Everyone feels anxious at some point in their life. Work anxiety is particularly common, when you worry about an upcoming deadline or whether your job is safe. Most anxiety is manageable and can be dealt with using relaxation techniques.

However, having an anxiety disorder can cause prolonged, intense and excessive worry or fear about all sorts of situations. This type of severe anxiety can start to interfere with daily life and may need medical help to overcome.

If you are suffering from an anxiety disorder, it’s important to realize you are not alone. Over 40 million adults in the US%20have%20an%20anxiety%20disorder.) alone have an anxiety disorder. And, there are many different types of anxiety, some of which stem from a medical condition and others can start in childhood or the teen years.

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety shows itself differently in each person. But, the common symptoms to look out for include:

• Sweating
• Trembling
• Nervous or restless feelings
• Tense muscles
• Fast heart rate
• Unable to sleep
• Breathing rapidly
• Trouble thinking straight or concentrating
• A sense of impending panic or doom
• Urge to avoid certain situations

What Are the Different Types of Anxiety?

There are several different types of anxiety to be aware of. Some are more common while others are less known about. Anxiety disorders include:

• Performance anxiety. This is a fear of the ability to perform a task. People experiencing this may worry about failure before they’ve started.
• Abandonment anxiety. This type of anxiety is often seen in people pleasers and those needing constant reassurance.
• Attachment anxiety. This often stems from childhood in those experiencing inconsistent parenting. It can lead to an extreme worry that anyone close, including friends and partners, are going to leave them.
• Food anxiety. Those with food anxiety worry about what will happen after eating certain foods. This leads to avoidance and often weight loss or gain.
• Work anxiety. Work anxiety stems from stress caused by work that can lead to trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating and reduced job satisfaction.
• Perfectionism anxiety. This causes the person to have unrealistic expectations of themselves, leading to stress, depression and panic.
• Social anxiety. Social anxiety is an overwhelming fear of social situations that can lead to blushing, sweating, panic attacks and even the avoidance of going out at all.
• Anxiety due to a medical condition. The sufferer may experience intense panic or stress surrounding a medical condition and what is going to happen to them.

Just like other mental health conditions, anxiety is harder to treat the longer you leave it alone. If you’re anxious, take steps to minimize symptoms by focusing on what you can change, distracting yourself with healthy hobbies and improving your sleep hygiene.

Take a look at the BetterSleep app which has many guided meditations and relaxing music to calm anxious minds and soothe stressed bodies.