Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 5 Symptoms That Might Surprise You
- Jeromy Deleff, MACP, CT, CCC, CCTP-II
- Sep 29
- 10 min read
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is more than “being a worrier.” It’s a pattern of pervasive, hard-to-switch-off anxiety that affects sleep, focus, energy, and the way you move through your day. Below are five lesser-known signs that may point to GAD—and how to start finding steadier ground.
Key takeaways
GAD isn’t “just stress.” It’s persistent, hard-to-control worry with mental and physical effects that often masquerade as unrelated problems.
Surprising signs include mental blanking, body pain, sleep paradoxes, over-responsibility, and perfectionistic procrastination.
Effective care exists: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and related approaches lead the evidence, often alongside skills work you can learn between sessions.
Anxiety and depression frequently co-occur; noticing both early helps you get the right mix of support.
This article is educational, not medical advice. If symptoms are severe or you’re in crisis, seek immediate help.
Estimated read time: ~9 minutes
If you’re in Calgary and want support that’s warm and structured, you can learn what therapy might look like here: Anxiety Therapy in Calgary. Early, supportive psychotherapy for anxiety can shorten the arc from “stuck” to “steadier.”
Before we dive in, here are three related reads you might find helpful right now:
Breaking the Loop: Anxiety and Depression Treatment — how worry and low mood reinforce each other and what to do first (read the guide).
Silent Signs of High-Functioning Depression at Work — the “I look fine, but feel flat” pattern many anxious achievers recognize (spot the signals).
Why Bad News Hooks Your Brain (Doomscrolling and Depression) — how feeds tug at attention, sleep, and mood—and small shifts that help (learn the loop).
What you need to know about Generalized Anxiety Disorder (in plain language)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder describes worry that shows up most days, sticks around for at least six months, is hard to control, and comes with a cluster of mental and physical symptoms—like restlessness, tension, poor sleep, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. The core isn’t “being dramatic”; it’s the brain’s threat system staying switched on even when you’re safe. Clinicians look for the pattern and impact on work, relationships, and daily life to make sense of what you’re going through.
You may notice this pattern started after a run of stress or loss, or it may feel like it’s always been your baseline. That doesn’t mean it’s your fault. It does mean there are workable choices. When we talk about GAD symptoms, we’re not just naming problems—we’re identifying leverage points where small, evidence-informed steps can help your nervous system recalibrate. If you’ve wondered about the causes of generalized anxiety, think “multi-factor”: temperament and genetics, prolonged stress, beliefs about uncertainty and control, learned coping, and sometimes health or medication factors. None of these are destiny; they’re places we can intervene compassionately.
Below are five generalized anxiety symptoms that often fly under the radar—and what to do next.
1) Mental “blanking” and time-loss drift (difficulty concentrating anxiety)
People describe sitting down to write an email and… the cursor blinks back. Minutes slip by as your mind scans for what could go wrong. You’re not lazy; you’re anxious. The attentional system gets hijacked by threat-monitoring, so focus narrows to “what ifs” and monitoring your own internal state. Clinically, “difficulty concentrating or mind going blank” is part of the diagnostic picture for anxiety disorder GAD, and it’s one reason days feel both busy and unproductive.
What helps? Think anchors, not willpower. A two-minute “attention ramp” (stand up, exhale slowly for 30 seconds, jot three bullet intentions) tells your brain, “We’re safe enough to proceed.” Reduce uncertainty up front: define a “good enough” outcome and a five-line draft before editing. If a worry pulls you off task, write it on a “later list” and return to your next visible action. Over time, skills from CBT (like scheduling worry time and testing predictions) make drifting less sticky. These are the small, boring tools that quietly free a day. Evidence-based anxiety disorder treatments start exactly here—reducing avoidance, building tolerance for uncertainty, and training attention to return.
2) Irritable body, tight jaw, and odd aches (fatigue from anxiety and the tension story)
Anxiety often lives in the body: jaw clenching, shoulders up, stomach fluttering, a back that “mysteriously” seizes at 4 p.m. You might chalk this up to posture or age, yet excessive worry muscle tension worry is a classic GAD cluster. Interestingly, research finds that while heart rate or sweat responses aren’t always dramatically elevated at rest, increased skeletal muscle tension is one of the most consistent physiologic findings in people with GAD. That background tension explains why you feel wrung-out by evening, even on a “quiet” day.
Practical relief starts with noticing micro-tension. Try a 90-second jaw-neck-shoulder release each hour: soften your tongue from the roof of your mouth, unclench your jaw, lengthen exhale slightly longer than inhale, then do three slow shoulder rolls. Pair it with a thought like, “Tension is a habit my body learned; I can teach it ease.” Don’t overlook basics: hydration, movement, and pacing. If pain is significant, rule out medical causes with your primary care provider, because GAD and medical conditions can coexist. Rehabilitation-style pacing—alternating effort and recovery—often restores steadier energy faster than pushing all day and crashing.
3) The sleep paradox: exhausted but wired (sleep problems anxiety)
You’re wiped-out, yet bedtime brings a second wind of “review and rehearse.” This isn’t a personal failing; it’s a nervous system that learned to pair horizontal stillness with mental scanning. Sleep disruption is common in GAD and it feeds back into anxiety the next day—less sleep, lower stress tolerance, more sticky worry. Clinical guidance places sleep disturbance squarely within GAD’s symptom set and emphasizes building regularity first: consistent wake time, light movement and daylight in the morning, screens off a little earlier than feels convenient. When worry spikes at night, capture it with a pen beside the bed; you’re signaling, “Noted—tomorrow’s problem.”
