How to Deal With Crippling Anxiety

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat It IsSignsAnxiety DisordersTriggersTreatmentCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What It Is

Signs

Anxiety Disorders

Triggers

Treatment

Coping

Close

Crippling anxiety is a severe form of anxiety that is so overwhelming it interferes with your ability to function. When you have crippling anxiety, you might experience symptoms like intense feelings of agitation or irritability, trouble sleeping, racing thoughts, or even physical symptoms like muscle aches, trouble breathing, and dizziness.

Crippling anxiety is a sign that you need to seek help from a doctor or mental health professional.

Learn about crippling anxiety, its symptoms, and the available treatments.

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What Is Crippling Anxiety?

Crippling anxiety isn’t a a clinical term; it is a common expression used to describesevere anxietyor ananxiety disorder.

Severe anxiety is different from the everyday pressures and stressors people experience in their lives. For example, feeling nervous or having butterflies in your stomach before giving a presentation is typical and expected.

However, anxiety that occurs frequently andinterfereswith your ability to complete daily tasks or participate fully in your life may be a sign of an anxiety disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Personality Style

Signs Of Crippling Anxiety

Crippling anxiety has the same or similar symptoms regardless of its cause. If you aren’t sure if you have crippling anxiety, consult the list below and see if it matches what you are experiencing.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of crippling anxiety include the following:

Press Play for Advice On Managing AnxietyThis episode ofThe Verywell Mind Podcastshares how to recognize and ease anxiety, featuring neuroscientist Dr. Jud Brewer.

Press Play for Advice On Managing Anxiety

This episode ofThe Verywell Mind Podcastshares how to recognize and ease anxiety, featuring neuroscientist Dr. Jud Brewer.

Crippling Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

Sometimes, crippling anxiety is a sign of a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Here are some of the most common types of anxiety disorders and examples of how they might cause crippling anxiety.

The Best Online Therapy for Anxiety, Tried and Tested

What Triggers Crippling Anxiety?

It is also possible to experience crippling anxiety without a trigger. People with an anxiety disorder, for example, may feel anxious all the time, not just after or during certain events.

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One of the most important things to know about crippling anxiety is that you’re not alone. Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses in America, affecting approximately 40 million people.You may feel that you’re the only one, but there’s no shame in asking for help.

The most equipped person to treat your anxiety is a licensed mental health professional, like a therapist or psychiatrist. You can try out in-person therapy or an online therapist.

Whichever type of treatment or therapy you choose, consider looking for someone specializing in anxiety disorders. Your treatment may include the following interventions.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)is one of the most widely recognized therapeutic interventions for anxiety. As a problem-specific, goal-oriented approach, CBT focuses on the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT involves various strategies that work together to shift your response to triggers or other underlying causes, including:

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Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR)is a therapy that’s frequently used alongside traditional treatment methods for anxiety. It’s a short-term, 8-step method that uses repeated bilateral stimuli, as an object or finger moves back and forth while the person follows it with their eyes.

Throughout these sessions, the individual addresses an anxiety-provoking situation, past trauma, or another issue, which ultimately helps reduce its impact throughout treatment.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapyis used to treat people who have extreme anxiety and phobias. It involves gradual exposure to the things you’re afraid of through repeated contact over time until it becomes easier to face what triggers your fear.

Medication

Anxiety can be treated with a variety ofmedicationsincluding benzodiazepines (which only need to be taken as needed), SSRI and SNRI antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa) or duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta).

Looking for a Psychiatrist? Try One of These 9 Best Online Psychiatry Services

Coping with Crippling Anxiety

You may also be able to deal with crippling anxiety as it arises with some of the following coping mechanisms:

How to Use a Bullet Journal

A Word From Verywell

You don’t need to live with crippling anxiety forever. It’s manageable and responds well to treatment, but it can be tough when you’re feeling lost in your thoughts of what the next day might bring. Remember that everyone is different and has their own needs. Working with a mental health professional can help determine which treatments work best for you.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts and statistics.National Center for Complementary and Inegrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Exercise for stress and anxiety.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts and statistics.National Center for Complementary and Inegrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Exercise for stress and anxiety.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts and statistics.National Center for Complementary and Inegrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Exercise for stress and anxiety.

National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Facts and statistics.

National Center for Complementary and Inegrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.

Harvard Health Publishing.Sleep and mental health.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Exercise for stress and anxiety.

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