Five Signs of a Serious Anxiety Problem
Anxiety can be a positive thing. It is an adaptive trait in humans. Without the warning signs that we read and gauge in our daily lives, our species would not have survived to where it is today. Unfortunately, that same feeling betrays us in our modern world. Anxiety now generalizes from what used to be “There’s a lion ten feet in front of me” to “What if I’ll never be good enough?” or “What if they all hate me and pretend to be my friend?”. Anxiety is a necessary evil, however it translates poorly from the use our ancestors received from it. Once it begins to take a hold of your lifestyle and thoughts, it can become excruciating. The blog will cover how to recognize when anxiety has transitioned from adaptive to harmful in 5 major signs.
There are a few points to cover regarding anxiety and the distinction between disorder and the usual amount. The first is: a blog cannot diagnose you. If you are concerned that anxiety has become a problem for you, make an appointment with your doctor because mental health should be treated just as physical health would. For something so prevalent, only 20% of those who experience anxiety symptoms seek treatment.
Furthermore, anxiety can take many forms. Feeling anxious is still normal and regular stress from daily life or work is something that causes anxiety. This is simply your brain attempting to bring your attention to what is important or what it considers a threat. Then, there’s the distinction between generalized anxiety disorder and a panic disorder. This goes to show that nothing is black and white with these complications. Here, we will cover when to acknowledge that anxiety has breached the point of “normal” and what to look for.
1. Anxiety is out of proportion
When your thoughts are overtaken with a sense of dread or apprehension when there is nothing pressing to worry about, things might be getting out of hand. A comical description that surfaces online occasionally is: “When you’re playing a video game and the music indicating an enemy nearby starts playing, but the enemy never shows up”. Perhaps not everybody can relate, however it sums up the sensation of apprehension that one might feel. Generalized anxiety disorder can especially bleed into every minute of the day. A physical sensation of tension can keep you on your toes for any sort of threat or issue coming up. When this happens with little reason or cause for multiple days, it’s time to start evaluating your mental state.
2. Panic attacks
On the flip side of generalized anxiety is an almost concentrated form of anxiety. This is not to say the two are mutually exclusive, it should be kept in mind that anxiety is complex and affects everyone in their own way. Panic attacks are a natural response to overstimulation or distress and include symptoms of heart palpitations. They can become frequent when one develops a panic disorder. When panic attacks reoccur and happen more than once, followed by around one month of worrying about the attack or maladaptive behavior develops related to the attacks, it is time to seek help.
3. Fatigue and restlessness
Anxiety is tough on the mind and can feel exhausting. Many people who fit the diagnostic criteria for a disorder experience “brain fog”. Sometimes the mind can go blank and you can experience difficulty concentrating. Physically, the sufferer might feel tired after simple tasks that would not usually tire them out. Excessive restlessness and irritability are also cognitive symptoms of a greater problem.
4. Symptoms last for consecutive months
Anxiety becomes a larger threat to one’s mental health when it transforms into a constant theme in their life. The diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, categorized by the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual 5 [DSM-5] dictates that anxiety lasts for more than or at least six months. The anxiety can range flutter back and forth between topics and latches onto whichever stressor it deems significant enough to worry about. If the worrying is excessive and maladaptive for this amount of time, this is a clear sign it has become a problem.
5. Physical toll
The disorder of anxiety wreaks havoc on the body, both mentally and physically. Those who suffer with anxious thoughts can have significant trouble sleeping, sometimes due to a general restlessness or excessive worrying and anxious thoughts. The damage done to sleep and daily life compounds the already stressing nature of the disorder, causing anxiety to become a beast that is difficult to control. Anxiety can even cause muscle aches and sores when symptoms are serious. With a disorder such as this, life can become extremely difficult to navigate or quite seriously a living hell.
It is important to take something such as anxiety seriously. Zenbev Drink Mix is perfectly positioned to help as you sort out whether you experience mild anxiety or need to consult a health professional. Zenbev is the best over the counter anxiety aid, it can help boost daytime serotonin as a natural source of tryptophan which may give you the edge over the anxiety you experience. You owe it to yourself and others to treat your mental health with care and evaluate yourself and others when it fits. In a time when mental health is taken as seriously as ever, make sure you take advantage of the opportunity generations before did not have and get the help you need. You’re worth it!