Typical symptoms of anxiety

When you feel anxiety, your body reacts with certain symptoms. It is helpful to know these and be able to classify them. Anxiety is often intensified by those affected by misinterpreting the symptoms: For example, as a physical illness or danger of death in the event of a panic attack.

When we perceive stimuli from the outside world, the cerebral cortex decides how to classify them. To do this, it uses past experiences. If it judges a stimulus to be dangerous, the limbic system is activated and triggers corresponding feelings in us. Adrenaline and other substances are released so that we are ready to act quickly to avert danger. In this state, the following physical symptoms can occur, among others

- Increased blood pressure
- Hot flushes
- sweating attacks
- Dry mouth
- nausea
- Restlessness/nervousness

These and other symptoms are normal and not necessarily a sign that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder that requires treatment. Normally, the brain recognizes after a certain time when a fear is not real and the anxiety symptoms subside. This is often not the case for sufferers of an anxiety disorder. The anxiety persists.

The different types of anxiety disorder

Before an anxiety disorder can be treated in therapy, it is necessary to define the type of anxiety disorder present. There are roughly five different types, which we will now look at in more detail.

Specific phobia

Everyone is afraid of certain situations. In the case of a specific phobia, however, certain situations can be completely avoided or only experienced with intense fear, even though there is no real danger. This can include taking the suburban train or encountering a dog.

Social phobia

People with a social phobia are afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of others. They fear being devalued by their fellow human beings. The fear is either present in specific situations, such as in a meeting at work, or during any kind of social interaction.

Panic disorder

In the case of panic disorder, sufferers experience panic attacks without being able to identify a specific trigger. The sudden anxiety attacks are very intense and can last up to 30 minutes or longer. Those affected often experience fear of death. If you are affected by panic attacks, you should contact a specialist to find out more about your anxiety disorder and possible treatment.

Generalized anxiety disorder

If a generalized anxiety disorder exists, sufferers experience a constant, diffuse fear. They constantly fear that something bad could happen, such as financial hardship or serious illness.

Anxiety and depressive disorder combined

This term is appropriate when sufferers are plagued by anxiety and depression, although neither of the illnesses is clearly in the foreground. Particularly in the case of a combination with other mental illnesses, you should counteract the anxiety disorder with therapy.

Anxiety disorder in therapy or self-treatment?

Whether you can treat your anxiety disorder yourself depends on how severe your anxiety is. Although self-help is often possible, you should not be too embarrassed to find out about anxiety disorder therapy. Behavioral therapies are often used to alleviate anxiety. With proper understanding and appropriate behavioral techniques, therapists can often alleviate anxiety.