Is Your Anxiety Normal or a Clinical Disorder?

Anxiety’s a real condition, not just a buzzword.

Taking a deep breath doesn’t fix it all (Photo: iStock, Altered by The Quint)

Everyone wrestles with stress; it’s just a part of life.

None of us are immune to anxiety.

But when stress disrupts your ability to function normally, it can be something more. More than 15 million Indians battle anxiety disorders, and like depression, it comes in varying degrees and with its own set of social stigmas. One in five urban adolescents will suffer from some form of depression or anxiety before they turn 18 (Source: NIMHANS).

That’s a huge number.

But just because you feel stressed or emotionally overwhelmed doesn’t automatically mean you have an anxiety disorder, either. But when that feeling doesn’t go away, instead gets worse over time, and it starts to interfere with the important stuff, that moment you should consider getting help.

Here are seven signs that you are anxious, but don’t necessarily suffer from a clinical anxiety disorder:

1. Your Heart Pounds So Fast that it’s Almost Beating Out Of Your Chest

If you have heart-pounding, stomach flipping butterflies (and it’s not love) all the time, there can be a cause for worry (Photo: The Quint)

You are being chased, you run for your life and your heartbeat races faster than a Ferrari – that’s natural. You’re waiting to serenade your love, your heart feels like it can’t get enough oxygen – that’s pretty standard. This is your body thrown into fight-or-flight mode.

Take deep breaths and sit down for a few minutes with a tall glass of water in your hand.

How You Know It Might Be A Problem: Such events happen ten times a day and are accompanied by shortness of breath and claustrophobia. Your heart beats savagely out of control for no apparent reason, even when you’re lying in bed at night - this needs medical attention. If you feel like the walls are closing in on you, you might have a full-blown panic attack!

2. You’re Fidgety

Well, idle hands are a devil’s plaything! (Photo: The Quint)

“Stop fidgeting!” said every parent ever. But do you really ever stop twitching and tapping in seemingly boring, awkward situations?

Relax, fidgeting is a biological process which incidentally burns 350 extra calories than couching lethargically all day! It doesn’t necessarily have to be a chronic issue but if you are unnecessarily tapping your pencil against the desk, stop and ask yourself why. Your body is probably over-worked and needs a little break.

How You Know It Might Be A Problem: There’s a big difference between fidgeting and involuntary tremors. Also described as ‘full-body vibrations’, they can show up at the strangest of times, like when you first wake up. So if you are struggling with shaking arms or sides, it’s a tell-tale sign that you need to see a doctor.

3. You Bite Your Nails

Anxiousness isn’t something that can just simply be controlled, and it’s not just a phase (Photo: The Quint)

It’s annoying. It’s annoying as hell. But so are many other habits. Like each time I fly, I tap on a certain part of the airplane’s body thrice, so it stays up in the air. Go judge me, but those three extra seconds I take, ensure my safety (so I feel!). Most people who have these quirks, including me, are aware.

How You Know It Might Be A Problem: If you’re one of those gals who can’t be seen without a finger in her mouth and your nails are gnarly and bloody, you should seriously check the level of overall anxiety you’re harboring in your life. The moment it becomes a compulsion, get the alarm bells ringing.

4. You Get Scared

Fear is normal but not always (Photo: The Quint)

Remember the ‘Zee Horror Show’? For most people, it wasn’t as scary as it was entertaining. For me, just one episode of the blood-sucking, green-eyed monsters jumping from the dense peepal ped, was enough to creep me out of sleep for months!

How You Know It Might Be A Problem: When your worry becomes like hydra; you cut off the head, three more grow in its place. You learn to live with anxiety, but its always there. Did I lock the door? I know I already checked, but am I sure? What if something happens to me and no one thinks to check on me? What was that strange noise because it definitely wasn’t the wind! Such feelings warrant a chronic condition.

5. You Avoid Socializing

Social anxiety is more complicated than just fearing people (Photo: The Quint)

You skip a party, or four, to spend the night binge watching Netflix? That’s standard. Feel awkward at a house party because you don’t know anyone? Happens all the time.

How You Know It Might Be A Problem: You avoid social situations because you’re afraid of being judged or you might embarrass yourself. You’re increasingly terrified of being in a crowd for the fear of being humiliated or mocked. These are signs of general anxiety.

Anxiety can hurt, like physically hurt. It’s not just nerves. It can be dizziness, overheating, chills, increased heartbeat, chest pain, rapid breathing, headaches. It can be constant muscle tension. It can be exhausting. Get medical help immediately and know that you are not alone.