The symptoms of anxiety can be divided into three categories:
1. Feelings and thoughts
2. Physical symptoms associated with anxiety
3. Anxiety related avoidance
Feelings and thoughts
– Anxious thoughts and feelings include thinking about negative things that are going to happen in the future and the feelings that those potential events bring to mind. These include worrying, becoming concerned, etc.
– Individuals may also feel the need to be vigilant and scan their environments and this vigilant and scanning behavior can lead to difficulty focusing and concentrating, having difficulty falling asleep, becoming very alert, etc.
Physical symptoms
– Hyperactivity of the nervous system is one of the physical symptoms of anxiety. This includes racing heart, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as growling stomach, diarrhea, and muscular tension leading to neckaches, upper backaches, tension headaches, etc.
– Other symptoms of anxiety include restlessness, fidgeting, and in more severe cases, anxiety-induced tremors.
Avoidance
– Avoidance is the third and very important part of anxiety and it can have a direct impact on the lives on individuals.
Credit: Dr. Joe Bienvenu
