What is crippling anxiety and how do I manage it?
Anxiety that feels crippling and affects your daily life can be indicative of an anxiety disorder.
Key takeaways
- When people say crippling anxiety, they usually mean anxiety that is highly intense and severe, but it isn’t a medical term.
- You might think of it as the opposite of what some people refer to as “high-functioning anxiety.”
- Fortunately medication, therapy, and other coping techniques can help quell your anxiety.
Anxiety, while a normal part of the human experience, can be debilitating. If you feel like you don't have control over your anxiety, and your anxiety controls you, you may be suffering from a more severe, “crippling” anxiety.
This crippling anxiety often feels non-stop, out of proportion to the situation at hand, and impossible to control.
We turned to our staff of psychiatrists for their best strategies on how to tame severe anxiety—as well as how to recognize when it may be time to seek professional help.
How does crippling anxiety differ from everyday stress?
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. It’s normal to occasionally feel anxious, especially when dealing with everyday stressors like work, financial pressure, or relationship woes.
But if you feel anxious more often than not, you can’t control your worrying, or you often experience distressing physical symptoms, you might have crippling anxiety.
“Crippling anxiety” is not a medical term or official diagnosis. Rather, it’s a term many people colloquially use, referring to severe or debilitating anxiety that trickles into everyday life. It may be the opposite of what some refer to as “high-functioning anxiety.”
Some signs of crippling anxiety include:
- Intense anxiety that is disruptive and all-consuming
- Always feeling on-edge
- Panic attacks
- Heart palpitations or increased heart rate
- Upset stomach/nausea
- Unexplained aches and pains
- Chronic muscle tension
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
If these symptoms are familiar to you, you may be dealing with a higher-than-normal level of anxiety.
How severe can anxiety get?
For people with anxiety disorders, anxiety can be extremely severe, preventing them from carrying out their daily tasks, having fun, or even leaving the house.
When people talk about crippling anxiety, it’s most likely linked to an anxiety disorder (or disorders) since they affect your daily quality of life and ability to function at work, school, or home.
Here are some examples of common types of anxiety disorders that can feel crippling:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) Thisis a form of anxiety where you have chronic and persistent excessive worry and anxiety that are difficult to control. It’s an ongoing general feeling of uneasiness, with constant overthinking and imagining worst-case scenarios. Everything can feel like a threat, and there’s a lot of trouble coping with uncertainty. It’s very common for GAD to co-occur with other anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder.
- Panic disorder: This is when you have unexpected panic attacks that may come on even when there isn’t a known trigger. A panic attack comes on suddenly and brings on extreme fear. The symptoms––like shortness of breath, a choking sensation, and a racing heart—can be so intense that the person might feel like they’re dying or going “crazy.” People with panic disorder also live in fear of another panic attack happening and may avoid places where they think they might have one.
- Social anxiety disorder: This is characterized by intense anxiety around social situations and fear of being judged or watched. Even simple social interactions can cause crippling anxiety, leading to avoidance of social situations, and sometimes even isolation. Symptoms can range from physical (blushing, sweating, nausea) to emotional (intense worry, self-consciousness) to behavioral (avoiding eye contact, having trouble talking).
- Agoraphobia: This is is when you have severe anxiety in situations where you feel like you may not be able to escape. This includes places like big crowds, public transport, airplanes, or simply away from home. In these situations, you experience intense fear and get panic attack-like symptoms, such as dizziness, and chest pain.
How do you know if you have crippling anxiety?
Not sure if your anxiety is totally crippling? Here are some tell-tale signs.
It lasts for a long time
But if you’re spending long periods of time — days, weeks, months, or even years — with heightened anxiety, it may be a sign that you're living with crippling anxiety and it’s time to seek help. You may be able to generally function over time, but it’s very taxing for you.
You don’t know the cause
“Normal” anxiety is typically linked to a specific cause, like a looming deadline or a stressful life event. If you’re feeling on edge, having racing thoughts, or can’t relax for seemingly no reason at all, this is a red flag.
The scale of it feels out of proportion
If minor triggers are sending you into an anxiety tailspin of negative thoughts that feels out of proportion to the situation at hand, you may be suffering from severe anxiety or an anxiety disorder. You may be aware that your anxiety is out of proportion to a stressor, but you still can’t control it or reduce it.
How to stop crippling anxiety
There are many strategies for reducing anxiety. Try a few and see what works best for you. These aren’t a “cure,” but they can reduce the intensity and frequency of symptoms. Here are five tips to try.
1. Exercise
Although exercise might feel like the last thing you want to do when you’re very anxious, it undoubtedly has anxiety-relieving properties and helps maintain your physical health.
Exercise changes brain chemistry, raising the availability of critical neurotransmitters—or chemical messengers—that help you relax and boost your mood, like serotonin and dopamine. It also releases endorphins, feel-good chemicals.
