Most people experience feelings of fear, unease, or worry from time to time, which are all symptoms of anxiety. When people find themselves in unfamiliar or stressful situations, these feelings are what many refer to as anxiety attack triggers. Because it isn’t always possible to avoid these triggers, techniques are available for managing anxiety symptoms. When you enroll in treatment at Foothills at Red Oak, we discuss how to identify anxiety attack triggers and manage the resulting symptoms. Learn more about how to manage anxiety at our adolescent treatment center in North Carolina.
What are Common Symptoms of Anxiety?
When someone is feeling anxiety, it typically involves fears regarding a specific problem or occurrence that could happen. Symptoms are sometimes uncomfortable, including heart rate changes and other physical symptoms. The common symptoms of anxiety include:
- Apprehension and worry
- Concentration issues
- Dry mouth, sweating, or headache
- Feeling hurried or under pressure
- Restlessness or sleep problems
- Difficulty breathing or tightness in the throat
What are Common Anxiety Triggers?
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety is a common disorder affecting approximately 40 million individuals 18 years or older in the United States. Common anxiety attack triggers include:
- Caffeine use: While many depend on coffee to start their day, its use could be an anxiety attack trigger. The effects of caffeine cause many similar symptoms of anxiety, including agitation, sleep problems, and increase heart rate
- Conflict: Arguments, disagreements, and other relationship problems could become anxiety attack triggers
- Financial concerns: If you are experiencing financial difficulties or worry that something might happen to cause financial hardship, those situations could lead to feelings of anxiety
- Health issues: When individuals receive a problematic or upsetting health diagnosis, like a chronic illness or cancer, that could trigger or worsen anxiety
- Social events or parties: Interacting with a room full of people you don’t know is a common trigger for anxiety
- Stress: Anyone could experience anxiety if they’re stuck in a traffic jam or are late for an appointment. However, experiencing long-term stress could become a trigger or worsen anxiety
What to Do About Anxiety Attack Triggers
It might be tempting to avoid all anxiety attack triggers such as using additives, alcohol, caffeine, and drugs. When you have triggers like that, it is best to overcome them instead of avoiding them. When you work with a therapist at a teen intervention center, that allows you to prepare for anxiety attack triggers. They’ll give you the tools you need for managing and working through those situations healthily. Here are some tips for recognizing anxiety attack triggers:
- Don’t ignore your body: Are you eating a healthy and balanced diet? Does it include a lot of sugar, alcohol, and caffeine? If so, those substances could raise cortisol levels and cause an increase in anxiety.
- Identifying significant stressors: If you experience a job loss, relationship issues, the death of a loved one, or a career change, those could all increase anxiety levels. Think about any significant stress in your life and how it might be affecting your anxiety levels.
- Journaling: Use a journal to keep track of your feelings and help you analyze specific situations when you feel anxious. Writing these things down is also another way of developing and implementing coping strategies.
- Reflect: If you experienced trauma previously, that could lead to anxiety attack triggers. If negative past experiences are still affecting you today, consider talking to someone about how to manage those feelings.
Manage Your Anxiety at Foothills
Do you have more questions regarding anxiety attack triggers? Are you concerned that you or a family member might be having trouble identifying these triggers? No one should have to navigate through these challenging times alone. Now is the time to contact us at 866.300.5275 to learn how to identify these triggers and manage the resulting anxiety symptoms.
