing.
3. Do You Have Difficulty Sleeping?
Peace of the mind and body are almost always required to initiate or maintain sleep. It stands to reason that the constant chaos and disruptive nature of anxiety cause falling and staying asleep to become quite difficult. You may find yourself having “racing” thoughts as you lie down for the night, or perhaps once you fall asleep you experience disturbing or distressing dreams.
4. Are You Concerned by Rational or Irrational Fears that You Can't Get Rid Of?
While fear is sometimes an appropriate response to the stressful events in our lives, anxiety often causes this fear to become unstoppable. Regardless of if the danger is real or imagined, it may run out of control, bringing you along for the ride. Being unable to stop or control harmful or destructive thoughts is a very common symptom of anxiety.
5. Does Anxiety or Worry Interfere with your Work, School or Family?
As mentioned above, anxiety often causes difficulty in concentration, which can obviously have an impact on your work, school, or family life. Anxiety, however, also tends to take a physical and mental toll on your body and mind, often leading to exhaustion and irritability. Anxiety tends to have a lingering effect, which may make your daily activities and interactions with others more difficult.
Treating Anxiety
While anxiety may express itself in many additional ways to those listed here, these are a few common symptoms to help you identify whether or not you are struggling with anxiety.
Thankfully there are many effective ways to remove, or at least greatly reduce, the harmful effects of anxiety in your life. Talking with a trusted therapist is perhaps one of the single most effective ways to begin treating anxiety. If you have answered yes to one or more of the questions above, it may be time to start seeing a therapist.
Almost every day the therapists at Hello Therapy help people in the Henderson and Las Vegas areas who are experiencing anxiety. We help get you to a place of authentic peace in your life. If you are tired of being anxious, or would just like to talk a little more about what is going on, schedule an appointment by clicking the link below.
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Ryan Greenwood, CPC, MA
Ryan is the founder and clinical director of Hello Therapy. He graduated at the top of his class from Adams State University with a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, is a member of the American Counseling Association, and has a great passion for working with people to grow in the middle of their hardest moments.
