Friday, April 30, 2010

What Anxiety looks, sounds, and feels like


Sometimes when you ask someone "do you deal with anxiety," they respond "Yes, I worry all of the time." Today I would like to specify the difference between normal everyday worry and anxiety. They are, in fact, very different. Here are some things to ask yourself:

Does your body experience?:

  • A Temperature change (a feeling of warmth)
  • Heart Palpitations
  • Rapid, Pounding Heartbeat
  • Tightness of Chest
  • Butterflies in Stomach
  • Hyperventilation
  • Weakness all over
  • Tremors
  • Dizziness
  • Dry Mouth
  • Sweaty all over
  • Confusion
  • Rapid, constant thought
  • Muscle Tension/aches
  • Fatigue
Do you think?:

  • I can't do this.
  • What if I make a fool of myself?
  • People are staring/looking.
  • I could faint
  • It's a heart attack
  • Get me out of here
  • No one will help me
  • I can't go alone
  • I can't breathe
  • I am going to die
  • I'm going crazy
  • I'm trapped
  • I'm not going out
  • What if someone is hurt, sick, etc...
Do you feel?:

  • Fear
  • Keyed up/on edge
  • Panic
  • Excessive Worry
  • Uneasy
  • Feelings of doom
  • Trapped (no way out)
  • Isolated or lonely
  • Loss of control
  • Embarrassed
  • Criticized
  • Rejected
  • Angry
  • Depressed
If these are familiar to you, you are, indeed, anxious. Stay tuned to my next couple of posts to find ways to deal with your own anxiety, work through the things that make you anxious, and confront anxiety in your productivity and life.





1 comment:

  1. Most times I have no idea why I have such bad anxiety attacks. Everything could be going smooth and maybe something in my subconscious kicks in and I freak out....:( A big part of my "symptoms" are that I can't breathe and I stare off in to space, I think because that's my "defense mechanism" to deal with it and it feels like someone punched me in the sternum. :( It almost feel like I'm detaching from myself.

    ReplyDelete