Anxiety Causes And Symptoms

Anxiety is defined by a few as a painful uneasiness of the mind and it affects the way a person thinks but it can also cause physical symptoms, too. Some of these symptoms are excessive worry and tension, unrealistic view of problems, restlessness, a feeling of being on edge, irritability and muscle tension. More symptoms that anxiety causes are headaches, sweating, difficulty concentrating and nausea. Anxiety also leads to tiredness, the need to go to the bathroom very frequently, trouble falling or staying asleep, palpitations, fear of impending doom, trembling and being easily startled.

The exact cause of anxiety is not really known but there are a number of factors that contribute to developing anxiety; such as, genetics, brain chemistry and environmental stresses.

Some believe that family history plays a large part in the possibility of a person developing anxiety meaning anxiety may be passed on down the family line. Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain have also been associated with anxiety. These chemical messenger, neurotransmitters, help move information from nerve cell to nerve cell and they get out of balance which causes the brain to react in certain situations that results in anxiety.

Trauma and stressful events, which are environmental factors; such as abuse, death of a loved one, divorce, changing jobs or schools, can lead to anxiety also. If a person already has anxiety, it will become even worse during stressful times. Anxiety can also be worsened by the use of or withdrawal from addictive substances, like alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.

There are a few other different kinds of symptoms for anxiety. Among them one is conversion reaction, which mean the anxiety is converted and expressed in other bodily symptoms. One of the most common symptoms might be paralysis of an arm or leg where there is no physical cause. This is an expression of anxiety, as well as blindness, deafness, convulsions, numbness and tingling of the fingers and toes.

Another symptom of anxiety is phobic reactions which the person’s anxiety is replaced by a phobic fear. This is a substitute reaction so that the person avoids anxiety by overacting to the phobia.

Then there is the introjections symptom the person turns his anxiety inward towards himself. Here the person turns to self-pity and blaming themselves for everything which leads to depression which is another symptom of anxiety.

A physical illness that can lead to anxiety is autoimmune thyroid disorder. This is one of the most common causes of anxiety symptoms in a relatively significant percentage of anxiety sufferers. So the individual needs to be checked out by their physician to eliminate any medical causes that could be causing anxiety symptoms.