Different Ways Anxiety Can Show Up
Anxiety is an emotion that we all experience. Some people may experience more or less of it, but it’s a regularly occurring emotion like happiness or sadness. However, some people’s anxiety interferes with daily functioning. They may experience frequent and severe uneasiness, nervousness, fear, and worry. People like this may have an anxiety diagnosis they monitor with treatment. However, even though anxiety is an issue that gets a lot of attention, we still don’t see all the ways it can show up.
When we think of anxiety, we think of the traditional nervousness and shakiness type. We think of people who worry a lot and overthink situations. They might be restless and have difficulty sleeping. However, this is the only way anxiety can present itself.
People who’ve experienced trauma may exhibit symptoms that look a little different than typical anxiousness. These people show similar uneasiness and restlessness, but they also look different. Trauma causes more hypervigilance and apprehension about situations, particularly those that give them flashbacks of the traumatic event. This is also a fundamental difference; anxiety is often caused by fear of the future, whereas trauma is more past-oriented.
We don’t realize that sometimes anxiety can look like anger. Some people internalize these feelings and portray them as anger or even rage. Although this can be on a person-to-person basis, it seems common within specific groups. For example, males may express their fears and worries with anger to appear “aggressive” rather than “weak.” Children and teenagers may also express their anxiety like this. Children might not understand why they’re experiencing anxiety, so they’ll resort to a tantrum. Teenagers may not feel comfortable expressing their worries, so they explode instead. In addition, people with existing mental illnesses or who have bottled up stress may also show their anxiety through anger. It’s important to remember this to ensure these people receive help, too. These people often go unnoticed or villainized due to their anger and rage.
We need to be mindful of how people experience anxiety in different ways so we can better understand and support them. Although we’ve made great strides in understanding anxiety, we have to realize there’s more than what’s on the surface. Sometimes, after years of struggling with anxious thoughts. The person can burn out and go into a depressive state. Anxiety can be a powerful experience and sometimes requires experts to help navigate it. However, other times, we need to have an open mind when approaching it. Let’s all work together to understand how people experience anxiety differently!
