Awareness, in my opinion, is the key to properly managing anxiety. Without knowing what it is you are dealing with, how can you expect to manage it? The first and most importing thing to be aware of are the various symptoms associated with anxiety. When you become aware of the symptoms, it gives you the power to start managing your anxiety and start living!
There is a great quote I found recently that sums up the idea of knowing the truth about your symptoms . The quote is by Ansel Adams, an American Photographer, best known for his black and white photographs of the American West.
“There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.” Ansel Adams
For years I had a brilliant image of what was happening to me; however the brilliant image I had about what was happening to me wasn’t the truth. It was, like Ansel Adams said, a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.
A fuzzy concept indeed! For years I thought I was going to die, had breathing problems, felt “out of it” in a way where I felt detached from my surroundings — I wondered what was going on. There were times where I felt like I may lose control and be embarrassed. And other times I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat; shaking uncontrollably. It was a scary feeling.
Not being aware of the symptoms of anxiety would make my mind race, as I thought of all the the negative things that could be happening to me. Am I having a heart attack? Am I going to die? What is wrong with me!? Am I going to lose control? Why do I feel “out of it” or spacey?
I’m you are or have suffered from anxiety you can definitely relate with some or all of the above. However; I wanted to list other symptoms that you may experience when dealing with heightened levels of anxiety.
The common symptoms of anxiety disorders can include:
- chest pain or discomfort
- choking
- chronic and exaggerated worry and tension
- dizziness or faintness (actual fainting is extremely rare)
- fear of dying
- fear of going crazy or losing control
- feeling a lump in your throat
- feelings of unreality, strangeness, or detachment from the environment
- feeling tired
- flushes or chills
- inability to relax
- headaches
- hot flashes
- irritability
- muscle tension
- muscle tension
- nausea or diarrhea
- numbness or tingling sensations
- palpitations (”fluttering” in the chest) or accelerated heart rate
- recurring unpleasant thoughts
- repetitive habits (e.g., washing hands)
- shortness of breath or smothering sensation
- startling easily
- sweating
- trembling
- trouble concentrating
- trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
Looking over the list, I experienced 23 of the 27 symptoms during the time I suffered with the mismanagement of my personal anxiety.
When you understand the symptoms of anxiety it gives you power. It gives you the ability to stop thinking negatively about what you are experiencing. It gives you the strength to look at what in your life may be causing you to experience these periods of heightened anxiety.
The next step is to uncover what’s triggering your heightened levels of anxiety? I’ll explore this idea in my next article. stay tuned.
Jason Herrington
Knowing Thy Symptoms
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I just wanted to leave you a comment to thank you for a great post. It is true what you say, that knowing what it is you are dealing with really does help put things into perspective.
What is it’s not just anxiety? I have GERD that got really bad and wasn’t controlled by a PPI but was helped by xanax. I’m in Canada and I love my coffee but I’m afraid I’m going to have to give it up to get better.
I’m also concerned it could be adrenal insufficiency. This has been about a 10 year ride.