How do I know if I have anxiety?

Anxiety is becoming more and more common in society. Surely you know someone in your environment who suffers from it and many times you have wondered if perhaps you are also suffering from it.

In this article I will explain what anxiety is, what are its symptoms and how to treat it.

• Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state of the body that is activated naturally when we are faced with a danger (real or imagined). The person in charge of activating this system is called SRAA (ascending activating lattice system). This is formed by a set of neurons They are located in the brain stem, and their main function is the maintenance of alertness.

I'm going to give you an example of how the ascending activating reticular system works. Imagine that you are at home with some friends having something so calmly in the dining roomWhile in the kitchen, by chance, a fire starts due to a fault in the electrical circuit.

As a result, the smoke detector is triggered, which triggers the fire alarm. Thanks to this detector, your body goes into a state of alert, which makes you prepare to face this dangerous situation. There are several options: call the fire brigade, try to put out the fire... all these options save your life.

Therefore, as you can see, anxiety allows you to avoid dangers and keep yourself safe.

• You may be interested in: "Types of stress and their triggers"

Then... Where does the problem of anxiety come from?

Anxiety turns negative when it blocks us and paralyzes us, since it is the opposite function to the main objective.

We continue with the example of the fire. You have two options of how to face the fire that you have lived:

• First, give thanks because your body has warned you how to save your life.
• Second, to think that this fire could have killed you. That if there has been one it is very possible or practically certain that it will happen again and you will not be so lucky.

We must know that luck is something subjective. As I have explained to you, the body is prepared and designed to warn you, so it is not necessary to anticipate something that surely will not happen, since it is your own fears that are leading you to live this circumstance, so it is not real. We call this autosuggestion.

Therefore, we can say that mismanaged anxiety is the imaginary state of anticipating catastrophes that are only happening within your mind, generated by your own fear.

• Related article: "Anticipatory anxiety: causes, symptoms and therapy"

Symptoms that help you detect that you suffer from anxiety.

Although it is true that there are predominant and common symptoms in anxiety, it is important to know that there are many types, and these vary in their appearance and intensity according to psychological and genetic predisposition of the person who is suffering from them.

Therefore, it is not good to compare yourself with other people who suffer from anxiety, since its manifestations can be different.

I'm going to list some of the most common red flags that can appear alone or in combination.

1. Muscle tension

Nervous states tend to make the muscles tense more than usual. Also, muscle tension itself makes your nervous state vary. That is why it is not surprising that in times of stress you suffer from muscle pain.

2. Irrational fears

Imagined fears that prevent us from fully developing in our day to day life.

3. Insomnia

Sleep disorders are very common in anxiety and these develop because of the stress itself that prevents us from falling asleep in a healthy way.

• You may be interested in: "Insomnia: what is how it impacts our health"

4. Fatigue

Tiredness is common as long as a physical or mental effort has been made. The problem is when this becomes chronic without having made an overexertion. In the case of anxiety, it occurs due to remaining unconsciously in a state of continuous alertness.

5. Difficult to focus

Some studies indicate that anxiety affects short-term memory, which is what helps us focus on everyday tasks.

• Related article: "Types of memory: how does the human brain store memories?"

6. Change of emotional states

Being exposed to anxiety on an ongoing basis makes our mood and our emotions do not adapt to situations that we are really living.

Types of anxiety symptoms

Symptoms are classified into different groups depending on what human activities they affect. I put you some examples of each of the existing groups.

Psychological:

• Difficulty in making decisions.
• Uncertainty.
• Burden.
• Unsafety.
• The urge to flee or attack.
• Restlessness.

Physical:

• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Pressure in the chest.
• Changes in diet (eating too much or little).
• Fatigue.
• Muscle tension.
• Tremors
• Tachycardias
• Stomach ache.
• Shortness of breath.

Cognitive:

• Unconscionable concerns.
• Concentration problems.
• Negativity
• Intrusive thoughts
• Memory problems.
• Repetitive carelessness.

Behavioral:

• Abnormal vigilance state.
• Blocks to act or impulsiveness.
• Difficulty being at rest.
• Closed body postures.
• Bruxism.

Social:

• Difficulties talking to others.
• State absent in interactions.
• Difficulty saying what you think.
• Difficulty asserting yourself.
• Irritability.
• Absorption.

If you live anxious states that limit you, from coaching and neurolinguistic programming (NLP), I can help you identify the negative patterns that limit you and turn them into positive ones so that you can achieve your goals desired.