From feeling restless to headaches and stomachaches, some anxiety symptoms are more obvious than others. Dr Raj Arora reveals signs and symptoms of tension, plus how a self-care toolkit may help prevent anxiety levels from spiralling right into a crisis

Anxiety is a sense of unease, worry or concern that typically occurs within the absence of imminent threat or fear.

An individual affected by anxiety may particularly be fearful about things which are about to occur or could occur in the longer term. Anxiety is a natural human response and typically manifests itself through our thoughts, emotions and physical sensations.

Most individuals may feel a level of tension occasionally especially when coping with stressful life events.

anxiety can’t only be debilitating for physical and mental health but also can contribute to serious disorders

Anxiety is often diagnosed as a mental health disorder if it persistently impacts each day activities and prevents one from carrying out their each day tasks.

It will be important to acknowledge that when severe, anxiety can’t only be debilitating for physical and mental health but also can contribute to serious disorders similar to burnout, heart disorders, hypertension, gut disorders, headaches and a few studies have shown anxiety also can contribute towards developing dementia.

There are numerous several types of anxiety disorders and every have a set of criteria and symptoms that can be checked out before a diagnosis is made.

Spot the signs of tension:

There are numerous signs and these can manifest as emotions but additionally as physical signs, including:

• Feeling restless, wound-up, or on-edge
• Being easily fatigued
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Being irritable
• Having headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches, or unexplained pains
• Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
• Having sleep problems, similar to difficulty falling or staying asleep

To acknowledge the signs and to take the primary steps towards intervention might be difficult for lots of individuals who don’t put emphasis on their very own mental health or selfcare.

It is crucial to give you the chance to take motion early if you happen to feel anxiety creeping in. This may help prevent anxiety levels from spiralling right into a crisis. To do that I often suggest that a toolkit could be helpful. Patients often find this helps them to concentrate on techniques that may reduce their anxiety levels and help ground them.

Create an anxiety prevention toolkit

A toolkit is basically a self-care motion plan. Self- care is essential to improving your wellbeing from all points but additionally to supply relief from feelings of tension. Self-care also helps to construct resilience which is important to assist manage feelings of stress, worry and anxiety.

When making a toolkit it can be crucial to make it relevant to yourself and to concentrate on the activities and interventions that may hold essentially the most weight in relation to alleviating symptoms.

Self-care also helps to construct resilience

I often suggest patients should list out triggers to their anxiety (in the event that they are aware of them) as then they can concentrate on preventative measures of their toolkit.

Your self-care activities will shape your toolkit and subsequently it can be crucial to explore the activities that make you are feeling good and positive. What activities help if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and who would you be comfortable to approach if you happen to needed help.

Your toolkit may contain a number of the following:

• Respiratory exercises: guided exercises through an app or just counting down deep breaths.
• Listening to music: selecting music that typically calms you down and soothes you or for some it could be more energising music.
• Taking a walk outdoors: stepping outdoors for a breath of fresh air may help to feel more relaxed and calm.
• Meditation: mindfulness and meditation may end up in focussed respiratory but additionally one other point to concentrate on taking one away from the emotions and sensations of tension.
• Journalling: writing down fears, feelings and emotions may help one to detach from them (a minimum of temporarily).
• Human connection: seeing family and friends nose to nose, and having a support network to check with, to share fears and concerns with can reduce the sensation of isolation.
• Reaching out for skilled support and resources: knowing when to succeed in out and speak to a health skilled or to search for resources online that may help one to feel supported.
• Considering medication: if anxiety is becoming debilitating despite trying a toolkit method and having worked on triggers then it could be necessary to talk to your doctor about medication and recognising that in your toolkit can mean that you just usually tend to reach out for support and drugs when other methods have failed.

Know when to ask for help

It will be important to emphasize that there is no such thing as a right or flawed time to succeed in out for help. If you have got yet to create a toolkit but find that your anxiety is spiraling or if you have got a toolkit but feel yourself slipping right into a crisis then it can be crucial to succeed in out and ask for help out of your GP.

If you have got tried a self care method or toolkit but still suffer from the emotional and physical manifestations of tension, then it can be crucial to flag this and reach out for help.

Specifically, anxiety can result in persistent low mood, suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self harm in some individuals. When you are experiencing these then it can be crucial to see your GP urgently.

Assistance is all the time available via your GP but additionally there are various charities with crisis lines which are available too.

Dr Raj Arora is a GP, the founding father of @thefacebible and one among the UK’s leading medical educators. Her passion lies in mental health awareness, women’s health and skincare.

As a female GP, Dr Raj Arora has all the time been captivated with educating other women with regarding to women’s health and using her Instagram platform @dr_rajarora to teach, inform, empower and encourage her followers.

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