Signs and Symptoms

Cognitive Symptoms

Repeated thoughts of a future event, such as “everything will go wrong” – which can be specific to the type of anxiety disorder experienced.

Often, inappropriate worry is recognized to be inappropriate for a given situation, but a person is unable to stop.

Sometimes, these general fears of the future manifest as something tangible, such as a fear of financial problems, when no problem exists.

Physical Symptoms

• Increased heart rate
• Muscle pain and tension
• Increased sweating
• Dizziness

These symptoms are often associated with the body’s “fight or flight” response to a perceived danger, and function to give resources to the parts of the body that can help a person escape. Functions in the ‘rest and digest’ part of the nervous system are not activated as often as they should be, sometimes leading to”

• Nausea
• Indigestion
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping

Behavioural symptoms

• Avoidance of certain situations
• A need to escape certain situations