Everyone gets nervous or anxious from time to
time—when speaking in public, for instance, or when going through
financial difficulty. For some people, however, anxiety becomes so
frequent, or so forceful, that it begins to take over their lives.
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How can you tell if your everyday anxiety has crossed
the line into a disorder? It's not easy. Anxiety comes in many
different forms—such as panic attacks, phobia, and social anxiety—and
the distinction between an official diagnosis and "normal" anxiety isn't
always clear.
Here's a start: If you experience any of the following symptoms on a regular basis, you may want to talk with your doctor.
RELATED: Kim Kardashian Says She Has Body Dysmorphia—Here's What That Really Means
In the case of GAD, it means having persistent anxious thoughts on most days of the week, for six months. Also, the anxiety must be so bad that it interferes with daily life and is accompanied by noticeable symptoms, such as fatigue.
"The distinction between an anxiety disorder and just having normal anxiety is whether your emotions are causing a lot of suffering and dysfunction," says Sally Winston, PsyD, co-director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorder Institute of Maryland in Towson.
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But if you chronically find yourself lying awake, worried or agitated—about specific problems (like money), or nothing in particular—it might be a sign of an anxiety disorder. By some estimates, fully half of all people with GAD experience sleep problems.
Another tip-off that anxiety might be involved? You wake up feeling wired, your mind is racing, and you're unable to calm yourself down.
Here's a start: If you experience any of the following symptoms on a regular basis, you may want to talk with your doctor.
RELATED: Kim Kardashian Says She Has Body Dysmorphia—Here's What That Really Means
1. Excessive worry
The hallmark of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)—the broadest type of anxiety—is worrying too much about everyday things, large and small. But what constitutes "too much"?In the case of GAD, it means having persistent anxious thoughts on most days of the week, for six months. Also, the anxiety must be so bad that it interferes with daily life and is accompanied by noticeable symptoms, such as fatigue.
"The distinction between an anxiety disorder and just having normal anxiety is whether your emotions are causing a lot of suffering and dysfunction," says Sally Winston, PsyD, co-director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorder Institute of Maryland in Towson.
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2. Sleep problems
Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep is associated with a wide range of health conditions, both physical and psychological. And, of course, it's not unusual to toss and turn with anticipation on the night before a big speech or job interview.But if you chronically find yourself lying awake, worried or agitated—about specific problems (like money), or nothing in particular—it might be a sign of an anxiety disorder. By some estimates, fully half of all people with GAD experience sleep problems.
Another tip-off that anxiety might be involved? You wake up feeling wired, your mind is racing, and you're unable to calm yourself down.
3. Irrational fears
Some anxiety isn't generalized at all; on the
contrary, it's attached to a specific situation or thing—like flying,
animals, or crowds. If the fear becomes overwhelming, disruptive, and
way out of proportion to the actual risk involved, it's a telltale sign
of phobia, a type of anxiety disorder.
Although phobias can be crippling, they're not
obvious at all times. In fact, they may not surface until you confront a
specific situation and discover you're incapable of overcoming your
fear. "A person who's afraid of snakes can go for years without having a
problem," Winston says. "But then suddenly their kid wants to go
camping, and they realize they need treatment."
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4. Muscle tension
Near-constant muscle tension—whether it consists of
clenching your jaw, balling your fists, or flexing muscles throughout
your body—often accompanies anxiety disorders. This symptom can be so
persistent and pervasive that people who have lived with it for a long
time may stop noticing it after a while.
Regular exercise can help keep muscle tension under
control, but the tension may flare up if an injury or other unforeseen
event disrupts a person's workout habits, Winston says. "Suddenly
they're a wreck, because they can't handle their anxiety in that way and
now they're incredibly restless and irritable."
5. Chronic indigestion
Anxiety may start in the mind, but it often manifests
itself in the body through physical symptoms, like chronic digestive
problems. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition characterized by
stomachaches, cramping, bloating, gas, constipation, and/or diarrhea,
"is basically an anxiety in the digestive tract," Winston says.
