What does anxiety feel like? 1st of 4 in the “How to deal with anxiety” series from a Madison, WI Anxiety Counselor
Hello! I’m Bronwyn, an anxiety therapist. In this blogs series, “How to deal with anxiety,” I’ll cover four topics:
What does anxiety feel like?
Today we’ll cover what anxiety feels like. When I conceptualize what anxiety feels like, I find it helpful to break it into two categories: emotional and physical. Yes, they are very much intertwined! Once you begin to notice either of the emotional or physical feelings of anxiety, you can begin to connect them to each other. For example, you may feel dread as a pit in your stomach.
For the sake of helping you articulate what you’re experiencing, we’ll separate them here. A few descriptors to start:
What anxiety feels like Emotionally
Overthinking
Unsettled
Dread
Irritated
Overplanning
On edge
Distracted
What anxiety feels like Physically
Stomach in knots
Difficulty breathing
Racing heart
Ongoing muscle tightness in your back and neck
Tightness in your chest and throat
A note on physical symptoms: please make sure you are talking with your doctor about the the symptoms you notice, especially if they relate to potential heart issues. This is no small task, especially for womxn who continue to be dismissed in healthcare settings. (And who have likely internalized messages of self-disregard.) At a minimum you want to rule out additional contributing medical conditions.
The less obvious aspects of what anxiety looks like
I also like the way that Aisha Shabazz, LCSW, an anxiety therapist based in Pennsylvania, conceptualizes anxiety. She describes ways that anxiety can feel that many people don’t connect with feeling anxious:
Forgetful
Aloof
Non-committal
Judgmental
Rigid
Guarded
The intensity spectrum of what anxiety feels like
One way of visualizing anxiety is on a spectrum, from less intense to more intense.
When anxiety feels manageable: On the less intense end, you might notice yourself worrying a lot, maybe fidgeting. Maybe your stomach flips in a meeting at work when someone asks you a question. You find yourself irritated sometimes. The muscles in your neck might feel tight. These ongoing experiences might be so familiar to you that you don’t even notice it. It probably doesn’t impact your day-to-day very much on this end of the spectrum.
When anxiety starts to get in the way: In the middle of the spectrum, your anxiety might look like all of the manageable feelings and also include feelings that are harder to ignore. Things like chewing on your fingernails. More frequent stomach aches or nausea.
Maybe it feels like the world will fall apart if you don’t do everything perfectly.
Or you can’t for the life of you make a decision (after all, the stakes feel really high!). You could feel a sense of dread at times, or grind your teeth at night and clench your jaw during the day.
When anxiety feels intense: At the more acute end of the anxiety spectrum, it might feel like anxiety comes in waves. Heart pounding, tightness in your chest, your body temperature feeling hot, difficulty breathing, nausea. Sometimes it can get so intense that you might black out and be unaware of what’s going on around you, even just for a few seconds.
None of these things mean there is anything wrong with you. Anxiety is a normal response to stressors, even if you’re not sure what exactly is stressing you out. (Getting to the root of anxiety is one of the next steps.) However, it probably means that you’re noticing ways that the anxiety is getting in the way at work, with your family, and in your social life.
What does anxiety look like for you?
What are the ways that anxiety shows up for you?
How do you know when you’re anxious? If you’re not sure, take some time to explore and notice. Naming your emotions and the many feelings associated with anxiety can be a powerful way to start feeling more in control.
The descriptors I’ve laid out here are a place to start. If you’re interested in more, you may have already seen my description of what anxiety feels like, related to anxiety therapy. You can also check out organizations like Mind, a mental health advocacy organization, for additional information about what anxiety looks like.
Articulating what anxiety feels like is the first step
Even if you’re really familiar with anxiety, it can take a long time to get a handle on what your own anxiety feels like. There are so many nuances! Learning about the nature of anxiety can be beneficial. It’s also important to understand your own unique anxiety. That’s a longer process.
When you understand and recognize your own anxiety, you can start to notice patterns and make connections.
Two useful tools in that exploration are coping skills for anxiety, and getting to the root cause of your anxiety. I’ll talk about those in future posts.
About the Author
I’m an anxiety therapist who supports women in making their anxiety feel more manageable.
Bronwyn Shiffer Psychotherapy supports women via online therapy in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. In addition to providing counseling for anxiety, I also provide depression therapy and therapy for HSPs (and often all three at once).
Think therapy would be a good addition to your healing journey?