5 Signs That My Anxiety Is Increasing — In Body and Mind
Written by Zoë (they/she), who is a senior creative and the founder of Anxiety Empire.
3 min read
Over the years, I’ve learned to pay attention to the signs that my anxiety is on the rise. Noticing these signs can help me to take action to prevent the anxiety from spiralling out of control. These are a few of the signs of rising anxiety that I look out for:
1. Talking to myself out loud
The first sign that my anxiety is heightening is when I start talking to myself out loud. I know for a lot of people, talking out loud is simply part of who they are. For me it isn’t — it’s a sign my mind is trying to desperatly try and find some solution for a scenario I’m anxious about. So I'll find myself talking about that scenario, over and over — as if trying to find an ‘answer’.
2. Unable to rest
When my anxiety is starting to rise, I’ll find it more difficult to rest.
Taking time out to read a book? Forget it!
Laying on the sofa and listening to music? No chance!
Nope, when my anxiety is hard it takes real (gentle) determination to slow down and rest.
3. Poor sleep
When anxiety is high, I’ll find it difficult to fall asleep. And I’ll often wake up in the middle of the night. All because those swirling anxious thoughts are racing around my mind.
4. Being forgetful
I once walked all the way home from the shop before remembering that I’d actually cycled to the shop. Cue long walk back to the shop to pick up the bike!
But there’s no point in being hard to myself when things like that happen.
In fact, I know just the opposite is needed. The forgetfulness is purely because my mind is caught up in anxious thoughts. So in those moments, I need to be extra kind to myself and try and help myself to relax.
5. Skin outbreaks
I’m sure there are scientific reasons as to why my skin suffers when my stress and anxiety levels are high. But in addition to any chemical and hormonal changes, for me it’s because — when I’m highly anxious — I just forget to drink water (see point 4!)
How to calm anxiety
When I notice any of these five signs, I know that I need to make an effort to slow down. Because slowing down my body helps slow down my mind — and then I can get a little space between the anxious thoughts, rather than getting overwhelmed by them. So I meditate. Not for long, maybe just 10 minutes. And often all of those 10 minutes will still be filled with racing thoughts. But slowly slowly, by slowing down my body and coming back to my breath and my feet on the ground, my mind will slow down too.
What signs of rising anxiety do you look out for? Feel free to share in the comments below.