what are the first symptoms of anxiety
my father has been feeling fatigue racing thoughts down tired not feeling himself at all! Feeling of worry all the time,he has been trying to hide it but we all see a big difference in him!
Hi Christine,
You must be worried about your Dad. A really important first step would be for your father to go get a complete physical and rule out any medical problem that could be causing his fatigue or the "not feeling himself." Physical symptoms can mimic anxiety and anxiety symtptoms can mimic physical disorders, so that is an important step to take. Persistent worry and racing thoughts can be signs of most of the anxiety disorders, but especially Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). If your Dad doesn't have a long history of worry, then I'm wondering if anything unusual has happened prior to you noticing his worry. This may be a stressful event, such as getting laid off from work, or even a "happy" event, such as retirement (good things as well as bad things are stressful). You can take a look at a Stress Test here to see how stressful events can impact people's physical and mental health.
Regards,
Jennifer Fee, Psy.D. Psychologist
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Christine - Just like to add to Jennifer Fee's response to your question. Because depression and anxiety are so often found together it is very important to be sure that your Dad isn't clinically depressed. The fatigue, feeling down, tired, etc might also suggest depression. In addition to the physical work up that Jennifer suggested you might want to urge your Dad to see a mental health professional to ascertain if clinical depression is in the picture.
Rick Wirtz
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