Is stress starting to take over your life and you don’t know what to do? It could be that you are experiencing anxiety. Stress is just one of the many anxiety symptoms. Read on to learn more about these symptoms and how to identify them.
Persistent Worry
Do you find yourself worrying a lot about problems that have a low or no chance of occurring? For example:
- You will become sick from touching a public handrail or door knob.
- The vehicle you are traveling in will crash, such as a car or airplane.
- Someone doesn’t answer their phone and you’re sure they’re in trouble.
The main issue with this kind of worrying is two-fold. The first is that the worrying occurs when you are presented with a situation you feel anxious about (such as needing to travel on an airplane). The second is that you worry that you will be put in that situation. The two together leave you in a constant state of worry, which in turn creates stress.
Fear Response
Another one of anxiety symptoms is having a fear-based response. Let us say you are in the airport and are about to board the plane. You have already been experiencing worry from the moment you stepped out the door to go to the airport. Yet now that you are about to sit in your seat, you begin to have a fear-based response. Why? Because, for one reason or another, your brain perceives an imminent threat. The imminent threat, in turn, creates fear.
Fear can create:
- Racing thoughts.
- A sense of doom.
- Physical sensations such as an increased heart and breathing rate, sweating, etc.
The only way we believe that the fear response can be satisfied is by using whatever coping tool we have available.
A Need to Satisfy the Fear
To satisfy the fear, people with anxiety will come up with their own methods. However, these are often burdensome and ineffective. They may satisfy the urge in the moment but the anxiety still remains. For example:
- Reciting a prayer or mantra while on the airplane to ensure it does not crash.
- Washing your hands or cleaning surfaces to prevent the spread of germs or getting sick.
- Having complicated procedures or rituals.
These soothing techniques will take up time and only add to the stress level of the anxiety-sufferer in the long-term.
Avoidance
Of course, one way of making sure that you don’t have to use a soothing technique is to avoid the problem at all costs. For some, this may look like deliberately not touching an object or even shaking hands with another person to avoid germs. More severe avoidance can be never traveling or always avoiding crowds. Either way, the result is that your life becomes severely disrupted as you attempt to avoid what causes you stress. Ironically, as mentioned before, this can create more stress.
A Need to Be Perfect
Another one of the anxiety symptoms is attempting to be perfect. Perfectionism can mean not wanting to make a mistake at any cost because it means something is wrong with you. You are your own worst critic. Along with other anxiety symptoms, perfectionism is another attempt at control. When you are not in control, that lack of control causes stress. Of course, everyone makes mistakes and it is impossible to be in control all of the time.
If you have noticed that you are feeling more stressed-out than is normal for you, take a moment to ask yourself some hard questions. Look deeper to understand what is really going on. Then, reach out to a therapist who can help you come to terms with your worry so that you can resolve your stress.
Denise Kautzer is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a Certified Public Accountant whose practice is located in St. Paul, MN. You can view her website at www.denisekautzer.com or contact her at denise@denisekautzer.com.