Many people in the world suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. And many people in the world don't even realize what they are suffering from is anxiety due to the fact that their symptoms are not typical.
I've compiled a list of 10 strange symptoms that you may haven't realized are caused by anxiety:
- Your balance is off. You may always feel like you're falling or that the ground beneath you is moving, which causes you to stumble. You may just feel dizzy and disorientated for no reason. Years ago, when these first started, I went to see my doctor who became scared I had MS (which in turn scared me), but I've now realized that these things are all 100% anxiety. I have what I call "space out & freak out" moments where I space out thinking about something and then snap out of it quickly and freak out and feel like I am falling. It happens so quickly that I would mistake it for vertigo. But I've learned to recognize my symptoms and can control them better when I am not panicking about the true nature of them (medical reasons vs. actual anxiety--and they are always the latter).
- Your memory can shut down. When you are panicking, or constantly anxious, your memory issues can range from forgetting to run an errand or forgetting to make a phone call, all the way to severe end, such as forgetting how your telephone works. The latter level usually only happens when you're in a severe state of total panic. But your memory is always going to be off on anxious days. So be sure to keep lists, write everything down, and post things where you can see them so you don't forget.
- You may feel like you're going crazy. Derealization/depersonalization issues are common, but most of us don't realize what is even going on. As a child, I had extreme issues with this,feeling like my leg or my arm was HUGE in comparison to my body (only when I shut my eyes to go to sleep--my anxiety was horrible at night--it still is). I had no idea what this strange sensation was, and was terrified to talk about it, for fear of looking crazy. Now I have issues with both, but less frequently (though my current anxiety mode when I am alone is to feel like I am someone looking out my own eyes, but not a part of my own body--I know this is severe anxiety and I try to keep myself grounded by using distraction to keep my mind busy).
- You can experience hot flashes. I thought I was going through menopause, but it turns out, I was just having panic attacks. Two issues with these are a) profuse sweating and b) reddening of the skin (flushing). It's always fun to get up from a seat after a meeting with a doctor or people at work to see your sweat being left behind on the chair (yuck!). You can also get severe night sweats, as well.
- It can cause severe depression. If you have enough panic attacks or anxiety, this can put you in a severe depression (or even a mild one). The reason being is that your system is so constantly overloaded, you feel like there is no way out of this and you'll never feel better, which causes you to feel depressed. If this his happening, be sure to call your doctor. If you are feeling suicidal, then be sure to call the suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255
- You can have severe irritation while feeling anxious. Anxiety can make you angry as hell. Your system is overloaded, and everything is bothering you, so you get snappy and annoyed.
- Strange tastes in your mouth. Metallic, tinny, or chemical flavors dancing around your tongue is a very common anxiety issue. I can think some irrational thought about getting something in my mouth and literally taste it moments later. But I drink some water to get the taste out and think about something else until it goes away.
- Feeling nauseous for no reason. We all know about stage fright, and how that can cause your stomach to do flip-flops before performing (or before a speech), but sometimes getting nauseous over a seemingly normal task (like, going out to eat, or calling a person on the phone) can be also anxiety-related. Growing up until I was in my middle 20's, this was go-to anxiety symptom for everything. I got out of a lot of 6th grade for all the "stomachaches" I had. I eventually grew out of these and contracted even bigger and more terrifying symptoms instead. Though, since I have emetophobia, I prefer the more scary ones to feeling like I am going to barf. Nausea ruled the first half of my life (literally), and I don't miss it one bit 😊
- Having issues with controlling behavior and freaking out when things don't go your way. My mom has a fit if you don't park where she says to park or turn on the road she says to turn on. I used to do the same thing, but have since realized that it was my anxiety talking and stopped (my mom, on the other hand, has continued her reign of backseat driving terror to this day). I also freak out when people wash the dishes wrong, or do other things differently than I would. I combat this issue by walking away and not thinking about what they are doing (I hate admitting I am kind of like my mother...yuck!). If this is you or someone you know, know that this behavior can be controlled by ignoring it (closing your eyes, walking away, putting your attention on something else, etc.). But you have to choose to first see it for what it is: anxious behavior and thoughts. You can help the person in your life who has this issue by explaining about anxiety as much as you can to them. Let them know that nothing bad will happen if you don't do as they say (if they get abusive--and some people can) if you don't listen, then you need to protect yourself and walk away--abuse is NOT an anxiety symptom, it's an anger issue). The good news is that after enough times of ignoring the obtrusive anxious thoughts, they will start to fade away.
- Feeling like something is going to go wrong. Do you ever feel just wrong? Or that you're forgetting something that you should remember, because that something is something horrible? Or that you have to fix something because if you don't, something terrible will happen? Like rearranging something or putting something back into it's place. Impending doom and OCD are both anxiety issues (one is a symptom of anxiety and one is a type of anxiety, but both can feel the same). You may feel like and "overreacter" but in reality, you either have anxiety or are experiencing anxious thoughts. Both are extremely common, but by themselves, you may not recognize that they stem from anxiety. Once you realize they do, you can calm yourself down and know that the "doom" not going to happen and is only a byproduct by an over reactive nervous system.
Do not ignore certain things on their own if you've never had anxiety before--always seek a doctor's opinion. But also don't jump to conclusions that everything your body does is caused by something harmful. Once your doctor has ruled out any physical issues for your symptoms, then look to anxiety as the culprit. If that is the cause, then you will be able to better recognize your symptoms as they crop up, and you will become better at getting them go away in a timely manner. And you can then seek out the hidden triggers so you can recognize why these things trigger you.
Anxiety is a tricky beast, always out to fool you into thinking something horrible is happening to you. But luckily, it's not.
But lucky for us, anxiety can be managed through therapy, medication, fitness, and diet.
If you feel you have an anxiety disorder, please contact your doctor or a therapist so you can get on a plan that works for you :)
Have any strange anxiety symptoms? Please tell us about them below, so others can find out they aren't suffering alone.
Also, check out this video for more anxiety symptoms you may have not considered that are caused by anxiety.
Also, check out this amazing list of 100 anxiety symptoms!!
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