Anxiety feels like a combination of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can vary from person to person but commonly include: Physical sensations:

• Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
• Increased heart rate or palpitations
• Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
• Sweating, trembling, or shaking
• Feeling weak, tired, or dizzy
• Gastrointestinal issues such as nausea or a churning stomach
• Headaches, muscle aches, or pins and needles sensations
• Difficulty sleeping or grinding teeth at night

Mental and emotional experiences:

• A sense of impending danger, panic, or doom
• Feeling unable to relax or calm down
• Excessive worrying about everyday situations or the future
• Fear of losing control or that something bad will happen
• Difficulty concentrating or feeling your mind goes blank
• Feeling tearful, irritable, or on edge
• Experiencing depersonalization or derealization (feeling disconnected from self or reality)
• Obsessive thoughts or rumination on negative experiences

Anxiety can sometimes escalate into panic attacks, which are intense episodes of fear with symptoms like chest pain, pounding heart, shortness of breath, and a feeling of terror that peaks within minutes

. Overall, anxiety often feels overwhelming, exhausting, and can interfere with daily life, making it hard to focus, relax, or sleep. It can also cause people to avoid situations that trigger their anxiety