Not only is anxiety not a problem or a sign of poor mental health: it is part of the survival mechanisms that help us adjust to the challenges of everyday life. This is why everyone feels, at some point or another, discomfort due to anxiety. Just because it is an annoying experience does not mean it is a bad thing.
However, if certain circumstances occur in which biological predispositions and day-to-day experiences mix, anxiety can become too intense or persistent. It can also appear through dysfunctional patterns, and give rise to psychopathologies.
Recognize What is the dividing line between simple discomfort due to anxiety and a psychological problem associated with anxiety is complex but in this article we will help you recognize it.
How do you know if your anxiety is normal or pathological?
These are several questions you should ask yourself to recognize anxiety problems that may be considered a sign of impaired mental health. Of course, the definitive diagnosis is made by professionals in this field, but paying attention to these issues will help you detect alterations in time that require intervention through therapy. Luckily, anxiety disorders can be treated and overcome with help from psychologists.
1. Have you been feeling anguish regularly for weeks?
The time factor is important. There are those who do not feel extremely high levels of anxiety. But if it presents fairly high or very high levels for a prolonged period, this can also constitute a problem that deserves to be treated in therapy since it could be, for example, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is characterized because the person is not even able to identify a specific reason why they feel this way.
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2. Do you notice that your muscle tension frequently bothers you?
Anxiety is not only a psychological phenomenon, It also manifests itself through physical symptoms. One of the most common is muscle tension. In extreme cases it leads to the appearance of tremors, but in more moderate forms (although not necessarily benign) the fact of being tense for many minutes makes us feel pain or discomfort in some parts of the body.
3. Are you often a victim of psychological rumination?
Psychological rumination is the tendency for thoughts or images to come to mind that make you feel bad and that resist being “expelled” from your consciousness , returning again and again or even leading you to immerse yourself in them and actively think about them, reflecting on all their implications. This phenomenon is very common in people with anxiety problems.
4. Do you have problems sleeping?
Insomnia in any of its forms is one of the most common consequences of a too high level of anxiety. This is closely related to psychological rumination: when we are in bed trying to fall asleep, it is common for anxiety to “attract” stressful thoughts and ideas to us. And even if we manage to start sleeping, we are more likely to wake up several times against our will and feel like we haven’t gotten enough rest the next day.
Excessive levels of anxiety, whether in specific crises or continuously (for example, through the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder) gives rise to cognitive wear and tear. That is to say, problems in mental processes linked to reasoning, decision making, memory and attention management, everything related to intellectual capacity.
These negative effects of anxiety problems mainly affect working memory, which is responsible for allowing us to have several elements in our mind at the same time and manipulate them to create new information. For example, the figures when adding without the help of paper, and the management of attentional focus (it is more difficult for us to concentrate and not give in to distractions).
Fortunately, once anxiety levels have returned to normal, these cognitive abilities also return to normal levels.
6. Have you been suffering from digestion problems for a while?
Digestive processes are very sensitive to anxiety , and are altered by it in a matter of minutes. Given this, it’s normal to occasionally get stomachaches or gas buildup and similar problems (it could be due to something you’ve eaten). But if it happens to you for several days in a row or almost in a row, anxiety has a good chance of being one of its main causes.
7. Do you seem more irritable in your relationships with others?
People with a pathological level of anxiety They feel that the simple act of managing their emotions and thoughts overwhelms them. And that is why they experience frustration when they notice that others are an extra source of inconvenience or problems. That is why they tend to have less patience than usual, reacting with greater hostility in situations where it is not justified.
Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?
If you want to start a psychological therapy process, contact our team of professionals. In Psychological Awakenings We have psychological assistance centers in the main cities of the Community of Madrid, and we also provide online therapy via video call. We can help you overcome disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression and other types of mood disorders, trauma, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, low self-esteem, and more.
