You should see your GP if anxiety is affecting your daily life or causing you distress. They can diagnose your condition based on your symptoms, which may include: feeling restless or on edge. being irritable.
You may start by seeing your primary care provider to find out if your anxiety could be related to your physical health. He or she can check for signs of an underlying medical condition that may need treatment. However, you may need to see a mental health specialist if you have severe anxiety.
feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax. having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst. feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down. feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you.
Symptoms of severe anxiety are frequent and persistent and may include increased heart rate, feelings of panic and social withdrawal. These symptoms can result in loss of work and increased health care costs.
Although feelings of anxiety at certain times are completely normal, you should see your GP if anxiety is affecting your daily life or is causing you distress. Your GP will ask you about your symptoms and your worries, fears and emotions to try to find out if you could have GAD.
Focus on how you feel, rather than what diagnosis you might meet. Try to explain how you've been feeling over the past few months or weeks, and anything that has changed. Use words and descriptions that feel natural to you – you don't have to say specific things to get help.
Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and how they affect your daily life. They may use a detailed questionnaire to do this. The more detailed your answers about what you're experiencing, the better. You may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder if your symptoms are affecting your ability to function.
Anxiety can become a mental health problem if it impacts your ability to live your life as fully as you want to. For example, it may be a problem if: your feelings of anxiety are very strong or last for a long time. your fears or worries are out of proportion to the situation.
The most common treatment for health anxiety is psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT can be very effective in treating health anxiety because it teaches you skills that can help you manage your disorder.
Anxiety can make you feel worried or scared. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as a fast heartbeat or sweating. It is a normal human response to be anxious in certain situations. You may have an anxiety disorder if you feel anxious all or most of the time.
Anxiety can also affect your behaviour. You may withdraw from friends and family, feel unable to go to work, or avoid certain places. While avoiding situations can give you short-term relief, the anxiety often returns the next time you're in the situation.
Stress. Daily stressors like traffic jams or missing your train can cause anyone anxiety. But long-term or chronic stress can lead to long-term anxiety and worsening symptoms, as well as other health problems. Stress can also lead to behaviors like skipping meals, drinking alcohol, or not getting enough sleep.
“High-functioning anxiety tends to become problematic when it bleeds into depression,” says Dr. Hamdani. “That's when most patients will start to seek help—when they're having trouble getting out of bed, difficulty sleeping, losing interest in doing things they enjoyed doing or thoughts of life not being worthwhile.”
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
Your anxiety prevents you from attending social functions. You have trouble maintaining a healthy relationship because of your anxiety. Your worrying makes it hard to find joy in everyday activities. You struggle to sleep at night because you're worrying and it feels like your brain can't shut off.
For the majority of people with undiagnosed or untreated anxiety disorder, there are many negative consequences, for both the individual and society. These include disability, reduced ability to work leading to loss of productivity, and a high risk of suicide.
Behavior changes are a significant part of most anxiety disorders. By definition anxiety needs to change your behavior in some way to be diagnosed as disorder.
Anxiety disorders are a type of mental health condition. Anxiety makes it difficult to get through your day. Symptoms include feelings of nervousness, panic and fear as well as sweating and a rapid heartbeat. Treatments include medications and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Your stomach can feel like it's rumbling and you may even feel nauseated. Feeling sick may be a sign that you've fallen ill, but it can also be a sign of anxiety. While feeling sick may be the only physical symptom of anxiety, there are often others including breathlessness, dizziness and fatigue.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms associated with anxiety, panic disorder, chronic stress, depression and other mental health disorders. Chronic anxiety leaves the body and mind in a constant state of tension and high alertness.
Dizziness Can Be a Symptom of an Anxiety Disorder
Your fight or flight instinct kicks in – your fight or flight instinct is often triggered when you feel anxious, as your body prepares for the dangers that you believe are ahead of you. This can lead to a rush of adrenaline, leaving you feeling dizzy and/or lightheaded.
A little anxiety is fine, but long-term anxiety may cause more serious health problems, such as high blood pressure (hypertension). You may also be more likely to develop infections. If you're feeling anxious all the time, or it's affecting your day-to-day life, you may have an anxiety disorder or a panic disorder.