10 Things People with Anxiety Do That are Difficult to Understand

A lot of people avoid speaking about anxiety, even though nowadays it’s one of the most common health problems. Around 40 million adults in America have panic disorders and anxiety, and for these people, everyday life is more challenging than we think (1).

Anxiety can be caused by many factors, including genetics, life events, personality, and brain chemistry. Researchers say it has a biological basis, just like diabetes or allergies.

Even though there are many social stigmas about people with anxiety, you should try to overcome them. We don’t talk about the normal anxiety you might experience before a job interview or before a presentation.

It’s an anxiety that’s much more complex and less controllable – anxiety that changes the person.

You don’t have to be diagnosed with anxiety to feel the symptoms, something that people call high-functioning anxiety (2).

Unfortunately, many people think anxiety sufferers are irresponsible and lazy, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Whether it’s you that suffers from this psychiatric disorder or someone you know, it’s important to understand what an anxiety sufferer goes through on a daily basis. It is only in that way that you can understand these people, as well as the problems that come with them.

1. Not Being Social Even in Times You Desperately Want to Be

If you are not an anxiety sufferer, it might be difficult for you to understand that sometimes these people can’t be social or go out even though they would love it very much.

That’s mostly because they think they will “ruin” everything and make the experience less fun for others.

2. Obsessed with Trivial Matters

A person with anxiety could often look over every gesture, glance, or word around them, expecting to have done something bad. Very often they think someone is going to say something negative about them.

3. Severe Sleep Problems

A lot of anxiety sufferers have insomnia, or problems falling asleep. That’s mostly because they think and brood about all sorts of things throughout the day and night.

4. Expecting Something Bad to Happen

Even though some situations could be the most positive, a person with anxiety expects it to turn negative at any moment. Sometimes they are so afraid that everything might ruin that even a physical problem occurs.

Not being able to enjoy the moment is really hard, which is why these people could panic in some of the happiest moments.

5. Analyzing Every Conversation

So, you speak with an anxiety sufferer, and the conversation ends normally. But, the conversation didn’t end here for that person.

An anxiety sufferer will go through every detail of the conversation later to see if they have said something wrong, or if they could have said it better.

This is not only time- and energy-consuming, but it’s also devastating for the person as they might find a lot of “mistakes” throughout the entire day.

6. Someone Else’s Concern Could Worsen the Things

Someone might simply tell an anxiety sufferer they don’t look well, but it could lead to a panic attack. That’s because they regard a normal person’s opinion as a professional diagnosis. They start concerned even more and sometimes even panicking.

That’s why you should be careful about what and how you speak to a person with anxiety.

7. Self-guiltiness

These people often feel it’s their own fault that something didn’t work out well even if they are in no way connected with the failure. They believe they have done or said something that had led to the undesirable outcome.

8. Fear of the Future

Not only that living in the moment is difficult for people with anxiety, but they could also fear the future. That’s because they don’t want to feel the same way in the near or far future. In other words, they are afraid they will have to live with anxiety much longer than they want.

9. Comparing & Evaluating

A person with anxiety could think their peers are more successful than them in every aspect of their life. Not giving up while thinking you’re less successful than others can be really hard, especially for these people.

10. Magnifying Their Problems

An anxiety sufferer can’t accept that they are not perfect, or that they haven’t done something perfectly, without making any mistake. They are very upset if they don’t do something in the exact way they’ve planned to.

Final Words

Dealing with this psychiatric disorder is an uphill battle that takes a toll on those around them. It can affect a loved one and cause a lot of stress to life partners, friends, and family members, but don’t forget that it’s the anxiety sufferer that suffers the most.

So be supportive and learn how to understand them better in order to help them overcome their anxiety more quickly.