Understanding Anxiety Disorders: 10 Signs and Symptoms, and When to Seek Support
- Stefan Dalton
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
We all experience anxiety from time to time like during moments of uncertainty, before an important meeting, or when big things happen to us. But for quite a few of us, anxiety isn’t just an occasional feeling in response to something. Anxiety disorders can be extremely overwhelming, persistent, and affect daily life in ways that go beyond regular stress. The good news however is that anxiety disorders are highly treatable.
Understanding Anxiety Disorders—What Is Anxiety?
You’ve probably heard of fight-or-flight responses. The fight-or-flight response is a primitive survival mechanism that prepares the body to face danger—our ancestors needed these responses in order to survive. Triggered by the amygdala in the brain and regulated by the autonomic nervous system, these physiological reactions flood the body with adrenaline, heightening alertness and preparing the body for action and danger. The most common fight-or-flight reactions are to stand your ground and face threat (i.e., fight) or escape the danger and flee (i.e., flight), removing yourself from danger. These are fantastic responses when we are faced with very real threats such as getting hit by a car, being in physical danger, or being in a situation that may cause us harm. In fact, these responses are essential for self-preservation. However, in our modern world we face many stressors that aren't life-threatening, yet can still activate this survival response such as public speaking, job interviews, sudden loud noises, and touching things we perceive as being contaminated. In these cases, this can sometimes lead to chronic anxiety and can be highly debilitating.
Therefore, it's important to remember that anxiety is a normal part of life—but when it becomes overwhelming, persistent, or interferes with daily activities, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders affect millions of people worldwide and often include excessive worry, extreme fear, dreadful physical symptoms, and can stop us from living a fulfilling life.
Understanding anxiety disorders and learning how to regulate these responses when they happen can enhance emotional balance and resilience.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders affect millions of people worldwide and are amongst some of the most common mental health conditions. Unlike occasional feelings of anxiousness—which are a normal part of life—anxiety disorders can disrupt work, affect relationships, stop you from doing things, and generally reduce your overall well-being. Anxiety disorders often involve excessive and uncontrollable worry and persistent fear that is often out of proportion to the actual situation (although it often seems proportional when we are experiencing it!)
There are several types of common anxiety disorders, each with distinct characteristics:
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – Excessive and chronic worry about many different situations, often accompanied by physical symptoms like nervousness, restlessness, or muscle tension.
Panic Disorder – Sudden episodes of intense fear resulting in a panic attack, often with symptoms like a racing heart, dizziness, shortness of breath, or depersonalisation—which is the feeling of being disconnected from your body.
Social Anxiety Disorder – A persistent fear of social situations, usually accompanied with fear of being negatively judged or embarrassed in public.
Specific Phobias – An intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights, spiders, or flying.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – Intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions), to try and reduce anxiety.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – Anxieties triggered by past traumatic experiences, leading to intrusive memories and distressing emotional responses.
NOTE: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the book used to diagnose mental health disorders) previously classified OCD and PTSD as anxiety disorders. However, they are now distinct conditions.
Common Anxiety Symptoms
While the symptoms of anxiety can vary depending on the specific disorder, there are common signs and symptoms which all of them can share. Symptoms of anxiety disorders include:
Excessive worry and overthinking – Constantly thinking of worst-case scenarios, even when there’s little actual danger (this is a tough one when you are trying to determine what is a real danger and what has been exaggerated in our mind!)
Restlessness and feeling on edge – An inability to relax, often accompanied by nervous energy. You may feel 'butterflies' in your stomach for no particular reason.
Difficulty concentrating – It can be very hard to focus on tasks or conversations with others because we are so consumed by our worries and anxieties.
Racing thoughts – Our thoughts can feel as if they are racing through our mind very quickly jumping from one to another. This can sometimes feel as if we are not in control of our own thoughts.
Irritability – Dealing with worries and anxiety can make it very difficult to manage our daily lives. We may be easily irritated by events and people and may unnecessarily lash out.
