When you feel anxious for no reason, it can feel like anxiety is ruining your life. Anxiety is a mental health issue that causes fear, tension, worry and panic attacks for some, and chest pain in extreme cases. You are not alone if you have an anxiety disorder. Feeling anxious is common.
A mental health services in Australia survey showed anxiety is the most common mental health disorder and affects 1 in 7 (14.4%) Australians. The cause of anxiety is complex but it can be a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Stress, traumatic events and brain chemistry can also cause anxiety.
Anxiety symptoms
There are many symptoms of anxiety and the following are the most common:
- a racing heart
- sleeplessness
- fear
- feeling like you are on edge’
- unexplained irritability
- unable to concentrate
- worrying uncontrollably
- finding it hard to concentrate
- tense muscles
- restlessness
- generally feeling physically uncomfortable.
Feeling anxious for no reason
There are triggers that can cause anxiety symptoms or make them worse even when taking anti-anxiety medication. The problem is that most people do not know what triggers their anxiety so they believe they feel anxious for no reason. Anxiety evolved as an instinctual flight or fight response to danger. As an alarm bell to take action that saves your life.
In today’s world, most conflicts we encounter are not life-threatening. Your body and nervous system does not know this so it reacts to triggers when it does not need to. And this is what makes you think you are anxious for no reason. It is hard to determine exactly what triggers your anxiety.
What triggers anxiety is different for everyone but there are common triggers and you may have more than one trigger. It is important to understand what triggers your anxiety. Once you know your triggers, it helps you to manage them better.
Discover your anxiety triggers
When the symptoms of anxiety affect you consistently, it is important to discover what triggers them. This is an important step that will help you manage your anxiety before it starts to ruin your life. Here are 11 anxiety triggers that you may experience.
1. Poor eating habits
Poor eating habits can impact your mental health. And, skipping meals, can cause your blood sugar levels to drop and trigger anxiety. It is important to eat a well-balanced diet as it provides your body with the nutrients and energy needed to operate at peak performance.
We live such busy lives that it can be easy to skip a meal here and there. When you do not have the time for three good meals a day, eat healthy snacks to prevent low blood sugar levels and the symptoms of anxiety such as irritability and nervousness.
2. Public social functions
Many people find a room full of strangers trigger their anxiety. Attending public social functions requires you to interact with people you do not know or make small talk about things that have little meaning. Feeling anxiety at social functions can sometimes be known as social anxiety disorder. Try to take someone with you, if you can, when you need to attend public social functions. But you also need to learn to cope better in social situations. Talking with a professional can help you better manage your anxiety at these events over the long term.
3. Dealing with health issues
Receiving a negative health diagnosis for a chronic illness or cancer, for example, can trigger your anxiety. This a powerful trigger because of the emotions you feel and the fear it brings. To help reduce this sort of anxiety, it is important to be proactive and explore treatments with your doctor. It may also help to talk with a professional who can help you deal with the emotions a poor health diagnosis can trigger.
4. Negative self-talk
Negative self-talk and thinking will do nothing to ease your anxiety. It is easy to fall into talking to yourself negatively when feeling frustrated, angry or upset. Your negative self-talk has the ability to trigger your anxiety.
When you tend to think of yourself in a negative way, try to catch yourself and refocus the negative language around so it becomes positive. Also working with a professional can help you learn how to think about yourself in a more positive light and change how you talk to yourself.
5. Taking medications
Different types of prescription and over-the-counter medications can trigger anxiety symptoms. This can be because the ingredients in these can make you feel sick or on edge. Feeling this way can cause added physical and psychological anxiety symptoms.
Medications that can trigger anxiety include:
- weight loss drugs
- birth control tablets
- cough medicines.
Talk with your doctor if these drugs cause anxiety as a side effect. It is important to find an alternative that does not make your anxiety worse or trigger anxiety symptoms.
6. Worrying about the state of your finances
Debt is enough to trigger anxiety in anyone but it can be worse if you are anxious already. Fear of not having enough money and unexpected bills can cause overwhelming anxiety and fear. You need to learn to control it as anxiety will only make things worse. Try talking with a financial advisor to help you learn to manage your finances which can help lessen the anxiety your feel about money.
