Hours: Mon – Fri :8 AM – 8 PM | Sat: 8 AM – 4 PM
382 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02906  |  111 Wayland Ave #1, Providence, RI 02906 |
260 Waseca Ave, Barrington, RI 02806

Fax: (401) 226 0137 | Contact@pvdpsych.com

What Are The Most Common Symptoms of Anxiety?

Anxiety has a tendency to just sneak into someone’s life. At first, it’s just a restless night here and there or a racing heart before a meeting. Then, you start noticing more: during your commute, your conversations, it’s affecting your ability to focus. Before you know it, anxiety isn’t something you have occasionally. It feels like it’s ruling your life.

Most people with anxiety deal with a handful of common symptoms, and they have more of an impact than they get credit for. These aren’t just minor inconveniences, they interfere with work, relationships, and the ability to enjoy life. The problem is, a lot of people will brush them off, thinking they’re just stress or that’s “who I am”. But when these symptoms become constant, they’re a sign that something needs to change.

Symptom: Is there a Constant Worry?

Ever had a recurring thought that just won’t stop? Maybe it’s about a work project, money, or something you said in a conversation three days ago. It replays over and over, and no matter how much you try to reason with yourself, the worry lingers. This kind of anxiety keeps your brain on high alert all the time and makes it hard to focus at work because part of your mind is always somewhere else. It can also drain your energy, leaving you exhausted before the day even begins.

Symptom: Can You Feel the Tension in Your Body?

Anxiety doesn’t just sit in your mind, but you can feel it in your body. Tight shoulders, a clenched jaw, stomach issues that flare up for no reason. You might even wake up feeling like you’ve been in a boxing match overnight. This tension makes it harder to relax, which means sleep suffers, patience runs thin, and small annoyances feel like much bigger problems. Over time, it can lead to headaches, digestive problems, and chronic pain.

Symptom: Racing Heart and Shortness of Breath

This can hit at the worst times. Sitting in a meeting, standing in line at the store, trying to fall asleep. Suddenly, your heart is pounding. Your breath feels shallow. It’s like your body is reacting to a life-threatening situation, except nothing is happening. This can spiral into full-blown panic, making social situations, work presentations, or even simple tasks feel overwhelming. It’s common for people to mistaken it for a heart problem, which only fuels the fear.

Symptom: Irritability that Feels Uncontrollable

Anxiety and frustration go together more than people realize. When your mind is overloaded, small things can set you off like background noise, interruptions, someone chewing too loudly. It’s not that you want to snap; it’s that your brain has no bandwidth left. At work, this can make teamwork exhausting. At home, it creates tension with loved ones, leading to guilt and more stress. It’s not your fault, it just becomes a cycle that’s hard to break.

Symptom: You Sleep but Wake Up Exhausted

Falling asleep after a hectic day can be difficult anyway as it’s hard to calm down. But staying asleep with anxiety is harder. Your body is tired, but your mind won’t slow down. Even if you do sleep, you might wake up feeling like you’ve just run a marathon. So that day your performance at work is likely to be terrible, patience with family is short, and your ability to focus will be next to nothing. If you’re experiencing this every day, simple tasks feel like mountains and it’s hard to explain that to anyone when people see that nothing has really changed in your life.

Symptom: Are you Avoiding all Things that Feel Overwhelming?

Maybe you stop answering texts, cancel plans, or avoid certain tasks at work. If you feel it’s easier to sidestep anything that could trigger stress, the more you avoid, the less contact you’re going to have with other people altogether. If socializing does feel like a chore and new things seem too risky, eventually, going to the store and answering the phone, might become too much.

Is it Time to Think about Talking to Someone?

When people ignore the signs of anxiety, it can just leave it to rinse and repeat. Therapy is about working through the cause/s of this exhausting situation you’re in and building real tools to break the cycle and build your life back up to where you want it to be. So, understanding why anxiety shows up and learning how to handle it in a way that doesn’t destroy the day ahead, can be life changing.

PVD Psychological Associates specialize in college mental health, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma, LGBTQIA+ issues, and relationship difficulties.

 We also see clients for a range of other issues.

 If you would like to discuss your needs with a therapist, complete the enquiry form on our Contact page and we’ll call or email you for a confidential chat.