Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder

In most cases, people suffering from Anxiety do not think they have a problem, only that they have a minor character flaw.

Anxiety sufferers are often labeled as paranoid or moody. They have trouble reacting appropriately in stressful situations and tend to overreact and blow things out of proportion.

Psychological Symptoms

The defining symptom of all anxiety disorders is having overwhelming thoughts of fears and worries that last for six months or more. There are several other symptoms of anxiety disorders, and they vary according to the type and severity of the anxiety.

A person with an anxiety disorder will likely be impatient (even short-tempered) and irritable. Such a person may also be restless, have trouble concentrating, or have a tendency to leave tasks and goals uncompleted. They may be forgetful, absent-minded, and easily confused. They often have trouble expressing their thoughts coherently. Sometimes an anxious person will feel as if their mind has gone blank.

Anxiety puts the body in a hyper sense of alertness. The anxious person is constantly on the lookout for danger and tends to anticipate the worst. Others around them will find the person to be pessimistic or a wet blanket.

Some people with anxiety may also experience agoraphobia, or fear of public spaces. This is especially the case of people with obsessive-compulsive disorders, although other anxiety disorder sufferers are prone to this problem as well, though likely to a lesser degree.

A person with more severe anxiety may also have to deal with hallucinations and depression. Thoughts can sometimes turn suicidal.

For those suffering with anxiety disorders, worrisome, irrational, and negative feelings are persistent.

Physical Symptoms

Anxiety is a psychological condition, but it can be physically taxing on the body. It has a tendency to manifest itself into several symptoms that can further affect a persons day to day functioning.

Common physical symptoms include increased heart rate, high blood pressure, sweating, dizziness and headaches. In addition, difficulty inhaling deep breaths can lead to frequent hyperventilation and other symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia and hyperactivity may also occur.

Because of the elevated levels of adrenaline present in the body of an anxious person, he or she may also have muscle tension and aches throughout the body. Adrenaline also helps to explain mood swings that come with anxiety.

If the mind is in a constant state of worry, the body will experience other symptoms as well including loss of appetite, nausea, diahrrea, frequent urination and excessive thirst. In some cases, it was reported that a decrease in sex drive was also experienced.

Other Anxiety Symptoms

However, not all anxiety sufferers experience the same symptoms. In fact, some experience the opposite of the ones mentioned earlier. In most cases, these symptoms are brought on during a high level of anxiety such as someone suffering from SAD who finds themselves in the middle of a group of strangers.

One of these symptoms is low blood pressure (levels below 90/60) and this can reduce the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach the brain.

Other anxiety sufferers have reported a heightened sex drive during levels of high anxiety.

Food cravings have also been reported. In most cases, sugar was at the top of the list. It is believed that this occurs due to the excessively low blood pressure during a heightened anxiety episode.

Funmi Salami is a featured writer on Clivir.com. She loves to share her knowledge and do so by contributing articles about Anxiety Attack Symptoms and Anxiety and Medication.