IBS isn't always related to anxiety, but the two
often occur together and can make each other worse. The gut is very
sensitive to psychological stress—and, vice versa, the physical and
social discomfort of chronic digestive problems can make a person feel
more anxious.
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6. Stage fright
Most people get at least a few butterflies before
addressing a group of people or otherwise being in the spotlight. But if
the fear is so strong that no amount of coaching or practice will
alleviate it, or if you spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about
it, you may have a form of social anxiety disorder (also known as social
phobia).
People with social anxiety tend to worry for days or
weeks leading up to a particular event or situation. And if they do
manage to go through with it, they tend to be deeply uncomfortable and
may dwell on it for a long time afterward, wondering how they were
judged.
7. Self-consciousness
Social anxiety disorder doesn't always involve
speaking to a crowd or being the center of attention. In most cases, the
anxiety is provoked by everyday situations such as making one-on-one
conversation at a party, or eating and drinking in front of even a small
number of people.
In these situations, people with social anxiety
disorder tend to feel like all eyes are on them, and they often
experience blushing, trembling, nausea, profuse sweating, or difficulty
talking. These symptoms can be so disruptive that they make it hard to
meet new people, maintain relationships, and advance at work or in
school.
[post_ads_2]8. Panic
Panic attacks can be terrifying: Picture a sudden,
gripping feeling of fear and helplessness that can last for several
minutes, accompanied by scary physical symptoms such as breathing
problems, a pounding or racing heart, tingling or numb hands, sweating,
weakness or dizziness, chest pain, stomach pain, and feeling hot or
cold.
Not everyone who has a panic attack has an anxiety
disorder, but people who experience them repeatedly may be diagnosed
with panic disorder. People with panic disorder live in fear about when,
where, and why their next attack might happen, and they tend to avoid
places where attacks have occurred in the past.
9. Flashbacks
Reliving a disturbing or traumatic event—a violent
encounter, the sudden death of a loved one—is a hallmark of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which shares some features with
anxiety disorders. (Until very recently, in fact, PTSD was seen as a
type of anxiety disorder rather than a stand-alone condition.)
But flashbacks may occur with other types of anxiety as well. Some research, including a 2006 study in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders,
suggests that some people with social anxiety have PTSD-like flashbacks
of experiences that might not seem obviously traumatic, such as being
publicly ridiculed.
These people may even avoid reminders of the
experience—another symptom reminiscent of PTSD.
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10. Perfectionism
The finicky and obsessive mind-set known as
perfectionism "goes hand in hand with anxiety disorders," Winston says.
"If you are constantly judging yourself or you have a lot of
anticipatory anxiety about making mistakes or falling short of your
standards, then you probably have an anxiety disorder."
Perfectionism is especially common in
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which, like PTSD, has long been
viewed as an anxiety disorder. "OCD can happen subtly, like in the case
of somebody who can't get out of the house for three hours because their
makeup has to be absolutely just right and they have to keep starting over," Winston says.
11. Compulsive behaviors
In order to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive
disorder, a person's obsessiveness and intrusive thoughts must be
accompanied by compulsive behavior, whether it's mental (telling
yourself, "It'll be all right," over and over again) or physical
(hand-washing, straightening items).
Obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior become a
full-blown disorder when the need to complete the behaviors—also known
as "rituals"—begins to drive your life, Winston says. "If you like your
radio at volume level 3, for example, and it breaks and gets stuck on 4,
would you be in a total panic until you could get it fixed?"
[post_ads_2]12. Self-doubt
Persistent self-doubt and second-guessing is a common
feature of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder
and OCD. In some cases, the doubt may revolve around a question that's
central to a person's identity, like, "What if I'm gay?" or, "Do I love
my husband as much as he loves me?"
In OCD, Winston says, these "doubt attacks" are
especially common when a question is unanswerable. People with OCD
think, "If only I would know 100% for sure whether I was gay or
straight, either one would be fine," but they have this intolerance for
uncertainty that turns the question into an obsession, she says.
