6 Ways To Understand If Someone Suffers From Anxiety Disorder

Signs of anxiety don't merely come in the nervous heart racing category. These signs can be strange and embarrassing at times. So, we need to be kind and understanding to people suffering from anxiety.

Many people suffer from anxiety disorders. Some of them have been trained to recognize the symptoms when they see it in others. However, there are other ways to understand that someone is anxious, even if you're not.

You can tell somebody that you're anxious and the message will be clear. If you shake, for instance, most people will understand that you are nervous and that you need a little comfort. But some signs aren’t as obvious, and they might even seem disgusting. These are some of the signs which slip under the radar and lead to other forms of damage both physically and mentally. Pay attention.

So, here are six ways to understand if someone suffers from anxiety disorder:

1) Hygenic neglect

Those who suffer from anxiety usually adopt similar habits to people who suffer from depression. Like depression, anxiety can lead up to problems with one's hygiene. Now, before you become judgmental, you need to try to understand the thought processes of anxiety and depression. One of the last things on an anxiety patient's mind is to take a bath.

Those with anxiety do not always neglect their hygiene. It is usually during their worse days that this happens. Otherwise, these people are just as conscious about their health as everyone.

2) Dermatillomania or excoriation

Skin picking disorder begins as a symptom of anxiety or depression, but mostly anxiety. Dermatillomania is worse than it might seem. It’s not merely a disorder which causes scratching now and then. It’s a disorder which leads to such prolonged picking that sores develop, become inflamed and then infected in several cases.

After years of going through that horrible self-inflicted torture, your skin might even begin to itch when there is nothing wrong with it. The itches can grow more and more severe making you scratch until the skin breaks again.

3) Nervous chatter

Nervous chatter is suddenly jumping into a discussion, either with one person or a group of people you otherwise would not talk to. You talk fast and sometimes, tell too many personal things about yourself.

4) Talking to yourself

Talking to yourself is a sign that you suffer from anxiety. Most people who talk to themselves, do it so that they can listen to everything that troubles them or to help themselves remember all the things they need to do.

5) Biting

That's one of the signs of anxiety which seems more common. Biting nails, the insides of your cheeks, or your bottom lip is a sign you suffer from anxiety. The thing that makes it severe is the fact that this biting often results in bleeding.

Anxious people never seem pleased by any amount of biting their skin and will not stop even if they hurt themselves. It's both a determination and distraction.

6) Fidgeting

Many people fidget. That means tapping the feet and fingers or other repetitive actions performed by a body part. Some even bang their heads on the wall or table trying to release the demons of anxiety from their cages.

Sometimes these signs of anxiety may worsen if someone suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorders, which lead to repetitive checking, tapping, flipping, or moving which serves some endless purpose.

References: Learning-mind, The Mighty, Webmd