Anxiety is a common mental health disorder that affects millions of adults. Despite how common it is, many people struggle to get the professional help they need to deal with their anxiety. Mental health stigma and general misinformation can make it hard to know when anxiety, stress, and other conditions warrant treatment. However, there are a few indicators that will tell you when professional intervention is a good idea. Learn more about your condition and find the help you deserve when you look for these signs it’s time to seek treatment for your anxiety.
Your Symptoms Are Physical and Long-Lasting
People often dismiss their anxiety as routine stress or worry. It isn’t always easy to tell the difference between anxiety and worry, but looking at the symptoms can help you get a clearer idea of your condition. Unlike worry, anxiety has physical symptoms as well as mental and emotional ones. Symptoms of anxiety are also long-lasting; worry is temporary and centered around a specific event, but anxiety is vague and persists for weeks, months, or even years.
It Holds You Back From the Things You Love
Anxiety can prevent you from enjoying your life. Maybe you don’t see friends as often because you feel nervous about going out. Maybe you lose interest in hobbies and other pastimes that used to bring you joy. If thoughts and feelings like these keep you from participating in your own life, it’s time to seek treatment for your anxiety. Professional treatment can lessen your symptoms so that you can work through your feelings of anxiety and be more active and present in your life again.
It’s Affecting Your Self-Esteem
Many people with anxiety start to experience feelings of worthlessness or self-loathing. You might start to see yourself as weak or incapable. Feelings like these can lead to isolation and eventually create comorbid conditions like depression. But these thoughts and feelings are the result of your anxiety lying to you. They’re not real. Working with a mental health professional can help you identify these lies and replace them with more positive thoughts, self-compassion, acceptance, and confidence in who you are and how you live your life.
