Hidden Symptoms of Anxiety You Didn’t Recognize | Therapist San Diego
Anxiety can be sneaky in the way it shows up in our lives. Not all anxiety looks like full blown panic attacks. In fact, many of its signs are subtle and easy to overlook. As anxiety therapists in San Diego, we often help clients uncover hidden patterns that have quietly affected their lives for years.
You might be living with anxiety if you:
● Feel constantly irritable or on edge, even when nothing major is going wrong. This can look like, blowing up over something you may normally consider insignificant, being unable to stop fidgeting behaviors, feeling like you are “about to lose it.”
● Experience frequent digestive issues, muscle tension, or headaches. Anxiety can actually manifest in physical symptoms.
● Struggle with perfectionism or feel the need to control every detail. Maybe you have a need for things to be in order, tidied up, or struggle with letting go of control. Perhaps it’s even difficult to make simple decisions for fear of the wrong choice.
● Overthink conversations or decisions long after they’re over. Do you let these conversations ruminate in your head…if only I had said this or that…and you replay this for hours.
● Avoid certain people, places, or responsibilities without fully realizing why. Try and notice if you are not spending time with people you typically enjoy spending time with or avoiding places you used to frequent. These could be indicators you are avoiding something like anxiety. Perhaps there was a sense of anxious discomfort in connecting with these things.
● Feel emotionally numb, disconnected, or “flat.” Our emotions all flow out the same faucet. We cannot simply shut off the angry feelings, the worried feelings or the fear. If we do shut those feelings off we end up shutting off the happy feelings, joy, love and connection. If you notice yourself feeling more numb and disconnected it may be that you are shutting off your emotions all together.
These are all possible signs of anxiety—ones that don’t always fit the typical mold but are just as real. They often stem from a nervous system that’s been operating on high alert for too long. It’s important to pay attention to these symptoms, to notice when they come around, how long they are sticking around and what tends to help or lessen the anxiety.
Learning to recognize these symptoms is a powerful first step toward healing. When we identify the patterns, we can begin to shift them. I like to say, the first step is awareness, then you have choices! New here? Start with What Anxiety Really Is (Week 1), or continue to Week 3: How Anxiety Affects the Body.
If any of this sounds familiar, anxiety therapy in San Diego—especially group treatment—can offer powerful relief. Check out our upcoming in person Anxiety Skills Group!