Most often, people suffering from anxiety believe they only have a character flaw, not a mental disorder.
Unfortunately, people who suffer from anxiety are labeled as ‘moody’ or ‘paranoid.’ Anxiety sufferers have difficulty reacting appropriately to stressful situations and are most often depicted as blowing 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.
Someone with anxiety is usually short tempered, impatient and irritable. In addition, the sufferer may also be restless, have trouble concentrating or have the inability to complete tasks and goals. Furthermore, they may experience forgetfulness, become easily confused and be absent minded. The inability to express thoughts coherently as well as complaints of their minds going blank are additional symptoms.
There are physical tolls the body endures as well from a person afflicted with anxiety. The person will often be constantly on the lookout for danger or tend to think of the worst possible scenarios. In these cases, people around them will usually see the sufferer as pessimistic.
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.
If the anxiety disorder is severe, he person may experience depression and hallucinations. In these cases, thoughts of suicide are often present.
For those suffering with anxiety disorders, worrisome, irrational, and negative feelings are persistent.
Physical Symptoms
Not only is anxiety psychological, it can also affect the body physically. Often times the symptoms make it difficult to function in everyday life.
Some of the most common physical symptoms include an increased heart rate and higher blood pressure, sweating, dizziness, and headaches. A person with anxiety often has trouble taking deep breaths and hyperventilates quite frequently. He or she may experience fatigue, insomnia, and hyperactivity.
Since a person with anxiety has excess adrenaline, the body can experience muscle tension and body aches/ In addition, the excess adrenaline also accounts for the alteration in moods.
As the mind of an anxiety sufferer is in a constant state of worry, the body can become compromised as well. Symptoms include loss of appetite, frequent urination, excessive thirst, nausea and diahrrea. In addition, some sufferers also reported a decrease in sex drive.
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.
Still others with chronic anxiety report having food cravings. Often the craving is for sugar, and this may be due to the fact that blood pressure is at times chronically low in cases of severe anxiety