Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety symptoms could be quite frightening, sometimes even very delimiting. It ranges from very light uneasiness with tinges of nervousness to severely unpleasant symptoms that are very intrusive in normal daily affairs.

Anxiety and people reactions to it occur everyday since this is one of the major and fundamental fight-or-flight responses of the human body. But this advantage is only feasible when the anxiety level is still on the appropriate intensity. However, once it breaches the inappropriate state, anxiety could cerate various symptoms that are no longer very helpful for the survival and coping mechanisms of a person. This is the initial stage of anxiety disorders.

However, before an anxiety level is categorized as inappropriate, symptoms must meet the three major components:

Psycho-physiological component which yields the anxiety symptoms that encompass the reactions of the body such as palpitations or racing heartbeat, sweating, breathlessness, nausea and dizziness or cold flashes.

Psychological component, on the other hand, is composed of anxiety symptoms that manifest on the behavior of the person such as irritability, lack of concentration, sensations of dying or of going crazy and loss of control.

Interpersonal component is the last thing to consider in order to qualify an unnecessary attack of anxiety and its symptoms. This includes detachment of oneself from usual behaviors that one used to enjoy, too much awareness of other people's judgment in social situation or acts of isolation.

Anxiety symptoms root from various triggering factors such as repression of traumatic experiences, as an outcome of a biological imbalance or as a part of a larger group of psychological and mental disorders.

The common symptoms of anxiety are as follows:

• Exaggerated nerve impulses which cause the smothering sensations, feelings of suffocation and shortness of breath.
• Increase in heart rate or slower heart beat, and palpitations
• Chest pain that is caused by muscle tension
• Difficulty of swallowing
• Sudden loss of skin color or blanching
• Too much perspiration or sweating
• Shivering or shaking
• Numbness in various parts of the body such as the head, neck, face and the shoulders
• Sensations of heartburn, diarrhea, indigestion and constipation
• Occurrence of the symptoms of urinary tract infection which may start as excessive urination
• Sexual dysfunction
• Skin rashes
• Feelings of being electrocuted
• Sudden weakness of certain body parts, most especially the extremities
• Drying of the mouth
• Insomnia

It is also possible that the person having attacks of anxiety could experience some of these symptoms:

• Fear of losing control or of going mad
• Nightmares
• Increased aggression
• Development of suicidal tendencies
• Increased depression
• Flu-like symptoms such as weakening of the muscles, achy and clammy-like feelings
• Distorted hearing and vision
• Headaches
• Sore eyes
• Hormonal imbalances

More often than not, anxiety could extend to more aggravated cases like anxiety and panic attacks, several types of personality and psychological disorders like Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and specific phobias. Therefore, acquiring some secondary anxiety symptoms that are specific to each type of disorder.
In the beginning of this article, we have mentioned that certain levels of anxiety must be maintained in order to live normally. This means that once the normalcy of the anxiety level is deviated, the symptoms could lead to hampering the basic functions of the persons and his primary behaviors.

Specific disorders produce certain physical, psychological and interpersonal symptoms of anxiety though. For example, people with agoraphobia would develop a unique behavior of seclusion. People with Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, on the other hand, would display erratic behaviors that are very irrational, even if examined form all standpoints.

Because there is a wide range of anxiety symptoms that could be displayed in a wide array of disorders, it is easy to dismiss these perhaps as simple attacks of anxiety or the regular blue days people feel. Or it cold also be possible that some professionals overestimate or underestimate the display of symptoms which could then lead to misdiagnosis. All these misconceptions and errors could further add up to the present dilemma the person feels.

Thus, when seeking out treatment it is highly advisable that the patient ask for professional intervention once symptoms occur.