Muscle tension – Due to prolonged worry, we can become very tense and hold tightness in our shoulders, jaw, or stomach.
Tiredness and fatigue – Anxiety can be mentally and physically exhausting and it's common to experience tiredness and fatigue.
Sleep disturbances – When we go to bed and try and shut down our mind, we can have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restless nights because of our thoughts.
Rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath – Physical symptoms often accompany intense feelings of anxiety. Rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, weak legs, a tight chest, amongst many more, are common symptoms of anxiety.
Avoidance behaviours – Steering clear of situations or people that trigger anxious feelings. It is very common to avoid things that makes us feel anxious. This is a tricky one because while it provides short term comfort, it reinforces our anxieties and makes it harder to confront the things we are anxious about.
Gastrointestinal issues – Nausea, stomach pain, or digestive problems are commonly linked to stress.
10 Signs You May Be Struggling With Anxiety
If anxiety feels overwhelming, persistent, and is impacting your day to a point where you are unable to go about your day as usual, it may be time to seek professional support. These ten signs may indicate an anxiety disorder:
You constantly worry about things, even if they’re minor.
You experience sudden episodes of panic or dread.
You avoid situations or people due to discomfort or fear.
You overthink past conversations or anticipate future problems.
Your heart races or you feel breathless.
You struggle with sleep—either falling asleep or staying asleep.
Your muscles feel tense, especially in your neck, shoulders, or jaw.
You often feel restless, unable to fully relax.
You experience digestive issues linked to stress or anxiety.
Your fear or worry interferes with work, relationships, or daily activities.
Important to know: experiencing any of these signs doesn’t necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder. These can also be natural responses to stressful events. If you are unsure, seeking professional help is the best way to go.
When To Seek Support
Experiencing occasional anxiety is normal, but when it causes you distress, or begins affecting daily life, seeking support can make an essential difference to your well-being. Professional help can provide you with effective strategies for alleviating it. It's important to seek support from a qualified professional. If you are unsure, speaking with your GP can be the best first step. If you are seeking private therapy, always check the credentials and experience of the therapist. You are obligated to know who you are sharing your personal life with and any professional therapist will be happy to make you feel comfortable and reassure you of their training.
Therapy For Anxiety
Several evidence-based therapies are available to help individuals deal with anxiety. Evidence-based therapies means there is a lot of support research on the effectiveness of them for dealing with anxiety. Some examples include:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Helps individuals identify and explore thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and provides tools to understand and decrease anxiety.
Exposure Therapy – Gradually exposes individuals to feared situations to reduce avoidance and build emotional resilience, making it easier to do the things we once feared.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) – Focuses on identifying irrational beliefs and replacing them with rational, more constructive thinking.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) – Encourages present-moment awareness and provides skills to reduce stress and anxiety.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Helps individuals work with and accept difficult emotions while committing to meaningful actions.
All of these therapies can help you gain the knowledge and tools you need to overcome anxiety.
UK Mental Health Services and Helplines
If you recognise any of these signs in yourself or a loved one, consider speaking with a mental health professional. Anxiety doesn’t have to control your life—help and relief are possible. These UK-based services can also provide support:
Mind – Offers mental health support, including talking therapies and crisis helplines. Visit Mind or call 0300 102 1234.
Samaritans – Provides 24/7 emotional support. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK – Call 0800 689 5652 (6pm–midnight daily).
Shout – Confidential 24/7 text service. Text SHOUT to 85258.
NHS 111 – For urgent mental health support, call 111 and select the mental health option. Visit NHS Mental Health Services.
Final Thoughts
Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, and support is available. Whether you experience occasional anxiety or persistent worry, understanding your symptoms and learning tools for managing them is an empowering step forward. Not only that, but your success story might inspire someone and improve their life!
Get in touch–I would love to hear how you overcame anxiety and what things helped you!
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