Personality traits and anxiety disorder symptoms often overlap with each other. This is probably why many people are shocked when they come to know that their personality traits are actually symptoms of an anxiety disorder.
It isn’t that all the personality traits that are connected to the anxiety disorder are bad or negative. For instance, many people have obsessive thoughts and perfectionist tendencies. Perfectionism helps people to give brilliant output in their professional life. Actually, these are not bad traits and most people don’t even correlate them with anxiety disorder until they become worse and disrupt their life.
Usually, anxiety is not considered as a disorder unless it interferes with someone’s personal, social or professional life for minimum 6 months. Being occasionally anxious is absolutely fine. But how do you know if you have an anxiety disorder and need medical attention? How can you be sure that some of your personality traits are not the signs of an anxiety disorder?
Today, let’s talk about the personality traits that are symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Hopefully, this will help many people to seek medical attention before it is too late.
Here are a few personality traits that are symptoms of anxiety disorder. If you know someone with all these traits, then you can suggest him/her to consult a therapist in your town.
1. Shyness
Does the idea of attending parties give you a cold sweat? Do you avoid attending parties due to this particular reason? If so, then you have a social anxiety disorder.
Some people avoid parties because too many people make them feel discomfort. Fear of the unknowns makes their hearts beat fast. Plus, the fear of getting judged takes an emotional toll on them. All these factors make people feel that avoiding social parties in the best solution.
There are a few people in the society who are introverts. They struggle to fit in the extrovert society. It’s a mistake to think that their need for personal space is the feeling of anxiety. The main point of difference between an introvert and a person with anxiety disorder is that there’s a level of distress in the latter case.
2. Perfectionism
Being a perfectionist is not a bad thing. There are many actors who take a lot of pain to make a scene perfect. These actors are applauded and hold a special place in the film industry.
If you’re a perfectionist, then don’t be worried or be too happy. However, if you want to be perfect due to stress or the fear of being judged as a worthless fellow by others, then you may have an anxiety disorder.
3. The tendency to please everyone
Do you go beyond your means to entertain people? Do you love to make people happy no matter what happens in your life? Do you always worry about what people will think if you don’t lift their moods? If so, then there’s a probability you have an anxiety disorder. If you get a panic attack by thinking what will happen if people are not pleased with you, then you have an anxiety disorder.
It takes a lot of effort to please others. Sometimes, it becomes overwhelming and you’re most likely to feel exhausted. Sometimes, you feel taken advantage of, and if you’re at fault, then you start worrying even more.
If you get stressed whenever someone thinks negatively about you, then you may have an anxiety disorder.
4. Procrastination
Do you always finish your assignments at the last hour? Do you procrastinate a lot when the deadline is approaching fast? It’s essential to analyze your thoughts along with this particular personality trait. Do you procrastinate due to negative thought patterns or do you worry that you can’t cope with the work? If both the reasons are applicable, then you may have an anxiety disorder.
Most procrastinators say this line, “This is the way how we are.” But as we start analyzing the thoughts that come before they begin procrastinating, it’s usually their anxiety that stops them from finishing the task quickly.
5. Following a strict routine
Do you follow a strict regime every day? Do you get hyper if someone makes you break the routine? If so, then it may be a symptom of an anxiety disorder.
According to psychiatrists, not being able to break your routine can be a sign of anxiety. Small changes in the job responsibilities are enough to cause anxiety in some people. That is not a healthy sign.
If you like to follow a routine but you don’t get paranoid when it’s changed, then your personality is more geared towards the organization.
Conclusion
If you have all the aforementioned personality traits, then consult a therapist once. A therapist can tell you if your personality traits are absolutely normal or they have something to do with anxiety disorder.
[su_note note_color=”#efefef”]Also read: Ways to Cope With Anxiety[/su_note]
