- Hey, Psych2Go viewers, welcome back to our channel.
Do you get bouts of anxiety from time to time?
This can be normal before a first date or a job interview
since these emotions often subside after awhile.
But if your anxiety is persistent, this can be concerning.
Continuing to feel very anxious, even after a date,
job interview or speech can indicate something else,
an anxiety disorder.
Does this sound familiar?
If anxiety is something that you deal with,
you're not alone.
Approximately 19% of Americans have experienced
an anxiety disorder,
and about 31% of Americans will experience
an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.
Many of us usually think of sweaty palms
and heart palpitations as symptoms of anxiety,
but anxiety can manifest itself in other ways too.
Most of the other signs go unnoticed.
So what are they?
Here are six signs of anxiety that often go unnoticed.
Number one, jaw pain.
Have you ever noticed jaw pain from anxiety?
Anxiety is usually not the first thing
you may think of when you experience jaw pain or toothaches.
You may usually blame a cavity or another dental problem,
but jaw pain and toothaches can also be caused by anxiety.
More specifically bruxism.
This is when an individual unconsciously and excessively
grinds or clenches their teeth.
Bruxism is a by-product of stress.
When we're stressed our whole body clenches up
in preparation to fight or flight,
hence teeth grinding and jaw pain.
Studies support this theory,
stating that there is a high index of anxiety among bruxers,
as opposed to non-bruxers.
But anxiety is not the only mental health condition
that causes this.
People with depression and neuroticism
can also experience toothaches as a result of bruxism.
The condition is usually self-diagnosed and can be treated.
Most teeth grinding activity happens overnight.
So you may not notice that early on.
Morning tooth pain is usually the first clue.
If you wake up with jaw pain frequently,
consider finding what is causing you stress.
It may take some time but always seek help
from a licensed professional if necessary.
Number two, scattered thinking.
Another sign of anxiety, scattered thinking.
Anxiety floods, your thoughts with negativity and doubts.
Often these thoughts are disruptive,
and can easily make you forget your surroundings.
You may come off as unattentive.
While intrusive thoughts can steal your attention,
there's also another reason why you may feel scatterbrained.
Anxiety can have neurological effects
as well as physical ones.
It affects your limbic system,
specifically the prefrontal cortex.
This part of the brain is known for executive functioning,
but it's also responsible for social behavior.
When you're anxious,
your prefrontal cortex
and other structures of your limbic system are impaired.
As a result you may find that you lose the thread
of a conversation or have trouble concentrating on a task.
If this is something deal with often,
try to ground yourself in the present.
There are many wonderful grounding techniques.
The most popular one is box breathing.
Wanna try?
Okay.
Breathe in for four seconds.
One, two, three, four.
Now hold for four.
One, two, three, four.
Now exhale for four.
One, two, three, four.
And then hold again for four.
One, two, three, four.
Ah!
Better?
I sped it up a little bit,
but try to take your time with it next time.
Number three, cold feet.
I'm sure you've heard the term getting cold feet.
There's a reason this popular idiom describes being nervous.
When you're anxious,
perhaps similar to right before you get married,
your body jumps into fight or flight.
This reaction triggers a cascade of neurological
and hormonal shifts.
One of them is that it tells your brain
to release adrenaline.
Adrenaline helps you redirect your blood flow
so the most of it is sent to your vital organs,
like your heart and lungs.
Consequently, your extremities start to feel cold.
Number four, irritability.
Do you easily become irritated?
Irritability is a common sign of anxiety.
However, it's a symptom we often overlook or ignore.
It's a sign that you're overwhelmed with stress.
Anxiety is associated with hypersensitivity,
meaning that you'll be much more sensitive
to your surroundings,
which may cause you to feel more irritated than usual.
Number five, impulsive buying.
Another sign of anxiety is impulsivity.
In this case, impulse buying.
However impulsivity can manifest itself
in many different ways, such as engaging in risky behavior.
Impulsivity as a result of anxiety
can be due to various factors.
The main one is that your orbital frontal cortex,
another branch of your limbic system, is affected.
Studies found that anxiety increases the blood flow
to that region, which consequently increases activity.
An increase in activity can lead to either
impulse control issues, hoarding, or impulse spending.
Additionally anxiety affects your prefrontal cortex
and makes it harder for you to make wise
and thoughtful decisions.
Impulse buying, as well as hoarding,
are also forms of self-soothing.
They provide a false sense of comfort and security.
If you do find yourself caving in
and taking financial risks,
please consider reaching out to a therapist for help.
And number six, crying easily.
When's the last time you cried?
One last sign that goes unnoticed is crying easily.
Inexplicably bouts of crying can mean
you're overwhelmed by the situation you find yourself in.
Not only can it be because of a sensitivity to stress,
but it can also be due to your fight or flight response.
The correct terminology is fight, flight, or freeze.
Feeling stuck or freezing amidst a perceived threat
can progress these overwhelming feelings of stress.
When you find yourself crying,
attempt to relax by taking a deep breath.
Then allow yourself to cry.
Crying can release all of those feelings
you may be holding onto.
It may be great to find additional ways to self-sooth
when you're feeling anxious as well.
So have you experienced any of these signs?
I have.
What are some self-soothing behaviors that help you?
I enjoy walking.
Feel free to let us know in the comments down below.
Anxiety is quite common and can be manageable.
If you ever need help or guidance
reaching out to a therapist or mental health professional
can be a good idea.
Feel free to like and share this video if it helped you,
or if you think it could help someone else.
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And thanks for watching, take care.