10 Signs You Have Anxiety (And Don’t Even Realize It)

Jay Cee

1. Your sleeping patterns are off.

If you used to be an incredibly deep sleeper and have recently been tossing and turning like crazy, you may be having something more concerning than just stress. Your sleeping patterns can say a lot of about your overall health in general so if you’ve been having trouble getting the recommended eight hours, I’d look into it.

2. You find yourself worrying frequently about things that happened a long time ago.

Another sign that you a may have anxiety is worrying about things that happened in the past. While most people would be able to move on and completely forget about a mistake they made two years, you hold onto it and let that mistake swallow you whole.

3. You beat yourself up over tiny little things.

Maybe it’s about a friendship you lost a few years back, or maybe it’s about something you said to your parents yesterday, but you simply cannot let go of what you did and you punish yourself for it all the time.

4. You are known as the flake of your friend group.

Many people think of you as a ‘flake’ and ‘party pooper’. You’ve been isolating yourself and not wanting to interact with people as you usually loved to do. You feel your energy draining more easily and would rather crawl into bed than go to the club. Social outings are more uncomfortable and uneasy for you, and you honestly don’t know why.

5. You self medicate to take the edge off.

You’ve noticed yourself grabbing more beer at the store, and having a third glass of wine on a weekday. You’ll do anything to stop the voices in your head and the ugly thoughts that keep popping up in your mind, and drugs and alcohol makes it go away (for a minute).

6. Your thoughts are never ending.

No matter what you do, you feel like you are drowning underwater with piles and piles of terrifying thoughts. You never used to be this stressed out, and now work and your personal life and your life in general seems to be crumbling. Everything gets under your skin, and your thoughts nowadays are usually negative.

7. You get random aches.

Lately, you’ve felt more muscle tension and aches in your neck and back. Sometimes, you even feel tingles run down your arms and hands. Tension and anxiety can cause your body to react in a way you never thought possible. Anxiety can cause a lot of weird and unexpected symptoms.

8. You’re always tired no matter how much sleep you get.

No matter what, you’re always yawing frequently and your co-workers keep telling you to go to bed at a decent hour. But even if your sleeping patterns are great and you usually go to bed on time, and you’re waking up exhausted, this could be a sign of anxiety.

9. It’s hard for you to concentrate.

You find yourself gazing into space half the time, and can’t even finish simple tasks. It’s incredibly hard for you to concentrate, and your brain feels like you’re in a weird fog all the time. Anxiety can make you feel like you can’t even on a single conversation because your brain feels scrambled and all over the place.

10. You’re obsessed with never making mistakes and always being right.

You are obsessed with being the best of the best. Whether it’s in school or work or your personal relationships, you always want to be the best student, the best employee and the best friend. You’re known as the over achiever, and sometimes it can cause a lot of damage to your self confidence and self esteem if you mess up (which you will, because you’re human). Thought Catalog Logo Mark


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Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

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