How to Deal With Crippling Anxiety

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.1

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

What Is Crippling Anxiety?

Crippling anxiety isn’t a a clinical term; it is a common expression used to describe severe anxiety or an anxiety 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 and interferes with your ability to complete daily tasks or participate fully in your life may be a sign of an anxiety disorder.

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:

• Isolating, or withdrawing from social situations
• Unexpected or unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• Intense feelings of irritability
• Trouble falling asleep, waking through the night, or having nightmares
• Feeling agitated or unable to sit still
• Physical health concerns like headaches, body aches, etc.
• Having an upset stomach/nausea/digestive problems
• Problems in relationships
• Substance abuse problems
• Acting out/aggressive behavior/quick to anger
• Thoughts of suicide
• Constant worry or racing thoughts
• Inability to keep up with life’s tasks
• Feelings dizzy or lightheaded
• Problems breathing or tightness in the chest
• A general feeling of uneasiness

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.

• Generalized anxiety disorder: People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) may experience crippling anxiety related to constant worry about something, whether it’s a disaster that could occur at any moment or money issues.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): OCD is a debilitating disorder involving recurrent thoughts and behaviors. These thoughts and the need to complete certain behaviors can cause crippling anxiety leading to insomnia or physical exhaustion.
• Panic disorder: The fear that takes over when you have a panic attack is like being in mortal danger, and it’s completely overwhelming. You might experience rapid heart rate, excessive sweating, nausea or dizziness, difficulty breathing, or racing thoughts.
• Phobias: A phobia is when someone has an irrational fear of a particular situation or thing, such as heights or spiders. A person with this type of crippling anxiety will avoid certain places and situations to keep themselves safe from something they can’t control.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a response to experiencing or witnessing an event that causes extreme fear, horror, and distress such as combat or a natural disaster. Symptoms can range from feelings of detachment, repeated flashbacks to the traumatic event, and feeling a “fight-or-flight” response when you’re in situations similar to those experienced during the trauma itself. It can be crippling in the sense that normal everyday experiences can trigger extreme anxiety.
• Social anxiety disorder (SAD): Social anxiety disorder causes fear of being judged by others and/or crippling anxiety in social situations. Someone with SAD can be so self-conscious that they avoid any and all socializing, which hurts their ability to make friends or form relationships.

What Triggers Crippling Anxiety?

Crippling anxiety can be triggered by certain events and situations, regardless of whether you have an underlying anxiety disorder. Some examples of triggering events include:

• A death in the family
• Job loss or trouble finding a job
• Divorce or separation
• A traumatic event like experiencing violence or natural disaster

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.

Treatment

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.2 You may feel that you’re the only one, but there’s no shame in asking for help.

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:

• Possible triggers to panic and anxiety attacks.
• Identifying thoughts and related behaviors that could lead to heightened anxiety and changing them.
• Relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises and mindfulness practices.
• Learning coping skills to manage severe symptoms of anxiety.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing

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 therapy is 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 of medications including benzodiazepines (which only need to be taken as needed), SSRI and SNRI antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa) or duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta).

Coping with Crippling Anxiety

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

• Talk about your feelings with someone you trust instead of bottling them up.
• Meditate3 or do other things to slow down your breathing.
• Practice yoga or another calming activity.
• Take care of your body: eat healthily, drink plenty of water, and take vitamins and minerals such as magnesium.
• Play music that brings you joy or read passages from your favorite book.
• Do something creative like painting, drawing, or crafting.
• Journal about what is causing your anxiety and what you are feeling.
• Do something social: call a friend, volunteer to help someone less fortunate than you or go out with friends for coffee.
• Find comfort in things that make you happy, like your favorite TV show or pet.
• Go to bed at a regular time and get up at a regular time each day. Getting enough sleep can help you manage anxiety.4
• Remind yourself that anxiety is only temporary; it will pass eventually if you let it.
• Get up and do something physical, such as going for a walk or doing some stretches. Research has shown that exercise can help manage stress and anxiety.5
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can worsen anxiety symptoms.
• Focus on the present; don’t think too far into the future or dwell on past mistakes.
• Put together an “Anxiety Survival Kit” with items that make you feel calm and relaxed (e.g., a favorite blanket, calming music, etc.).