Like all emotions, anxiety is healthy, and we’re all prone to feeling it sometimes. Anxiety can become a debilitating problem, though, when the stress you feel is no longer in proportion to the situation. An upcoming test, job interview, or first date may make you feel anxious, and that’s healthy. But if you feel symptoms of anxiety absent any apparent reason, or everyday things make you anxious — leaving your home, for example — it may be time to see a mental health professional. To know if your anxiety is unmanageable, you have to know the symptoms.
1. Physical Symptoms
The physical symptoms of anxiety may include an upset stomach, excessive sweating, headache, rapid heartbeat, and trouble breathing. If you get a stomachache every time someone invites you to a social function; if you sweat through your shirt whenever you leave the house, even in the middle of winter; or if you feel like your heart is beating so fast it might burst when talking to a stranger on the phone, you may be unhealthily anxious. If your body regularly reacts to everyday stressors the way a caveman would if a lion chased him, your anxiety is no longer healthy.
