Common Anxiety Triggers: How to Identify Yours

When the anxiety hits you, it always feels a bit too late. You always tell yourself you're not going to let it happen again. You're going to stay on top of it. But when it hits you, it often feels like it comes out of nowhere, and you might feel powerless against it.

You don't always have to be reactive towards your anxiety. It's time to take back control and work toward becoming proactive. The first step is to learn more about what may be causing your anxiety to occur. Let's learn more about common anxiety triggers and how you can identify yours.

Career Stress

Stress is one of the most common triggers of anxiety, especially when it relates to work. Sitting in traffic during a commute, upcoming deadlines, uncomfortable relationships with colleagues, and potential layoffs can all be major sources of stress. Work is necessary and takes up a lot of time for most people, which makes it an anxiety trigger for many.

Social Stress

Stress can also come from social interactions and the relationships in your life. Family drama or added pressure from friends can cause stress in your daily life and routine, even if you don't realize it at the moment. These stressful social interactions can also include things like giving a speech, interacting with someone new, or being involved in a large social gathering.

Financial Stress

Financial stress is another common stressor that can cause anxiety. Finances aren't everything in life, but financial well-being ensures that you can take care of yourself, your wants, and your needs. It's how you provide for yourself and make sure you're set up for success with food, water, and shelter. When finances are unstable or when you're in debt, it can cause added pressure and anxiety.

Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits

Although they sometimes provide initial relief, drugs and alcohol typically make anxiety worse. Even common substances like caffeine can exacerbate anxiety.

Unhealthy habits like not taking care of yourself, eating a poor diet, and a lack of sleep can worsen anxiety levels as well. These types of negative habits can turn into a vicious cycle that can be even more challenging to break.

How to Identify Your Triggers

Identifying your personal anxiety triggers is an important first step in learning to manage your symptoms. Discovering which parts of your life are causing anxiety isn't always easy, but there are some tried-and-true steps you can take.

Write in a Journal

Writing in a journal can help you organize your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, helping you identify negative thinking patterns. It can also be a great tool to help you determine which coping mechanisms work or don't work for you so you can apply them the next time you experience anxiety.

Reflect on Past Experiences

A lot of anxiety can stem from negative past interactions and experiences. Try to think back to any experiences in your past that may not have been properly processed and could be impacting you in the present moment. Make sure you also consider close relationships, such as your family, and how they may have influenced you.

Consider Any Life Stressors

Life stressors are a dime a dozen. They can come from just about any area of life, and many are common anxiety triggers. Taking the time to consider any recent life changes or areas of life that make you uncomfortable can help you uncover what causes your anxiety. Some areas to consider are personal relationships, career, finances, and health.

Seek Professional Support

It's time to break free from the anxiety controlling you. While there are certain lifestyle changes you can make to ease anxiety, sometimes it's necessary to enlist the help of someone with an outside perspective. Reach out today to see how an anxiety therapist can help you ease that anxiety and move forward.