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You may not know if you suffer from anxiety or an
anxiety disorder. That’s because anxiety involves a wide range of symptoms.
Each person experiences a slightly different constellation of these symptoms.
And your specific constellation determines what kind of anxiety disorder you
may have. For now, you should know that some signs of anxiety appear in the
form of thoughts or beliefs. Other indications of anxiety manifest themselves
in bodily sensations. Still other symptoms show up in various kinds of
anxious behaviors. Some people experience anxiety signs in all three ways,
while others only perceive their anxiety in one or two areas.
Thinking anxiously
Folks with anxiety generally
think in ways that differ from the ways that other people think. You’re probably
thinking anxiously if you experience
✓ Approval
addiction: If you’re an
approval addict, you worry a great deal about what other people think about
you.
✓ Living in the future and predicting the
worst: When you do this, you think about
everything that lies ahead and assume the worst possible outcome.
✓ Magnification:
People who magnify the importance of negative
events usually feel more anxious than other people do.
✓ Perfectionism:
If you’re a perfectionist, you assume that any
mistake means total failure.
✓ Poor
concentration: Anxious people
routinely report that they struggle with focusing their thoughts. Short-term
memory sometimes suffers as well.
✓ Racing
thoughts: Thoughts zip through your mind
in a stream of almost uncontrollable worry and concern.
Behaving anxiously
We have three words to
describe anxious behavior — avoidance, avoidance, and avoidance. Anxious people
inevitably attempt to stay away from the things that make them anxious. Whether
it’s snakes, heights, crowds, freeways, parties, paying bills, reminders of bad
times, or public speaking, anxious people search for ways out.
In the short run, avoidance
lowers anxiety. It makes you feel a little better. However, in the long run,
avoidance actually maintains and heightens anxiety. One of the most common and
obvious examples of anxiety-induced avoidance is how people react to their
phobias. Have you ever seen the response of a spider phobic when confronting
one of the critters? Usually, such folks hastily retreat.
Finding anxiety in your body
Almost all people with severe
anxiety experience a range of physical effects. These sensations don’t simply
occur in your head; they’re as real as this book you’re holding. The responses
to anxiety vary considerably from person to person and include:
✓ Accelerated heartbeat
✓ A spike in blood pressure
✓ Dizziness
✓ Fatigue
✓ Gastrointestinal upset
✓ General aches and pains
✓ Muscle tension or spasms
✓ Sweating
Copyright © Charles H. Elliot, PhD, Laura L. Smith, PhD – Originally appeared in Overcoming Anxiety for Dummies 2nd editionby Charles H. Elliot, PhD, Laura L. Smith, PhD
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