Do you enter the examination hall or board room meeting thinking you will forget the answer, and the board room meeting might turn around as a disappointing one?
It is ordinary for anyone to experience negative thoughts to some extent. The jittery sensations in the body before the examination/meeting is a typical response of the body. However, what is nerve-wracking is if it is more than just nervousness.
People with anxiety disorders might have more than just feelings and sensations. For example, they continuously worry about the future. There aren’t negative thoughts but a train of thoughts that impair concentration. There are attention difficulties and massive tension headaches. There is an uncomfortable feeling that nothing is controllable, and everything is uncertain. When sitting for an examination or a meeting, legs shake restlessly, and hands tremble in fear. Often, either forgetting occurs or avoidance takes place. People experiencing anxiety find themselves more often in the washroom so they could vomit the unpleasant tension than attending to their chore.
People around could ask to relax. It often goes unheard. Going for a walk seems to be a hoax and the entire day revolves around competing thoughts and a racing heart. Eyes begin to move from left to right from time to time. Not only is one unable to read written text, but there are also churning sounds from the stomach. Palms become so sweaty, leaving no scope to message a friend for help, and the mouth becomes dry. It feels like something terrible is going to happen.
Some people feel dizzy, while others feel numb. Some people prefer walking faster, while others feel incapable of doing anything. There are palpitations, apprehensions, and frantic breathing. Sometimes people think that they will die, and sometimes people need to become compulsive actors. Some people continuously worry about anything and everything under the sun. It stops them from talking with other people. It confuses them.
Unfortunately, sometimes we misread nervousness as anxiety. However, anxiousness has extreme and severe forms. Further, it can have many types – Generalized anxiety disorder, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and phobia. I will post about these soon.