Anxiety symptoms must be among the top 5 searches in Google. And it makes sense.

 

We are currently living an alarming pandemic of depression and anxiety. And people often look for their symptoms to know what to do about it, and how to revert anxiety.

 

I won’t go over the details of why googling your symptoms is not a good idea, you have most likely been there.

 

Instead, we will talk about the 5 most annoying symptoms of anxiety.

 

For you, what are the most annoying symptoms? Let me know below in the comments section and let’s get started…

 

5-You worry out of literally nothing.

Having an anxious mind is being constantly worried…

 

For things that can go wrong, for being embarrassed, for not being enough, for that thing you said the other day; you name it…

 

As if your mind was looking for new ways to be on-edge, we go beyond looking for things to worry.

 

And even if everything is perfectly fine, an anxious mind will just keep going.

 

And we will create worry out of thin air.

 

If nothing is happening, we start “what-if thinking”.

 

If something insignificant happened, we start overthinking about it.

 

And even when anxiety is gone, we quickly start again…

 

What if I get anxiety again!?

 

The worry never stops! And this is annoying as hell.

 

4-Sleep, you say? What is that?

An anxious mind cannot find peace, not even in sleep.

 

For anxiety, it’s not enough that you spend all of your day worrying and overthinking.

 

Na-ah, anxiety wants to claim your sleep too.

 

As soon as we hit the pillow the mental hyperactivity kicks in…

 

The obsessive thoughts, the rumination, that thing you said long ago, the impending doom…

 

It will all come and haunt you if you have anxiety. And it won’t let you sleep.

 

The best one can hope for is dozing while rolling in bed, while battling a mind that just won’s shut up.

 

The lucky few who actually manage to sleep, are easily woken up by thoughts of danger…

 

And then the possibility of going back to sleep is off the table.

 

Awesome! Just in time to start a new day at 3:30 AM, after some 30 minutes of sleep… if one can call that sleep.

 

And if we ever get to sleep for more than a couple hours, it won’t be a deep, repairing sleep.

 

It feels like closing the eyes, and then waking up on a blink. Not a decent night’s sleep.

 

This is definitely one of the most annoying symptoms!

 

3-Anxiety makes you constantly tired.

All work and no rest makes Jack a dull boy.

 

Having no energy is also one of the most annoying symptoms of anxiety.

 

The lack of sleep and being on a constant state of alert make it very hard for us to get some real rest. Both physical or mental.

 

This also elevates our cortisol levels, and with sky-high levels of this stress hormone one can hardly function.

 

What can be more annoying than that?

 

Maybe the next symptom…

 

2-What was I worrying about?

If, for whatever reason, we manage to take our minds off the perpetual worry, it somehow makes its way back.

 

Maybe you’ve been through this.

 

You are suddenly not feeling like crap, and wait, that’s weird now…

 

This relaxation is not normal, where is the anxiety? Where is the worry?

 

I wish I hadn’t thought about that… 3, 2, 1… aaand anxiety is back. Delightful.

 

We remember why we were feeling worried, and so the brief moment of peace dissolves, like sand slipping through the fingers.

 

A little sad, isn’t it?

Our baseline is stress, and when it goes away, we feel there’s something wrong.

 

That’s why I always emphasize that we need to get in charge of our own Mental Dialogue, because otherwise, anxiety has a free pass to make a mess in our minds…  and lives.

 

1-With anxiety, you cannot concentrate.

Your family needs you. Your friends want to be with you. And your work demands your efforts.

 

But still you can’t quite concentrate on what you’re doing.

 

Your family may feel there’s something wrong with you, because you don’t seem to be completely present.

 

Friends can notice that too. But maybe your anxiety has worsened and you don’t see them much anymore.

 

And at work… you just wonder how long until anxiety gets so bad, that you cannot meet the expectations.

 

Anxiety makes it hard for you to concentrate on anything else.

 

All your mental space is taken up by that damn worry that refuses to go away.

 

It’s been weeks already? These episodes of anxiety just keep getting longer.

 

This, I think, is by far the most annoying symptom.

 

But there’s an extra one that is more scary than annoying…

 

Bonus: Scary intrusive thoughts take today’s (dis)honorable mention.

This is not as common as the ones above, but it sure is unsettling.

 

Terrible thoughts have arrived… and it seems they are here to stay.

 

We didn’t ask for these terrible thoughts! But still they are here, and they keep coming… and sometimes it gets obsessive.

 

And we really don’t want to have these catastrophic thoughts, but the very aversion we feel towards them seems to further cement them into our minds.

 

This symptom is as scary as it is hard to get rid of. But hey, I am preparing a guide on how to do that. (If you want to read it, leave me a comment below, in the comments section)

 

For now, let’s just say that we all hate anxiety, it is indeed a difficult adversary.

But that doesn’t mean it’s undefeatable.

 

My introductory audio program is a great form of anxiety relief, and it will help you tremendously in this battle.

 

If you think I left out an even more annoying symptom of anxiety, or if you want to add one, leave a comment so we can all better understand anxiety.

 

I assume responsibility for my mental illness, and thus, I create my mental health.

 

Share this article, we all need to support each other and learn more about how we can fight anxiety.

 

Your friend,

George Alonso.

Creator of the Transcendental Mindfulness Program.