What does Anxiety feel like?

We have different types of anxiety, but there are some common ways anxiety presents itself and in the way it feels.

What most people with anxiety have in common is that they:

1. Worry a lot.
2. Are very aware about feelings and sensations within themselves and their surroundings.
3. Attempt to avoid things that they fear, try to change or avoid certain thoughts (omforme tanker), plan ahead very detailed and try to lessen and numb the anxiety.

Moreover, most people with anxiety feel convinced that:

1. They can’t control their thoughts and worries.
2. That worries are necessary in order for them to be in control – both of their everyday life and life in general.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of anxiety can be different, depending on the type of anxiety that you suffer from. But there are often common symptoms that people with anxiety share. And for everyone, the symptoms can be put into 4 categories: feelings, body sensations, thoughts and behaviour.

1. Feelings: The emotional symptoms: fear, nervousness, embarrassment(forlegenhed).
2. Body sensations: The physiological symptoms: heart palpitations, trouble breathing, trembling hands, blushing, sweating, inner unrest and nausea.
3. Thoughts: The thought patterns symptoms: over focusing on bodily symptoms (“I think my heart is beating in an abnormal way, could this be a blood clot?”), future oriented worries ( “What if I stutter when I am going to present myself”)
4. Behaviour: Behaviour symptoms: Distracting (“I should watch some TV or Netflix so that I can get the thoughts out of my head”) and numbing emotions (for instance with alcohol or distracting yourself with TV or social media.

These are just some of the symptoms that one can experience.

We believe that nobody should be alone in the midst of a tough time in their lives. Therefore we encourage you to speak up if you’re going through a difficult time in your life at the moment. We all do at some point in our lives.

Remember that you can find many resources on our website and learn much more about anxiety and mental health.