photo credit: Wm Jas

How can you tell if you have anxiety disorder or something like it? For starters, you worry way too much about things that don’t really matter. For example, did you lock the car? What will happen if this or that happens? What if is your favorite way to start a sentence even. You do not like to meet new people. You don’t like to go out in public, especially movie theaters, restaurants, night clubs, malls or any place were there is a lot of people. Your heart races too fast or too slow, you get sweaty palms when there is nothing going on. You have trouble concentrating (can’t watch just one thing on t.v.), and you always think something (preferably negative) is about to happen to you or those around you. There is also, hot flashes, cold sweats, urgency, diarrhea, and just plain you not wanting to be in your own skin.

We all experience stress in our lives, but what I listed above is not just stress, it is naked fear. It is a long protracted feeling of dread that mixes some or most (possibly more) of the symptoms I mentioned. You are always waiting for the next attack or source of fear. You’ll watch the news and hear about West Nile Virus and swear that you contracted it recently when you exhibit absolutely no sign of sickness. But, by far the best way to know is to talk to a health care professional. Go see your doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist. That will be the only sure way to know. If you have a hunch go get it checked out.

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