Why are my Anxiety Symptoms Increasing?

It can be so frustrating for those struggling with anxiety to continue getting more anxious. You are so aware of what is going on around you and you are taking so many steps to prevent yourself from becoming more anxious but it doesn’t seem to help. Ugh!

One of the first things I check with clients is making sure there haven’t been any medication or supplement changes. Always check your medications and make sure the side effects don’t include anxiety. There are even anxiety medications with a symptom of anxiety. Sounds crazy, right? If there have been medication changes and your anxiety symptoms are getting worse, talk to your doctor. There may be other options if it’s affecting you.

We would also look at major dietary changes, exercise and sleeping habits. How we treat our bodies affects our bodies. These things play huge roles in our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. While starting new habits are good for diet and exercise, I would recommend slowly incorporating new healthy changes in order to help your body adjust (as always, follow the advice of your doctor). If you are not sleeping consistently or enough, try to focus on getting your 8 hours every night. You can find more info on my post here.

If there haven’t been any recent medication changes, we are going to look for any recent triggers. Has something major happened it could be as significant as a trauma, something that reminded you of a trauma you’ve experienced? Is there an upcoming event or situation that will happen or recently happened? What changes have gone on in the world around you?

As we are looking into all these questions, lightbulbs might start coming on and you will realize “Oh, so that is why my anxiety is increasing!”

But, what if things have stayed the same and it is still getting worse, what does that mean?

Are you in an environment that continuously contributes to your anxiety? As you are continuously in a situation that is adding to your anxiety (even if the environment isn’t changing), you will begin to grow tired. This will lend to your thought processes being unable to handle the anxiety with as much stamina as you used to. You may be sleeping well, but the never-ending anxiety through the days can be exhausting.

One of the biggest contributors to anxiety increasing that I have seen, is failure to deal with the anxiety. Yikes! That’s a punch to the gut. When you continuously avoid, ignore or just push down the anxiety and pretend like everything is fine it doesn’t actually get rid of the anxiety. You are just really great at sweeping things under the rug. Let’s think about what happens when things get swept under the rug. It is fine for a while and you can go about your days just fine. But over time, it gets piled up and gets to a point where you can’t ignore it anymore.

Talking about your anxiety, facing the hard truth about it can do wonders for your anxiety. This doesn’t mean you need to scream to the world you have anxiety. This just means, talk to someone. Find a trusted friend or family member, seek out counseling, talk to your doctor, start journaling your feelings and rating your anxiety. Being aware of your anxiety can do wonders. Talking to someone about your anxiety can help reduce shame, share the burden and feel connected in your struggle.