The Secret Effects of Anxiety


Part 2


One of my favorite pieces I've written was my post about my anxiety journey.  I detailed a rough outline of what it is, my diagnosis, and how I deal with it.  My story though, similar to anxiety, is a continuous journey.

Anxiety has a ton of outward symptoms:  nervousness, hyperventilating, quietness, and being fidgety.  These are all things I have personally experienced, and those who have known me long enough and well enough have definitely seen me go through these.  As important as it is to recognize these symptoms, it is equally, if not more important to be aware of the unseen effects of anxiety.
As with most mental disorders/illnesses/struggles (whatever you want to label it), there is an entire host of tolls it can psychologically and physically take on the body.  This list is relative to my own life and experiences.

1. Headaches 

In what may be a more surprising one, I tend to get severe headaches directly after an anxiety attack and moment of panic.  To me, this is generally related to the high stress and is my body’s own way of reacting to such.  If the anxiety attack causes me to cry, the headaches tend to be a bit worse and persist into the next day.

2. Other Aches

Anxiety as a whole is exhausting (which we will get to).  It is a constant swirling of "what-if" and worst-case scenarios along with the mental fight to push that aside.  This brain pain, if you may, translates into actual physical aches.  I can't necessarily say it's painful.  It's more like you're constantly dragging a weight along with you, and in some ways, you kind of are.

3. Insomnia

When your brain is constantly going a million miles per an hour, slowing it down is hard.  When you can't slow your mind down, you can't go to sleep.  With the wheel in your head always rotating, nights often end up being full of tossing and turning.

4. Exhaustion  

As a result of not being able to sleep, exhaustion can ensue.  This does not mean that the aforementioned wheel stops turning, just that your exhausted body is trying to keep up with it 10x harder than before.  On my bad days, weeks, etc... I just kind of feel run-down.  The weight from above comes back and drags even heavier.  The exhaustion comes in many more forms that will be detailed below.

5. Difficulty Focusing

It is hard to stay focused on one task when you cannot center your thoughts.  I often find myself struggling to stay on task and get one project done at a time on my bad days.  To combat this, I like to find a couple things that I am excited to work on, and jump between them.  Getting a bunch of things done intermittently is better than hardly getting a single thing done at all.

6. Loss of Motivation

Not having the ability to sit down and concentrate can result in a loss of motivation.  When it seems as though nothing can be done, it creates a sense of failure, which for me personally, can worsen anxious feelings.  This fear of idleness can make people crave a certain sense of control.  Just remember than a loss of motivation is not permanent.  Take a moment, divert your attention, and try again in a bit.

7. Memory Issues

The memory issues I experience are more closely related to the inability to focus than actual memory loss.  When I have a constant page long to-do list in my head, I often lose track of what I was going to do, or what my reasoning was.  I struggle with this a lot on busy days at work.  When you have a waiting area full of people waiting to be sat, silverware that needs rolled, and tables that need cleared, it is easy to lose track of what you were going to do.

Like I said, these are all relative to my journey and what I have noted.  This is not a complete list though, and I like to move forward instead of dwelling on the negative effects.  I am sure other people would say other things, and disagree, and agree.  Anxiety comes differently to everybody who has it, and not everybody that has it has these.  If you know somebody who struggles with it, remember to stay patient, and sensitive to their own experiences and expressions.  We don't mean to be a handful, and hate it as much as you could imagine. I hope this offered another look into a world that is not familiar to all.

(As with my last one, it wouldn't be a complete anxiety post without throwback pictures)



Much love,
Sam


Comments

Popular Posts