7. Too much caffeine
Do you rely on a cup of coffee or tea for the caffeine hit to get you going in the morning? The truth is it can actually trigger anxiety. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine especially if they have social anxiety disorder or panic attacks according to one study. When caffeine triggers your anxiety, cut back on the coffee or substitute it with decaffeinated options.
8. Speaking publicly
Speaking publicly can cause automatic anxiety. Many people fear talking in public. Speaking in a meeting in front of colleagues and your boss, or in front of an audience commonly triggers anxiety.
If this is you, try practicing what you need to say before you speak in public so you feel more confident and comfortable. It is when public speaking has a negative effect on your life that it is out of control. So when work or other parts of your life require you to speak in front of others, you can learn how to feel more comfortable in that situation. Look to friends for positive reinforcement. Listen to the introverted author of Quiet, Susan Cain’s TED talk about overcoming her anxiety for public speaking.
9. Dealing with conflict
Dealing with conflict can trigger or make your anxiety worse. Disagreements, arguments and relationship problems can be difficult to deal with anytime. When conflict triggers your anxiety, consider learning strategies to resolve conflict more simply. Also talk with a professional to learn how to cope with the emotions conflict can cause.
10. Personal emotional triggers
It can be hard to identify your personal emotional triggers. These can be a smell, a song or a location that can remind you of a traumatic event or a bad memory. This can occur consciously or unconsciously and be beyond your ability to control. People with post-traumatic stress disorder are often triggered by things in their environment.
To identify your personal triggers, you may need the assistance of a professional.
11. The effects of stress
There are stressors in everyday life. Getting stuck in traffic on the way to and from work, the kids missing the school bus, the stress of your workload or running late for an appointment. Any of these can cause you to feel anxious. It is when your stress becomes chronic or occurs over the long term that it can have a negative impact on your anxiety. It can also possibly cause other health issues.
When you feel stressed, it can cause you to skip meals or to stress eat, drink too much alcohol and have sleepless nights. Reacting to stress in this way may only escalate your stress and anxiety.
It is important to learn how to cope with stress to lessen its impact on your life. Talking it out with someone can help you learn better ways to deal with stress when it becomes overwhelming.
Ask for help
When you think you worry too much or anxiety is starting to ruin your life, it may be time to ask for help. While everyone has anxiety occasionally, feeling constant fear and worry is not normal. These are signs you need the help of a professional. It may be difficult to recognise your anxiety as you can learn to live with the symptoms over time.
Start by talking with your doctor when anxiety impedes on your daily life. They will give you a physical examination to make sure there is no physical reason for the symptoms you are experiencing. Your doctor may recommend medication or refer you to a professional to help you learn how to recognise what triggers your anxiety so you can better manage what makes you feel so anxious.
We are here to help
When anxiety affects you, it may be hard to overcome especially when you struggle with mental health issues. Dealing with anxiety is tough especially when you do not know what triggers these feelings. Even when you have support, you may feel people do not really understand or it is not enough. And when you are taking medication, sometimes you may need something more. If you are struggling, consider reaching out. When you are not coping, contact us to find out how we aim to help get your life back on track. But, if you reach crisis point, call us immediately. We are here to help support you through a crisis and may be able to help you quickly deal with things better.
We can work with you over the phone, via Skype or in our Spas. Book in today for my Emotional Empowerment Program. I have an introductory offer for just $79 so you may start taking back control of your life. We aim to support you to help you cope with the challenges of anxiety so it does not ruin your life. Our help may alleviate the effects of mental health issues so you look forward to a future filled with happiness and joy.
Let me help alleviate the effects of mental health issues
My Emotional Empowerment Program has helped many people like you deal with all types of mental health challenges for more than a decade. We may help you move through and deal with anxiety when you feel anxious for no apparent reason. My aim is to help you replace anxiety with a calm approach to the future in weeks not years. Listen to what Jasmine has to say about my program after only a few sessions.