What is Anxiety?
Many of us have experienced anxiety before, usually connected to something stressful, like a job interview or public speaking. Anxiety conditions can differ from these experiences as some are often a more generalised feeling of anxiety and are not normally ‘connected’ to a specific event. Other anxiety conditions can be related to specific fears, such as open spaces or socialising. Anxiety differs from worry, as it can change how we live our lives and can often impact our enjoyment of things, or stop us from doing things we want to do. There are several different types of anxiety disorders, all have both behavioural and psychological components. Here are some of the more common signs and symptoms of anxiety.
Behavioural
When experiencing anxiety there may be a number of changes to how you normally behave and feel, here’s a list of some of the more common changes:
You may withdraw, more than usual, from your friends and family
You may notice that your emotions feel like they’re sitting on the surface, getting more teary or irritable than normal
You may feel more restless or jittery
You may find it harder to concentrate and/or feel motivated to do things
It may be harder to fall asleep, or you may find that you wake up a lot during the night
Psychological
Just like with behaviour, when experiencing anxiety, there can be changes in the way that you’re thinking. Here are a couple of examples of how your thoughts may seem different:
You may find that you catastrophise more than usual, going to ‘worst case scenario’ quickly
Your thoughts can be very rigid, feeling like there’s no alternatives to what your thinking
You may find that you’re ‘story telling’ - as in, you’re creating a whole story in your mind as to how a situation may go
Overwhelmingly, when feeling anxious, your thoughts are negative and very emotive
Do any of these examples sound like you? The good news is anxiety is very treatable! There are many scientifically proven therapies that support the reduction in symptoms and help people to feel better.
If you would like some help in managing your anxiety, please don’t hesitate to contact our team at Piece by Piece Therapies for support.