Anxiety

As we navigate an uncertain world, it's important to remember that you play a significant role in managing your emotional state, which is crucial to your mental and physical well-being. Understanding what constitutes normal and abnormal anxiety is a vital part of this process, giving you the power to take control of your mental health.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, or uneasiness that can be mild or severe.

Anxiety is our body’s normal reaction to stress, such as facing difficult problems and making important decisions. Typical anxious responses to stressful events can be helpful, such as anxiety about a future test, which will cause many people to study better.

What Does Anxiety Feel Like?

Psychological symptoms can include feeling nervous, tense, or unable to relax. You might also worry about the past or future, feel tearful, or have intrusive memories. Depending on the stressor, all of these symptoms can be normal.

Physical symptoms can include rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, sweating, trembling, or shaking. You may also feel lightheaded, out of breath, or have headaches, muscle aches, or stomachaches.

For most people, these symptoms during heightened stressful events are typical and will go away once the stressful event has passed; it can take most people twenty minutes or more to calm down after a stressful event.

How do I know if I need to seek help for Anxiety?

For some people, feelings of anxiety are reduced by pervasive avoidance behaviors.

The following are some examples of avoidant behaviors:

Avoiding social situations: Social anxiety often occurs when people avoid attending social events or drop a class where they have to give a speech. 

Avoiding particular places or times: Some people may avoid certain places at certain times or make up excuses to avoid social gatherings.

Avoiding activities: Some people might avoid activities they used to enjoy, such as jogging after spraining their ankle.