As a health and social care worker you will be aware that there can be many signs of anxiety, both psychological and physical. The psychological signs include:
Over thinking and over-worrying
Finding even small things more difficult than usual
Focusing on problems and not being able to switch off
Fear
Feeling on edge, tense, and unable to relax
Being irritable or snappy with friends, family and colleagues
Not being able to rationalise things
Imagining the worse-case scenarios and convincing yourself they will happen
Going blank, memory problems, getting confused
The physical or anatomical signs include:
Saliva flow slows so your mouth and lips can become dry
Pupils can dilate meaning their shape can change from being really small to much larger
Your blood vessels can constrict – so you can feel or become cold or sweat in particular on your brow and chest, but your hands can become clammy
Your pace and depth of breathing can change
meaning your may breath more quickly or seem breathless unable to get your words out and be heard
seem breathless unable to get your words out
and be heard
Stomach enzymes can decrease effecting your digestion
Our muscles can become tense so we can tremble
Headaches
And, in the extreme, panic attacks