What’s Normal? Everyone experiences anxiety—it’s a helpful emotion for many people. The problem is when anxiety becomes your “normal:” when constant worry erodes away all of your other emotions.
It’s definitely hard to define normal. Doctors have trouble doing it while diagnosing anxiety disorders and researchers are still struggling with the mental and physical profiles of people with anxiety problems.
Take a look at these 7 signs of anxiety disorder.
1. Excessive Worry
Excessive worry is the predominate sign of anxiety disorder. The question, however, is how much worry is too much? What exactly qualifies as excessive?
The answer is hard to pin down, but researchers point out that if worry is a default activity during a state of relaxation, it’s a good sign that you have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Consider a study published in the academic journal Behaviour Research and Therapy that suggests a correlation between anxiety disorder and avoidance of emotional imagery during relaxation—instead focusing predominately on worry[1].