Questions You May Have Regarding Severe Anxiety
What Is Considered Severe Anxiety?
A common question for someone with persistent, intense anxiety is what is considered severe anxiety? The question is pertinent because a normal level of anxiety that everyone experiences and severe anxiety that is considered an anxiety disorder are two different things. One can be managed with small lifestyle changes; the other is a mental health disorder that changes the way your brain functions and often requires professional intervention to help the person overcome and manage their symptoms.
Severe anxiety is when what should be natural responses of your body to stressors go beyond healthy levels and thereby impede your ability to function and perform typical daily tasks. Not only is the level of anxiety overwhelming but the important distinction is that it affects your ability to perform tasks you’re expected to complete.
When severe anxiety is persistent, it can also point to a potential disorder classified as a mental health disorder in the DSM-V. When the natural systems that are meant to prepare your body for a potential threat are instead in overdrive, and the feelings of worry, fear or impending dread are persistent even when there is no potential threat, then it may be an anxiety disorder or severe anxiety.
Some of the common anxiety disorders that are considered severe anxiety and may require therapy and treatment include:
- Panic disorder
- Separation anxiety disorder
- Selective mutism
- General anxiety disorder
- Specific phobias such as agoraphobia (fear of crowded or public places)
- Social anxiety disorder
Each diagnosed anxiety disorder can range from mild to severe but even a mild diagnosed anxiety disorder can be severe compared to a person with no anxiety disorder. Most anxiety disorders first appear during childhood and then fluctuate in severity as the person ages.
What Are the Most Severe Symptoms of Anxiety?
A severe anxiety disorder is a serious mental health disorder that affects brain function and can seep into other areas of a person’s life, making it difficult even to do common daily tasks. While the symptoms of severe anxiety are similar to symptoms of mild anxiety, a major difference is not only their intensity but the control that the person has over their anxiety. Severe anxiety is less likely to be self-managed than mild anxiety.
Some of the symptoms that a person with severe anxiety or anxiety disorder faces include the following:
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Feelings of nervousness, tension, and restlessness
- Increased heart rate
- Feeling tired or weak
- Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Difficulty concentrating on anyone besides your worrying or anxiety
- Trouble sleeping or insomnia
- Unable to control your worrying or fear
- Having strong feelings to avoid certain things that trigger your anxiety even if it’s something you have to do
While a severe anxiety disorder can often be self-diagnosed, if you aren’t certain, you should seek professional help to diagnose your anxiety, which also helps open the door to therapy and treatment. Anxiety disorders can be overwhelming, but with professional help such as through You Behavioral which offers easily-accessible virtual therapy, you can manage your symptoms and heal from the causes of your anxiety.
What Happens When You Have Severe Anxiety?
Severe anxiety is something that can affect the entire body. As you experience anxiety symptoms, your body suffers too, and you may start to have problems with your digestive system, immune system, nervous system, respiratory system, and cardiovascular system. You will have a sense of impending doom that is difficult to shake, making it difficult to concentrate on anything else.
You may also experience depression as chronic anxiety increases your risk of depression. Depression symptoms can include loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, social withdrawal, feelings of hopelessness and guilt, and suicidal ideation. Your heart may pound in your chest, especially with panic attacks. Panic attacks can also cause chest pain, lightheadedness, and a sudden increase in body temperature. Panic attacks can be immobilizing and one of the most severe forms of anxiety.
Severe anxiety can also cause you to have headaches and mood changes that can result in you becoming irritable among other things. The anxiety affects your stomach and digestive system, leading to stomach pain, diarrhea, and nausea. The extreme fatigue that sets in can leave you feeling completely wiped out even though you may have eaten well and had a good night’s sleep.
Anxiety can also cause your whole body pain, such as muscle aches. Anxiety is not just a mental disorder; it can also cause many physical problems that can make the whole situation feel far worse and may even require medical help to manage.
What You Should Do If You Have Severe Anxiety
Severe anxiety is considered to be a mental health disorder when it is persistent or chronic. There are things you can do outside of finding professional help that can help you to gain control over your symptoms. We will explore a list of things you should and shouldn’t do when you are experiencing severe anxiety.
Some of the things that you should do and avoid to help overcome your anxiety include the following:
- Talk to a friend or family member, or alternatively, find professional help so that you can talk to someone who cares and can help you to overcome your anxiety.
- Use breathing exercises
- Get exercise and be active
- Eat fewer carbohydrates in your diet
- Get a good night’s sleep and avoid electronic devices and other distractions when you are trying to sleep
- Find a peer support group
- Eat regular, balanced meals
- Set small targets and goals instead of taking everything on at once
- Don’t focus on things you can’t change or have no influence over
- Don’t think that you’re alone – help is always just a phone call away
- Don’t use alcohol, smoke cigarettes, gamble, or use drugs such as cannabis because it will only make things worse
Get Help for Your Anxiety With You Behavioral Health
You Behavioral Health is a unique virtual way for you to get certified behavioral health care from anywhere in the world. If you want to receive help with your anxiety from the comfort of your home, then You Behavioral is your ideal solution. We offer important mental healthcare in the most accessible way via phone or other devices. It gives you near-instant access to a certified therapist or counselor that can help manage your symptoms and give you the advice to help you with your specific anxiety disorder symptoms.
Reach out to You Behavioral Health by calling (855) 206-2268 today to get started with your behavioral therapy for severe anxiety so that the condition doesn’t control your life