7 Signs You Have Anxiety (And What to Do About Them)

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy — and one of the most misunderstood. Many people live with significant anxiety for years, dismissing it as "just stress" or "overthinking." Here's how to tell the difference.

1. You worry about things you can't control

Anxiety often attaches itself to the future. If you find yourself regularly running worst-case scenarios in your head — even for small decisions — that's a sign your nervous system has shifted into chronic alert mode.

2. Your body reacts before your mind does

Tight chest, racing heart, shallow breathing, stomach knots — these are not just nervousness. They're your body's threat-response system activating, even when there's no actual danger present.

3. You avoid things that trigger discomfort

Avoiding social situations, postponing difficult conversations, not opening emails — avoidance is anxiety's most reliable coping strategy. And the more you avoid, the stronger anxiety gets.

4. Your sleep is disrupted

Lying awake with a spinning mind, waking at 3am, or finding it impossible to "switch off" are all signs of an overactive anxiety system that hasn't learned to disengage.

5. You feel irritable or on edge for no obvious reason

People expect anxiety to feel like fear. Often it feels like low-grade irritability or a constant sense of unease — the feeling that something is wrong, even when nothing specific is.

6. Concentration is difficult

Anxiety hijacks cognitive resources. If you find it hard to focus, read, or stay present in conversations, your mind is likely preoccupied with threat-monitoring rather than the task at hand.

7. You feel exhausted without reason

Running a chronic anxiety system is physically tiring. If you feel fatigued despite sleeping adequately, and that tiredness has a mental quality — anxiety could be the cause.

"Anxiety is not weakness. It's a nervous system that has learned to be overprotective. Therapy helps you teach it that most situations are safer than it believes."

What to do next

If three or more of these signs are present and have been for more than two weeks, it's worth speaking to a psychologist. Anxiety responds very well to therapy — CBT in particular has a strong evidence base.

Aswin Bharathan K, Consultant Psychologist at Uhealed, works with anxiety as one of his core areas. Sessions are available online across Kerala, India, and internationally.