Understanding Anxiety Disorders: When to seek help
What Is Anxiety—and How Do You Know When It’s Time to Get Help?
Everyone feels anxious from time to time. It’s that jittery feeling before a presentation, the tightness in your chest before a difficult conversation, or the racing thoughts that keep you up the night before a big event. In small doses, anxiety can even be helpful—it sharpens focus, signals caution, and gets us through challenges.
But what happens when anxiety stops being useful and starts taking over?
Understanding what anxiety is, how it shows up, and when to seek support is a powerful first step toward feeling better. Let’s take a closer look.
The Mechanics of Anxiety: A Survival System on Overdrive
At its core, anxiety is a biological response. When your brain perceives danger—whether it’s a bear in the woods or an awkward Zoom meeting—it activates the sympathetic nervous system. Heart rate increases, muscles tense, and your body prepares to fight, flee, or freeze.
This system is ancient. But in modern life, our stressors aren’t always physical, and they don’t always go away after a quick burst of action. Instead, many people live with a near-constant hum of anxiety: over deadlines, finances, parenting, climate change, health, identity, safety, and the state of the world.
When that system gets stuck in “on” mode, it can affect your health, your relationships, and your ability to be present in your own life.
Research shows that chronic activation of the stress response is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular issues, immune suppression, and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety (McEwen, 2004).
How Anxiety Shows Up—And Why It’s Not Always Obvious
Anxiety doesn’t always look like panic attacks or hyperventilating. It can be quiet, chronic, and deeply internal. Some common signs include:
Overthinking everything—from what you said in a meeting to whether you locked the door
Feeling irritable or on edge, even when nothing seems “wrong”
Avoiding situations that feel uncertain or uncomfortable
Trouble sleeping, or waking up with dread
Physical symptoms like stomach aches, headaches, or muscle tension
Perfectionism or fear of making mistakes
Anxiety is known to also happen with insomnia, gastrointestinal distress, and muscle tension, among other physical presentations (Munir., 2022).
Sometimes anxiety wears a disguise. It might look like procrastination, people-pleasing, substance use, or constant busyness. It might even look like success—because anxiety can push people to perform, achieve, and stay in motion, all while burning them out from the inside (Govindan., 2024).
When is Anxiety Just Life — and When is it a Problem?
This is one of the most common questions people ask, especially when they’re unsure whether to reach out for help.
Here’s a helpful reframe:
It’s not about whether your anxiety is “bad enough.”
It’s about whether it’s getting in the way of the life you want to live.
Ask yourself:
Is anxiety interfering with my sleep, work, or relationships?
Am I avoiding things that matter to me?
Do I feel like I’m in survival mode more often than not?
Have I lost interest in things I used to enjoy?
Do I use substances, scrolling, or distractions to numb out?
Do I feel like I’m constantly bracing for something?
According to the DSM-5, anxiety becomes clinically significant when it causes distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (APA, 2013).
What are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the United States, affecting approximately 40 million adults each year. While experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, anxiety disorders involve persistent, excessive worry that interferes with daily activities.
Common Types of Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
People with GAD experience excessive worry about everyday matters. This worry is difficult to control and often comes with physical symptoms such as:
Restlessness or feeling on edge
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep problems
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder involves recurrent, unexpected panic attacks—intense periods of fear that develop quickly and peak within minutes. Symptoms can include:
Heart palpitations
Sweating
Trembling
Shortness of breath
Feelings of impending doom
Fear of losing control
Social Anxiety Disorder
This condition involves intense fear of social or performance situations. Individuals with social anxiety disorder often worry about being negatively evaluated or embarrassed in social settings.
Specific Phobias
Specific phobias are intense fears of particular objects or situations, such as flying, heights, or certain animals. These fears are out of proportion to the actual danger posed.
Signs It’s Time to Seek Professional Help
While everyone experiences anxiety differently, certain signs indicate it’s time to consult with a mental health professional:
Your anxiety interferes with daily functioning
If worry prevents you from performing routine activities or enjoying life, professional help may be beneficial.
You experience physical symptoms
Chronic headaches, digestive issues, insomnia, or other unexplained physical problems can be manifestations of anxiety.
Your relationships are suffering
Anxiety can cause irritability, withdrawal, or conflict that impacts personal and professional relationships.
You use substances to cope
Turning to alcohol, drugs, or other substances to manage anxiety is a clear sign that professional help is needed.
You’ve experienced trauma
Past traumatic experiences often contribute to anxiety disorders and benefit from professional treatment.
Treatment Options for Anxiety Disorders
At Defina Health, we offer evidence-based treatments tailored to each patient’s unique needs:
Psychotherapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is particularly effective for anxiety disorders, though many forms of therapy can be beneficial for anxiety. These approachs helps identify and change thought patterns that lead to anxious feelings and problematic behaviors.
Medication
Certain medications can help manage symptoms of anxiety disorders. Our psychiatric providers can determine if medication might be beneficial as part of your treatment plan.
Lifestyle Modifications
Regular exercise, adequate sleep, stress management techniques, and limiting caffeine and alcohol can all help reduce anxiety symptoms.
Complementary Approaches
Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises can complement traditional treatments for anxiety.
Seeking Help —Is Incredibly Brave
Many people wait until they’re overwhelmed or in crisis to get help—but it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from support. You don’t need to “hit bottom.” And you’re not supposed to figure it out alone.
Support can mean a lot of things: therapy, psychiatry, lifestyle changes, boundaries, medication, mindfulness, or community. It might be just one of those things, or a mix. The right combination looks different for everyone.
Both psychotherapy and pharmacological treatments have strong evidence bases for managing anxiety disorders. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be particularly effective across multiple anxiety presentations (Hofmann et al., 2012).
What matters is knowing that help exists—and that getting support is a strength, not a failure.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been feeling anxious lately, you’re not alone—and you’re at the right place. In fact, more than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are currently experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to the latest Household Pulse Survey (ADAA, 2023). That’s a powerful reminder: what you’re going through is more common than you might think—and it’s absolutely okay to ask for help.
Anxiety is deeply human—and also highly treatable. Whether you’ve been struggling quietly for years or are just beginning to notice that something feels off, help is out there. At Defina Health, we’re here to meet you where you are, with care that’s thoughtful, evidence-based, and centered around you. You don’t have to do this alone.