5 Daily Struggles You Might Not Realize Are Anxiety

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It wasn’t until adulthood that I really examined my mental health and realized that many daily struggles I had were actually anxiety.

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I take medication every single day for anxiety. I consider myself to have high-functioning anxiety, but there is no way that I could survive each day without taking my 10mg of medication (plus some amazing supplements, which I’m going to share with you guys later on this week!).

Back in high school, I thought that I suffered from depression, but as I got older and paid more attention to my mental health, I realized it was anxiety. It can be difficult to differentiate the two, depression and anxiety, especially since there is so much cross-over. A lot of people suffer from both. The more that I talked to my doctors and the more research I did, I started having all of those “aha” moments about particular times in my life where it was very apparent that I was having a high anxiety moment and didn’t even realize.

Now, I’m able to identify my triggers, know when I need to take a break, recognize overwhelm and so many other things. I know whenever I need to have some alone time to calm down (even if Blake really won’t let me have it) and I also know when I need to be around the people who love and support me more. It’s a daily balance and so much of it is about getting to know yourself.

Looking back, there are quite a few things that I wish I did differently in my life in terms of dealing with my mental health. I had zero confidence as a teen and college student and it impacted so much of my life.

5 Daily Struggles You Might Not Realize Are Anxiety

If you are feeling like something might be off with your mental health, there is a chance that some of the things you have been dealing with could be anxiety. Now, I’m not a doctor, just sharing with you guys from experience. If you can relate to this, then I recommend visiting your doctor to talk about it more, I promise it will help.

1. Fatigue

This is a big one and something that most people associate with depression. From my experience, I experience fatigue almost as a sign of overwhelm. If I’ve packed too much into my day and start to feel like I can’t get it all done, I get overwhelmed and exhausted. This is mental fatigue that no energy drink can combat. I’ve learned over the years to the only schedule so much in one day and to also get things accomplished during the hours whenever I know I can be the most productive. For example, I wake up before everyone most days and start getting things done because I know once the afternoon hits I sort of mentally check out.

2. Lack of concentration

If you feel like you have a million computer tabs open in your brain, but you are unable to find what you are looking for or you are jumping from one thing to another, this can be a key sign. Lack of concentration can mean that there is something bothering you or that anxiety is happening.

3. Constantly annoyed or irritable

Yelling at the kids a lot? Stressed with your spouse for no reason? This can be a key sign of anxiety.

4. Trouble staying asleep

When you have too much on your mind that is overwhelming you, it can cause you to wake up multiple times during the night and think about them. Then, you are exhausted the next day (ahem: see #1) and unable to focus. It’s a nasty cycle and anxiety can easily be the culprit.

5. Avoiding talking on the phone or social situations

I’m not a big phone talker as I get older, mostly because Blake interrupts me so many times that it’s just frustrating and exhausting trying to have a conversation at all. I do find that if I am experiencing raised levels of anxiety that one of the ways that I react is by avoiding phone calls and only wanting to text (because I’m able to respond during my hours of focus) or avoiding invitations from friends or family to do out and do things in a social setting.