Pick a type of exercise you enjoy, and remember that even a short sweat session can make a difference. For some people, that might be a HIIT workout (high-intensity interval training) or going for a run; for others, it might mean a brisk walk or a gentle yoga session.
2. Belly breathing
If you’re in a heightened state of anxiety, relaxation techniques like breathing exercises may help. You may not even notice it, but when you’re anxious, your breathing becomes quicker and more shallow. This can perpetuate feelings of anxiety. Taking deep breaths can help activate the calming part of your nervous system, counteracting the “fight-or-flight” response when you feel calm. Here’s the best way to take deep, calming breaths:
“Belly breathing,” or diaphragmatic breathing, is a science-backed way to calm your nervous system and bring your body into a relaxed state.
- Sit in a chair or lie down and place one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach.
- Take a few breaths and notice if you feel the hand on your chest rising or the hand on your belly rising. Chest breathing tends to be shallow. This exercise will bring your breath into your belly and out of your chest.
- Slowly breathe in through your nose, focusing on filling up your belly with air. The hand on your belly should rise. The hand on your chest should remain still.
- Breathe out through your mouth. You should notice the hand on your belly drop.
- Repeat these breaths for several minutes.
3. Grounding techniques
If your mind is spiraling and you’re not feeling present, grounding techniques can help bring you back to reality. Here are a few examples:
- 5-4-3-2-1: This helps get you out of your head and into the present with your five senses. Tune into your surroundings and notice five things you see, four things you can touch/feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste.
- Cold exposure: Exposing yourself to cold can shock your system and activate your sympathetic nervous system, which shuts off your fight-or-flight response. You can do this by taking a cold shower, dunking your face in a bowl of ice water, holding ice cubes, or putting an ice pack on your chest.
- Visualize a safe space: This is a mental grounding technique. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite safe, relaxing place. What does it look like? Sound like? Smell like? Try to paint the visual picture as vividly as you can.
Check out more grounding techniques here.
4. Limit caffeine
Caffeine, especially in large quantities, can worsen or trigger anxiety. Not to mention, it can cause physical symptoms like a racing heart or trembling, which can mimic physical anxiety symptoms.
By limiting or cutting out caffeine, you reduce your chances of worsening anxiety. Especially if you’re already feeling anxious, it’s wise to skip the java.
5. Try acceptance
In many instances, fighting and resisting your anxiety and the symptoms it brings about can fuel it further. Acceptance isn’t about accepting defeat –– it’s about lowering the struggle and fight against your anxiety symptoms. In turn, this gives them less power. With practice, you learn to be less afraid of your anxiety symptoms and don’t fight them as hard, making them less intense.
Working with a therapist is the best way to hone this skill.
When to get help for debilitating anxiety
You don’t have to put up with crippling anxiety every day. If you feel like you’re constantly anxious and it’s getting in the way of your functioning or day-to-day life, especially for extended periods, it’s time to seek help.
With professional anxiety treatment, you can take back control of your life. If you’re looking for a psychiatrist to treat your crippling anxiety, consider Talkiatry. We’re a national psychiatry practice that treats a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders and co-occurring conditions. We provide virtual, in-network services so you can easily get the care you need from home. To get started, complete our free online assessment to get matched with a psychiatrist.
FAQs
What are the causes of crippling anxiety?
Crippling anxiety is typically linked to an anxiety disorder (a mental health condition) rather than a typical life stressor. You may have severe anxiety symptoms due to a type of anxiety disorder or specific phobia, as well as oobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Only a mental health professional can properly diagnose you with one of these conditions.
What are the symptoms of crippling anxiety?
It’s different for everyone, but generally speaking, it’s anxiety that’s severe enough to trickle into every aspect of your day-to-day life. It’s completely disruptive, all-consuming, and intense.
Physical symptoms of severe anxiety or an anxiety attack can include hyperventilating, shortness of breath rapid or racing heart and sweating. Emotional and mental symptoms of an anxiety disorder can include feelings of doom or panic, feeling stuck, trapped, detached, or disconnected.
How do you treat a crippling anxiety disorder?
Mental health conditions like anxiety disorders require professional help to recover. It’s important to see a mental health professional like a therapist or psychiatrist for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Two main treatments include:
- Talk therapy: Therapy helps you learn effective coping skills to manage anxiety. You can also work towards determining the root causes of your anxiety. Common form of talk therapy for anxiety are:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Exposure therapy (a form of CBT)
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
- Medications: For some people, therapy isn’t enough to fully manage symptoms. In this case, medications can help. Examples of anxiety medications are:
- Antidepressants (like SSRIs or SNRIs)
- BusPar (buspirone)
The information in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and should never be substituted for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. If you or someone you know may be in danger, call 911 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 right away.
