5 Signs Your Anxiety Warrants a Medical Evaluation

Knowing that some anxiety is normal can make it hard to understand the difference between ordinary anxiety and a possible anxiety disorder. 

There are far too many people who struggle with confusion, uncertainty, and despair because they don’t understand (or ignore) the signs of an anxiety disorder. Less than 40%  of people with anxiety disorders are getting the mental health support they need today. 

At Owl & Eagle Health and Wellness, our expert team of board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners understands anxiety and its challenges. We offer solutions in our Greenwood Village and Golden, Colorado offices and through telehealth.  

Our goal is to help people with anxiety to understand and manage their anxiety better. That all starts with knowing what to look for. 

Here are five signs that indicate your anxiety isn’t ordinary and deserves attention, warranting a medical evaluation. 

1. Frequent excessive worry

As we mentioned above, it’s normal to experience anxiety sometimes. Normal anxiety starts when you’re worried, excited, nervous, or apprehensive about something. For example, finances, a family fight, or a job interview can trigger anxiety.

Ordinary anxiety doesn’t persist for long. It runs its course when the problem or challenge is settled. But, when your anxiety is far more intense than expected in relation to the problem, and it happens on most or all days, it’s time to schedule an evaluation. Worst-case scenario thought patterns are very common in people with anxiety disorders.

2. Physical symptoms 

Anxiety can cause physical symptoms like a racing heart, profuse sweating, shakiness, stomach cramps, and other problems. Usually, these symptoms arise when your brain is also whirling with anxious thoughts. 

However, you can also experience these things even when you’re not currently obsessing over anxious thoughts. For example, many people with anxiety may describe a near-constant feeling of their stomach being in knots.

3. Disrupted sleep schedule

When you have unhealthy levels of anxiety, you don’t get much of a break, even at night. Do you stay up much later than you should because you keep running over problems in your head? Do you keep waking up and worrying during the night? 

Getting to sleep and staying asleep until morning are often challenges for people with anxiety disorders. Your evaluation can help find the reason that you’re not resting and lead you to solutions. 

4. Poor concentration

Has your ability to focus taken a nosedive lately? Do you try to concentrate but quickly get distracted by nagging worries and what-ifs? 

Concentration problems are a common problem in people with anxiety disorders, so if this problem is new to you, it may be directly connected to your anxiety.   

5. Difficulty getting through regular activities

Anxiety that’s so powerful and frequent that it causes problems in your day-to-day life requires a medical evaluation. 

Some common examples of this include skipping work or school, having mental meltdowns, being unusually irritable with your loved ones, and slacking off on your normal responsibilities due to anxiety.  

If you recognize these signs, it might make you feel even more anxious. But, it’s important to know that recognizing these signs in yourself is a positive thing. It means you can schedule an evaluation with our team, get a diagnosis, and start a holistic treatment plan to address the root causes of your anxiety. 

At Owl & Eagle Health and Wellness, we offer solution-focused psychotherapy, medication management, and innovative leading-edge treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and ketamine. We can help you find peace from anxiety. 

Phone our office or reach out online today to book your evaluation.