Signs of Anxiety:
Reading the Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

One of the most frustrating things about anxiety disorders is their ability to mask themselves as any number of other illnesses. The signs of anxiety are so diverse that an anxiety disorder sufferer may spend months going from doctor to doctor before being correctly diagnosed.

A list of the common signs of anxiety covers everything from merely going pale or red in the face to such severe symptoms as hyperventilating, fainting, or having so much tightness in the chest that the victim fears a heart attack.

And in between those extremes are signs of anxiety like chills or hot flashes, numbness or tingling in the extremities, extreme muscle tension, rapid heartbeat and excessive perspiration, vertigo, and even a feeling of choking.

The above signs of anxiety are most often associated with an actual anxiety attack. But people who suffer from anxiety disorders, even when they are not experiencing an attack, are never really free of signs of anxiety.

An anxiety disorder can plague every waking--and even sleeping--moment of a person’s life. Chronic signs of anxiety include being unable to shake a sense of impending doom, nervousness which leads to repetitive habits like chewing one’s nails or constant finger tapping, loss of appetite or indigestion, and fatigue brought on by insomnia. Some anxiety disorder victims, even when they do fall asleep, are plagued with nightmares.

Most doctors being presented with even a few of these signs of anxiety would probably want to eliminate a long litany of possible organic disorders before considering a diagnosis of anxiety. So even if you are sure your symptoms are signs of anxiety, you can expect your doctor to ask for a full medical history and to do a complete physical on you.

Your doctor is likely to ask if you’re taking any medications--and this will include over the counter and herbal supplements, as well as prescription drugs. If there is any history of mental illness in your family, it’s important that you be up front with your doctor. If you have allergies, or smoke, drink, or do anything else which could account for some of the signs of anxiety you are experiencing, be open about it.

The more good information you can give to your doctor, the sooner he or she will be able to identify your signs of anxiety for what they really are. Then you can begin honing in on your specific type, or types, of anxiety disorder, and the treatments which will most quickly put you on the road to good mental health, where the only signs you see are the ones pointing to a happy, anxiety-free future!

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