Trigger warning: this article discusses anxiety.
Anxiety presents itself in many different ways – starting from physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. Oftentimes, many of the unknown symptoms do not seem to fit into the “anxiety symptom” criteria that are often portrayed as stereotypes.
Giving Attention to Other Symptoms
Here are anxiety symptoms that are not talked about enough –
Anger – Anger can be a silent but also a very loud and harmful emotion. It can be very difficult to express anger as it leaves us feeling bad about ourselves. Anger is a huge factor of anxiety and can leave us feeling confused with ourselves, especially when we are not able to cope with it. For some, anger may be the only way they are able to express their anxiety.
Sleeping anxiously – It is hard enough living with anxiety – let alone trying to sleep when anxious. Anxiety plays a huge role on our dreams and the way we interpret our dreams. Nightmares and night terrors, as well as panic attacks, may occur while asleep and oftentimes lead to being woken up sweating, shaking, and struggling to breathe. It can be exhausting. You often wake up the next day feeling as though you had zero sleep and feel muscle pain and cramps.
Constantly using the toilet – Constantly needing to go to the toilet is one of the most common yet unrecognized anxiety symptoms. Anxiety is part of our fight-or-flight system and, as a response, our bodies feel the need to empty out our bowels so that we do not have to do it during a situation such as a fight or any sort of action. It is often seen as an inconvenient symptom.
Working in a fast pace – When we are feeling anxious, the levels of adrenaline running through our bodies spike up quickly. This causes our minds and bodies to rush and move at a quicker pace than usual. Since the adrenaline is moving fast in the body, we tend to do things quicker. This does not always mean that we are working efficiently. In fact, it can cause us to work messily without thinking about the quality of work being produced. This can also affect our speech – by talking too fast, for instance. This happens because our minds and thoughts are racing through to keep up with the adrenaline being released, reason being that one can come off as being jumpy, jittery, or unable to follow instructions.
Feeling stuck or trapped – Sometimes, when anxious, we tend to feel stuck and physically trapped in a ball of anxiety inside of our bodies. This includes being inside the comfort of our own homes. Our environment plays a huge role with our anxiety. If a place induces your anxiety every time you go there, you will be feeling anxious, unless you overcome it. Our anxiety is not limited to just one setting. We can form anxiety around our classmates in school, for example, and feel anxious every time we get up to present or even throw something in the trash. This feeling can become so boxy and make you feel trapped as though you are not able to expand yourself.
Harmful habits – Anxiety causes us to do unwanted harmful things to ourselves, mostly without realizing it. This can be shown in many ways, such as skin picking, hair pulling, rubbing on your skin, nail biting excessively, and other things. In some cases, we might be aware that we are doing these things but continue to do so as it brings relief to our anxiety. Once we become aware, we can use coping techniques that will allow us to cope with these nit-picking problems.
Skin issues – Anxiety creates all sorts of problems. Externally, it could be our skin. Anxiety can be seen on skin in many forms, such as eczema, rashes, and acne or breakouts. When we experience skin issues, we tend to become self-conscious about it and become insecure, which can lead to developing self-deprecation and depression. We tend to hide our flaws, as this can be harder for us to overcome our anxiety as we become super cautious and become obsessed with trying to hide something that can be embarrassing to us. The more anxious we get, the more damage it does to our skin.