Mental health
3rd May 2025
Anxiety: How It Shows Up And More
Anxiety can be described as excessive and extended worrying. Unlike fear and worry, anxiety does not just happen in a moment and go. It is a lingering feeling of fear sometimes with a known cause and sometimes with anticipated outcomes like bad things happening in future, especially ‘What if…’ questions.
Anxiety can present as sweaty palms, body aches, fidgety movements like; fiddling, shaking knees, tapping or pacing. It can also present as rapid heartbeat, dizziness, or recurrent thoughts of the feared situations.
Anxiety can be caused by situations such as being in a group of people (social anxiety), exams, unhealthy work practices, objects or things (phobias), family history of anxiety and personality characteristics such as instances where a person is very particular and struggles with accepting anything outside of personal standards.
How to know if a person has anxiety: The above indicators help to be aware and consider that a person may have anxiety. Oftentimes consulting a helping professional or health professional helps narrow down symptoms and provide clarity.
Helpful tips for anxiety:
- Breathing exercises such as box breathing, help to reset the mind and body to a more calm function.
- Taking a walk in nature helps focus on other sensory experiences.
- In some cases medical assistance may be required as prescribed by a professional.
- Eating a balanced meal and having 6-8 hrs of sleep regularly.
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