How to Support Someone Struggling With Their Mental Health
Is someone you know or love struggling with their mental health? In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, here are some tips on how you can support them.
Lesser-Known Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety can range from a feeling of mild alarm or nervousness that is hard to dispel to causing near panic attacks when in stressful situations. Aside from these better-known signs of anxiety, there are plenty of more subtle signs that could point to an issue centered around an anxiety disorder.
As a board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Ifeanyi Olele of Genesis Psychiatric Solutions can help identify if you have an anxiety disorder, and if so, which type. Then we can help you create a plan for managing your condition so it doesn’t interfere with your life.
Even if you don’t recognize obvious signs of anxiety, you could have subtle symptoms. Once you recognize any of the following as a possible sign of anxiety, you’ll be better prepared to get help, and your doctor will find it easier to identify what type of anxiety disorder you have.
Fatigue
You may think of anxiety as causing a kind of mania or always being fidgety. But internal anxiety can lead to a feeling of exhaustion because the brain runs like a hamster on a wheel, worrying subconsciously about many things.
Indecisiveness
Are you having a hard time deciding which outfit to buy, what to have for dinner, or whether to put gas in your car now or wait until tomorrow? Being unable to make confident decisions or worrying unduly about the ramifications of simple choices can also be a sign of anxiety rearing its head.
Perfectionism
If everything you do has to be perfect or you simply don’t see the point in doing it at all, you could have anxiety. This can tie into indecisiveness. What if you make the wrong choice? An obsession with being perfect all the time can be a strong sign of internal anxiety.
Avoidance
When making choices and worrying about perfection get to be too much, it’s not surprising that you might turn to avoidance just so you don’t have to stress out. As you can see, a lot of these subtle side effects of anxiety are interconnected.
Physical symptoms
Anxiety triggers the fight-or-flight response. This can cause strong physical symptoms, like stomachaches or freezing cold hands and feet.
If you routinely feel nauseous, have sharp unexplained pains in your stomach, or feel like your extremities seem to be cold all the time, it might just be anxiety.
If you think you may be experiencing anxiety, schedule a consultation by calling our nearest location or request an appointment online. We have offices in Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia; Washington, DC; Los Angeles, California; and Boca Raton, Florida.
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