Conditions like ADHD, Autism, POTS, thyroid issues, heart problems, and PCOS are often mistaken for anxiety due to overlapping symptoms like rapid heart rate, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue, leading to misdiagnosis, especially in women and girls where symptoms can be masked. Other common confusions include OCD, PTSD, menstrual cycle changes, and even neurological issues like mini-strokes, notes Time Magazine.
When It's Not Just Anxiety: Medical Conditions That Can Mimic or Exacerbate Anxiety Symptoms
Read on for 5 surprising signs you could be experiencing (or witnessing) anxiety in disguise:
Anxiety is the body's reaction to stress and can occur even if there is no current threat. While occasional stress and anxiety are normal, they shouldn't control your life. If anxiety doesn't go away and begins to interfere with your daily activities, you may have an anxiety disorder.
Hormonal imbalances can look like anxiety. For example, an overactive thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone. This can speed up your metabolism and lead to nervousness, restlessness, and a fast heartbeat. It can also cause sleep trouble and irritability, all common with anxiety.
Symptoms of anxiety
The most common type used to treat generalised anxiety are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as:
Five common anxiety symptoms include excessive worry, a racing heart, trouble sleeping, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating, often accompanied by physical feelings like a churning stomach, shortness of breath, and muscle tension, alongside irritability. These symptoms can be persistent and interfere with daily life, signaling the need for professional help.
The #1 worst habit for anxiety isn't singular, but avoidance (procrastination), poor sleep, and negative thought patterns (like catastrophizing) are top contenders, creating vicious cycles where anxiety fuels these behaviors, and the behaviors, in turn, worsen anxiety by preventing healthy coping and creating more stress. Other significant habits include excessive caffeine, poor diet, too much screen time, and social withdrawal, all disrupting the body's ability to manage stress effectively.
7 Signs You Might Benefit from Anti-Anxiety Medication
Sometimes a physical, medical issue like a vitamin deficiency, an illness, or an undiagnosed sleep issue shows up looking exactly like the symptoms of a psychological anxiety disorder. And sometimes the best way to treat anxiety is to actually treat the underlying physical issues first. Or at least rule them out.
Dr. Ellen Vora in her book The Anatomy of Anxiety, describes this feeling as “false anxiety”. She explains that this occurs when our brains assign meaning to what is a physiological response to an imbalance in our bodies.
A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
The role of neurotransmitters, the brain's anxiety pathways, and the connection between neurology and anxiety. We will also discuss specific neurological disorders. They can cause anxiety, such as Parkinson's disease. Also multiple sclerosis or epilepsy.
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) occurs when the valve between your heart's left chambers doesn't close properly, sometimes allowing blood to flow backward. While many people with MVP have no symptoms, others experience palpitations, chest discomfort, fatigue, and shortness of breath that can closely mimic anxiety attacks.
Lots of people experience bouts of anxiety, and it can cause symptoms that mimic all kinds of serious conditions like heart problems, asthma, memory issues, and even MS. This can be quite concerning when you're trying to figure out what's happening with your body.
Common Triggers for Anxiety Attacks
Here's what we know — and don't know — about some herbal supplements:
14 Things NOT to Do if You Have Anxiety
A GP may diagnose GAD if you have the typical symptoms and:
Many people already know that activities like yoga, exercise, meditation and talk therapy can help reduce anxiety.
Defining high-functioning anxiety
They often are successful in careers or other roles, yet internally struggle with persistent feelings of stress, self-doubt and the fear of not measuring up. They feel extremely uncomfortable inside and struggle with significant self-criticism.
Teas for stress and anxiety relief
To diagnose an anxiety disorder, a doctor performs a physical exam, asks about your symptoms, and recommends a blood test, which helps the doctor determine if another condition, such as hypothyroidism, may be causing your symptoms. The doctor may also ask about any medications you are taking.
People often describe a panic attack to feeling like they are going to pass out, explains Chapman. The heart may feel as if it's beating very hard or racing. “If someone feels as if they're losing control during a panic attack, they might start holding their chest and changing their breathing,” says Chapman.