Yes, many health conditions look and feel similar to anxiety, so it can often be misdiagnosed. Other issues like asthma, increased heart rate, or sleep apnea show overlapping symptoms with anxiety. So, it is necessary to know what anxiety is and what it is not.
This is what you should know to avoid misdiagnosing anxiety.
What Is Anxiety, and How Does It Differ From Normal Feelings of Stress?
Anxiety is a persistent, excessive feeling of worry, fear, or unease. It is different from normal stress in a way that anxiety has no defined trigger. However, stress arises due to some specific event or issue, like conflicts or deadlines.
Both anxiety and stress have similar physical signs, such as faster breathing and muscle tension. Stress is typically short-term and fades once the situation improves, while anxiety lasts longer and exhausts you over time. This thin difference between the two conditions causes misdiagnosis.
Mental Health Conditions Confused with Anxiety
1. Depression
It often travels hand-in-hand with anxiety, making it hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. The overthinking, sleep problems, and physical tension can look like pure anxiety even when depression is the primary issue.
2. ADHD in Adults
ADHD in adults is often misdiagnosed as anxiety. The constant mental restlessness, difficulty focusing, and feeling overwhelmed can seem like anxiety.
3. PTSD
The hypervigilance, panic responses, and avoidance behaviors can easily be labeled as generalized anxiety if there is no context of trauma history.
4. Bipolar Disorder
Particularly during mixed episodes, bipolar disorder can make you feel agitation and racing thoughts that look like severe anxiety.
Medical Issues That Mimic Anxiety
1. Thyroid Disorders
When your thyroid is overactive (hyperthyroidism), it speeds everything up. You might experience a racing heart and sweating, and it can feel like anxiety.
2. Heart Conditions
Arrhythmias, mitral valve prolapse, and other cardiac issues can cause chest pain, palpitations, and shortness of breath. These physical symptoms are easily mistaken for an anxiety disorder.
3. Blood Sugar Imbalances
Blood sugar imbalances from diabetes or hypoglycemia create shakiness, sweating, confusion, and panic. Because these reactions can closely mimic panic attacks, it’s important to understand the difference between anxiety and a panic attack.
4. Vitamin Deficiencies
Vitamin deficiencies, particularly B12 and vitamin D, can cause fatigue, mood changes, and cognitive issues that might be labeled as anxiety.
How Do You Know If It's Anxiety, Bipolar Depression, or Something Else?
How do you tell if what you're experiencing is anxiety, bipolar depression, or possibly another medical condition entirely?
First, pay attention to patterns. Bipolar disorder typically follows a pattern of mood episodes over time. On the other hand, anxiety disorders show signs of worry, fear, and physical tension. But people with bipolar disorder often experience anxiety as well, and the overlap of anxiety symptoms with other conditions makes diagnosis complicated.
For an accurate diagnosis, always consult with the expert therapists before taking any medication or treatment.
How to Confirm if You Have Anxiety?
The most authentic way to confirm if you have anxiety is to consult a healthcare professional. However, there are some steps that you can take yourself.
Note your emotional, physical, and behavioral condition:
- You are constantly about anything and everything
- You have a constant fear of danger and panic
- You overthink worst case scenerios all day
- You feel dizzy or have headaches
- Feeling tired, restless, or weak all the time
- You can't sleep all night
Get Expert Help From Professional Mental Health Specialists
If you're dealing with symptoms that feel like more than just anxiety, seek depression and anxiety treatment near you. A qualified anxiety therapist can help you sort through your symptoms and determine whether what you're experiencing is truly anxiety or something else that needs attention.
FAQs
1. What Does Your Body Feel Like After an Anxiety Attack?
Your body feels exhausted, with muscle soreness, fatigue, headaches, trembling, and emotional numbness lingering for hours or days after an anxiety attack.
2. How to Identify Triggers of Anxiety?
You can identify triggers of anxiety by tracking patterns in a journal, noting situations, thoughts, or physical sensations before anxiety spikes. Common triggers for anxiety include stress, caffeine, or phobias.
3. What Helps Severe Anxiety?
Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or short-term benzodiazepines under medical guidance can help with a severe anxiety attack.
4. What are the Immediate Steps to Reduce Severe Anxiety at Home?
To reduce severe anxiety at home, you can practice deep breathing exercises and apply a cold compress to your face or wrists to activate the parasympathetic response.
5. Which Disease Mimics Anxiety?
Heart problems, thyroid issues, respiratory issues, hormonal shifts, PTSD, and Lyme disease can mimic anxiety.