Anxiety Help: Anxiety Symptoms and Signs

Symptoms of Anxiety

Everyone has suffered from anxiety at some time in his or her lives. When you are anxious, you experience a range of mental and physical symptoms. You feel uneasy, you are constantly on tenterhooks, waiting for something to happen, waiting for something to go wrong. You feel fear. Everything around you feels surreal. You jump at the slightest noise. An ache or pain is a sign of some terrible illness, or the beginnings of a heart attack or a stroke. You worry about how you look and how others perceive you. You feel uncomfortable in your own skin whether you are indoors or out.

Anxiety comes in many different forms and can be triggered by emotional and physical circumstances. If you suffer from anxiety and panic attacks some, or all of these signs and anxiety symptoms will be familiar to you:

• Dry mouth
• Heart palpitations
• Fear of dying
• Dizziness
• Rapid breathing
• Sense of doom
• Gas and bloating
• Stomach cramps
• Leg weakness
• Arm heaviness
• Arm pain
• Jaw pain
• Nightmares
• Restlessness
• Nausea
• Headache
• Head pressure sensation
• Chest fullness
• Numbness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Difficulty concentrating
• Tearfulness
• Pins and needles
• Indigestion
• Hyperventilating
• Sweating

What can cause you to become more anxious than most?

If you are shy and introvert, social situations may cause you to become anxious. You feel uncomfortable around large groups, unsure who you can talk to and feel uncomfortable when you have no one to talk.

• Childhood trauma − experiencing or witnessing physical harm.
• Parental over protection − this can easily be passed on to children.
• growing up too fast − as a child you were forced into a position of independence or took on a parental role.
• Lack of confidence – anxiety is often a cause of low self-esteem. If you are confident then you are less likely to suffer from anxiety.

If you haven’t attained certain goals before you’ve hit a milestone birthday, you can start feeling anxious, panicky, and in some cases depressed.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a condition where an individual suffers from chronic anxiety. They do not, however, fall into other categories of disorders such as social anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

People suffering from GAD find it hard to relax and are tense most of the time.

If you have GAD, you tend to worry about a medley of things, including health, relationships, money and work. Women are more likely to have GAD than men.

GAD can affect your entire life. It can lead to health issues such as joint pain, high blood pressure, headaches, to name a few.

Bad Habits Caused by Anxiety

You may have developed some poor habits due to your anxiety. Are any of these familiar to you?
• Skin picking
• Nail biting
• Binge eating
• Self-medicating and over-reliance on anxiety relief supplements
• Drinking too much
• Over occupancy with help
• Obsessive Compulsive disorders
• Overspending

Self-medicating and over-reliance on anxiety relief supplements

Valerian, Passion flower St. John Wort, Hyperforin, HTP (5- hydroxytryptophan), Melissa, officinalis, Ginkgo Biloba, passionflower, valerian, scullcap based supplements can help in the short-term, but they do not solve the problem of chronic anxiety, they only mask it.

Ever found yourself fumbling to open a packet of Valerian tablets, and then feel instant relief, the second you have popped it in your mouth, despite it not having taken affect?

You may choose to seek solace in painkillers and prescription anti-depressants, which can lead to a long-term addiction. This is not good for your overall health.

That being said, you may benefit from supplements that help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve your immune system and aid joint, muscle and nervous system function.

Consult your doctor or dietician first to confirm that you do not have any vitamin or mineral deficiencies that are contributing to your anxiety disorder. For example, low levels of Vitamin B and/or D.