Feeling anxious, nervous, or tense, from time to time, in response to a situation that is either happening now or is likely to happen in the future is normal.

Many people do learn to live with their anxiety and it doesn’t cause them too much of a problem.

However, a person with an anxiety disorder finds it difficult to control their anxiety to such an extent that they find that the anxiety interferes with everyday life.

There are many symptoms that may indicate the presence of an Anxiety disorder. The symptoms do vary. A person with anxiety disorder might have, to a small degree, many symptoms. Or instead they might have just one symptom, but it is a major problem to them. The actual symptoms experienced, and their severity, help to classify the type of anxiety disorder.

In general, typical behavioural symptoms that are indicative of an anxiety disorder include:

• Intrusive thoughts/worries that cannot be controlled.
• Migraines/headaches or nightmares.
• Insomnia and difficulty sleeping – taking a long time to fall asleep and/or waking in the middle of the night – and eventually waking up tired and exhausted the next day.
• Fear and avoidance of everyday situations or activities. Either because of a fear that something bad will happen, or because of a fear or dislike of the feelings that either are, or might be, experienced in that situation.
• Moments of extreme outbursts of irritability, agression, anger, rage or violence that are irrational insofar as others think that they are unjustified..
• Difficulty in concentrating on any one thing.
• Procrastination.
• Indecision.
• Perfectionism.
• Clumsiness.
• Restlessness/agitation/fidgeting.
• Feeling edgy, tense or jumpy – an inability be still or calm.
• Muscle tension/rigidity, maybe causing body pain.
• Flashbacks of traumatic experiences.
• Guilt.
• Depression and sadness.
• Tearfulness. Maybe weeping, or crying, whilst watching sad films.
• Excessive and irrational checking for completion of tasks. For example checking again something that you know that you have already checked.
• Forgetfullness – being so preoccupied in your thoughts that the person forgets what it is that they really wanted to do.
• Ritualistic and repetitive behaviour, such as needless repetition, counting, habits, addictions or self-harming.
• Performance problems, such as fear of public speaking, such as, in sport, the ‘yips’ experienced by golfers when putting or ‘dartitis’ experienced by dart players.
• Blushing - frequent 'unmerited' blushing.
• Sexual Problems, such as impotence, premature ejaculation (or ‘PE’), vaginismus, or infertility.
• Food/weight/eating disorders.
• Bedwetting (or enuresis).
• Inability to use public toilets (paruresis) - sometimes known as 'stagefright'.
• Phobias and Fears – a very strong aversion to a particular situation or object.
• Digestive and gastric problems, such as frequent urination, Diarrhoea (or Diarrhea) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
• Excessive Sweating, known as Hyperhydrosis, or Hyperhidrosis.
• Smoking or Vaping tobacco or e-cigarettes

Of ​course, many of the above indicators might also have a cause other than anxiety, for example, poor diet or lifestyle choices. But the presence of more than one of the above indicators is a good indication of the presence of an underlying Anxiety Disorder, particularly so if, when the person is under stress or pressure, the severity of the symptom does tend to get worse. e.g. In terms of one or more of:

• Frequency
• Duration
• Intensity

If you’re troubled by a persistent feeling that something bad is going to happen, or that something is going to go wrong, or you find that constant worries and fears distract you from your day-to-day activities, you may be suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

People with GAD are chronic worriers who feel anxious nearly all of the time, such that they tend to accept their state as being normal, even though they may not even know why.

Anxiety related to GAD often shows up as physical symptoms like insomnia, stomach upset, restlessness, and fatigue.

Note. Select here for the Best Help, Advice, Therapy and Treatment for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

A Panic Disorder is characterised by repeated, unexpected panic attacks, as well as fear of experiencing another episode.

Agoraphobia, (a fear of being in places where escape or help would be difficult in the event of a panic attack), may also accompany a Panic Disorder.

If you have agoraphobia, you are likely to avoid public places such as shopping centres, sports stadiums, or confined spaces such as an airplane.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by unwanted thoughts or behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control.

If you have OCD, you may be troubled by obsessions, such as a recurring worry that you forgot to turn off the oven or that you might hurt someone.

You may also suffer from uncontrollable compulsions, such as washing your hands over and over.

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A Phobia is an irrational, unrealistic or exaggerated fear response to a specific trigger object, activity, or situation that in reality presents little danger.

Common phobias include fear of animals (such as dogs, snakes and spiders), fear of flying, and fear of heights.

For severe phobias, you might go to extreme lengths to avoid the thing you fear. Almost all phobias can be successfully treated and cured.

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Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is the fear of  interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and, as a result, leads to avoidance.

If you have a debilitating fear of being seen negatively by others and humiliated in public, you may have social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia.

Social anxiety disorder can be thought of as extreme shyness.

In severe cases, social situations are avoided altogether. Performance anxiety (better known as stage fright) is the most common type of social phobia.

If a person usually becomes (irrationally) anxious in social situations, but seems better when they are alone, then "social anxiety" may be the problem.

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an extreme anxiety disorder that can occur in the aftermath of a traumatic or life-threatening event.

PTSD can be thought of as a panic attack that rarely, if ever, lets up.

Symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks or nightmares about what happened, hypervigilance, startling easily, withdrawing from others, and avoiding situations that remind you of the event.

Note. Select here for the Best Help, Advice, Therapy and Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).