6 Signs You're Suffering from Anxiety Without Realizing It

We don’t always know we feel anxiety, do we?It would be nice, but the situation does not always work out that way. Many people who suffer from anxiety do not understand what exactly is going on with them. They are aware that they feel bad but struggle to describe their feelings.

The study showed that 60-80% of complaints during visits to the doctor are related to stress. However, people do not say: “For the last five years, my marriage has been falling apart, and my head and stomach constantly hurt. Can you help me deal with relationships and stress? They come with another request: "Prescribe me something for chronic headaches and stomach problems," and don’t even realize they need anxiety treatment to solve said problems.

Anxiety appears when we lose control over the situation. For example, when we drive a car on an icy road, and the car starts skidding. However, anxiety can also occur in the absence of physical danger. Let's say when we imagine how we will deliver an important report at a large conference. In addition, with high internal anxiety, some people manage to maintain external calmness and even productivity. To understand that your problems are connected precisely with anxiety, there are several signs to pay attention to.

1. You can't name your emotions

If you don't listen to your feelings throughout the day, don't understand the reasons for your reactions, often can't explain exactly what you're feeling, and rarely care about the state of mind of others, you may have alexithymia. This is the inability to differentiate and express in words not only your own but also other people's feelings and emotions.

2. You have chronic health problems

If you go back to the time when your neck first started to hurt, or the first symptoms of chronic fatigue appeared, you will most likely remember that this was a difficult period, which meant stress and life changes. Maybe, your child started school, you have taken on a new job, or you have ended a long romantic relationship. In transitional moments, we lose control and begin feeling anxiety, gradually developing into chronic diseases.

3. You do not share your experiences with others

People who freely talk about their lives to others also talk about emotions. Those who interact with others primarily through activities such as work, sports, or political debate communicate superficially. If you also find it difficult to discuss your feelings, it may be an anxiety that binds you.

4. You don't know your needs

When a person's basic needs for communication, professional competence, and autonomy are not met, they tend to experience negative emotions. If you don't understand what you need, you probably won’t understand how you feel when your needs go unmet.

5. You choose unhealthy ways to cope with stress

You can tell yourself that you are fine, and at the same time, start drinking a lot more alcohol, go back to smoking, spend evenings in front of the TV, or be aggressive to your loved ones. All these are attempts to drown out stress.

6. You are experiencing unexplained physical pain

If you're constantly facing challenges in life, your needs aren't being met, and you can't express emotions, you're more likely to develop chronic pain. The stress we experience at work, the lack of happiness at home, and the pressures that life puts on us turn into emotions. They help us understand when something is going wrong and when we need attention. If doctors say that everything is fine with your health, then physical pain is an alternative way that your body tries to declare experiences.