You are at a wedding. Everything seems fine, you are enjoying and suddenly you are trapped in dark thoughts. The world seems like a dark place and the people around you look like demons. You want to get away from the clutter and seek shelter in loneliness.
With a racing heart, you try to calm yourself down but to no avail. The result is you end up being a hostage to your stressful thoughts and anxiety.
Does all this sound relatable to you? If the answer is yes, you definitely know that you have anxiety and it does take a toll on your daily life.
However, what triggers it all of a sudden? Pulkit Sharma, a clinical psychologist, has an answer.
“The first and the biggest trigger of anxiety is stress. While you may not realize it initially but if you are stressed throughout the day, you are bound to have an anxiety attack towards the night. So, if you have been stressing a lot about those work deadlines, have a break, relax, otherwise anxiety will be there knocking at your door sooner than later,” says Sharma.
The second trigger of anxiety, Sharma says, is overthinking. If you tend to overthink a lot, you are more prone to getting anxiety attacks and mostly, the severe ones.
“If you struggle to beat overthinking, practice meditation, it will help calm your anxious mind,” advises Sharma.
The third trigger on the list is exhaustion. “If you are exhausting your body and mind, anxiety will follow. Initially, those late-night work shifts might not sound much of a deal to you, however, in the long run, they stress you out and increase the chances of you developing anxiety,” explains Sharma.
The fourth trigger is a lack of social contact. “As much as you want to stay alone when anxious, the trigger of anxiety is lack of social contact for a long time. If you have been the one who avoids social gatherings and spends more time alone, anxiety may give you a tough time ahead,” adds Sharma.
And last but not the least, excessive caffeine intake. While this has been said multiple times, people don’t usually take this seriously but excessive caffeine intake can leave you anxious. “Avoid that extra cup of coffee, tea, or that extra can of energy drink that keeps you going throughout the day. Instead, include fresh fruit juice, juicy fruits, green vegetables and relevant health supplements in your diet. Don’t depend on caffeine for increased productivity, while it may give you instant result, if you are taking it regularly more than the prescribed limit, it is bound to impact your health,” concludes Sharma.