Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling when an individual dreads the worst from happening. Individuals may feel restless, worried and even show physical reactions like upset stomach, palpitations and sweating.

However, it’s important to know when anxiety is okay to experience, and when it needs to be treated.

The “Normal” Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal emotion to feel. Individuals may be anxious before a big conference, date or even exam results. In fact, anxiety can push people to do better, for example, worrying about an exam may push a student to study harder.

Anxiety also helps us to stay on our toes, for example walking alone to the parking lot at night. Anxiety may cause the individual to stay alert and wary of dangers like burglary or an attack, hence preparing the individual to be on their defense.

Normal anxiety can be dealt at home in simple ways. For example, journaling or meditating may help an individual collect their thoughts and practice staying calm for longer periods of time. Exercising may also help to expend that nervous energy into something useful, and talking to a friend about worries may help dissipate them altogether.

In fact, it’s very normal to feel anxious when something new is about to happen. Like a new job, new school or attending an event where you know no one – however, these can be dealt with on your own or by asking a friend to accompany you to the event or by taking a few deep breaths before you walk into the new office.

But what if the anxiety feels like it’s beyond such help?

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorders occur when a person experiences unusually high levels of anxiety and worry about aspects of daily life, like work, family, relationships, and future instances that have not occurred yet.

There are various types of anxiety disorders for which professional treatment must be sought. The generalized anxiety disorder and the social anxiety disorder are the most common ones; specific phobias are also a kind of AD and usually, younger patients show signs of separation anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are stressful. The constant worry affects an individual’s ability to perform effectively in ordinary situations and causes distress to them. It can affect cognitive functions like memory, learning, thinking and even processing emotions, which can lead to social problems.

When the following symptoms arise, it’s best to seek professional help. You may eventually need to have a medication prescribed:

• Feeling nervous or tense
• Always feeling a sense of impending danger or doom
• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing or hyperventilating
• Trouble sleeping
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Unable to control worry and worrying thoughts
• Having the urge to avoid “triggers”
• Unable to concentrate on daily tasks

Be Active

Being active & exercising can help with anxiety by  producing endorphins to help balance brain chemicals. Staying physically fit can also help you stay mentally fit at the same time. If attempts to manage anxiety on your own still leave you constantly feeling anxious, do seek out help from a professional as you may be experiencing an anxiety disorder. A professional will be able to help you dig further into the problem to find a working solution with you.