If you’re in Calgary and nights are especially long, small steps like a pre-sleep “off-ramp” (five minutes of diaphragmatic breathing and a gentle stretch) paired with a brief, values-anchored plan for morning can help. Therapy can also layer in cognitive work around uncertainty, so your brain doesn’t treat lights-out as a cue to analyze every possible future. Think of this as reclaiming sleep, not forcing it.
4) Over-responsibility and the safety-seeking spiral
One surprising GAD pattern: carrying more responsibility than is fair—triple-checking, over-reassuring, and saying yes when no would be wiser. The logic is compassionate: you care, and over-managing feels like protection. But these GAD symptoms can become “safety behaviours” that keep your nervous system convinced danger is around every corner. Over time, they shrink life and cement avoidance.
A steadier approach is counter-intuitive: choose small, coached exposures to uncertainty. Send the email without rereading it five times. Let a loved one handle a task imperfectly. Cancel one unnecessary “just in case” step. This is the heart of CBT and related approaches for GAD—learning, on purpose, that you can tolerate uncertainty and your world won’t fall apart if you do slightly less managing. When you practice this with a skilled anxiety counsellor, you’re not being careless; you’re teaching your body-mind a new story about safety. Guideline bodies recommend graded exposure, cognitive restructuring, and skills practice as first-line care because these methods reliably reduce distress and avoidance.
5) Perfectionistic procrastination (restlessness anxiety hiding as “not ready yet”)
Many people with GAD don’t look “anxious.” You look conscientious, careful, and thoughtful—and chronically late to your own priorities. Procrastination here isn’t laziness; it’s an uncertainty filter: “I’ll start when I’m sure.” That moment never arrives, so restlessness grows, and the project gathers shame. This is a generalized anxiety symptoms pattern that improves when you aim for present-focused “good enough” and build skills for tolerating the almost-certain feeling of “unfinished.”
Try the 70% rule: define a task as “done” when it’s at 70% of your imagined ideal and hand it in (or move to the next step). Use two timers: a 10-minute “start timer” (only begin), then a 25-minute “move timer” (only move the task forward—no polishing). Notice the urge to search for more certainty; breathe, name it, and return to the step you’re in. Over time, this reduces avoidance and supports the steady outcomes you actually care about.
How clinicians make sense of it: diagnosing generalized anxiety
If you’re wondering about diagnosing generalized anxiety, clinicians don’t rely on one brief conversation. They map your history, current stressors, and symptom pattern over time and check for the GAD diagnosis criteria described in the DSM-5-TR: persistent and excessive worry most days for six or more months; difficulty controlling the worry; three or more associated symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, muscle tension, or disturbed sleep; and meaningful impact on daily life. They also consider other conditions that could look similar (thyroid issues, ADHD, depression, panic disorder) to ensure a good fit for support.
For many, naming the pattern brings relief: “It’s not just me—this is a known syndrome with known ways forward.” In Calgary, non-urgent system navigation help is available through Alberta Health Services’ Access Mental Health, which can point you to community and clinic options.
What actually helps: evidence-informed steps and Anxiety disorder treatments
The strongest evidence for GAD supports structured psychotherapy—especially CBT and CBT-informed approaches that combine cognitive change with behavioural experiments and skills practice. These therapies teach you to relate differently to worry, reduce unhelpful safety behaviours, and deliberately rebuild a life that includes uncertainty. National guideline bodies recommend stepped care: self-help and low-intensity interventions for milder cases, and higher-intensity therapy (and sometimes medication, coordinated with your physician) for moderate to severe symptoms. Many people benefit from integrating skills from DBT (for emotion regulation) and parts-based work like IFS to address the inner-critic and stress-shame loops that keep worry sticky.
Because anxiety and depression commonly travel together, your plan may also include behavioral activation (re-introducing meaningful activity) and sleep interventions. Research in psychiatry has repeatedly shown that comorbidity is the rule, not the exception—treating both sides of the loop often changes the whole trajectory. If you’ve been searching for the best counselling for anxiety, think fit over flash: the “best” is the approach you’ll practice between sessions with a clinician you trust.
If you’d like to begin with a human, low-pressure conversation about next steps—whether that’s therapy for anxiety now or simply understanding your options—our team is glad to talk.
Are you worried about depression, too?
Anxiety and depression frequently coexist. You might feel keyed-up and drained at the same time, or find that worry and low mood trade places over a week. That doesn’t mean you’re “too complicated”; it means your brain is doing its best to manage threat and energy with the tools it has.
For deeper dives on the depression side, explore these companion pieces:
Symptoms of Depression: 10 Signs and Evidence-Based Treatments — a clear map of signs, why they happen, and first steps that help (read the overview).
Silent Signs of High-Functioning Depression at Work — how to spot subtle patterns that look “fine” on the outside but feel heavy inside (spot the signs).
Why Bad News Hooks Your Brain: Doomscrolling and Depression — how feeds affect sleep and mood, plus small steps to reclaim both (learn the loop).
Breaking the Loop: Anxiety and Depression Treatment — how the two conditions reinforce each other and what to try first (break the loop).
Next steps if this sounds like you
You don’t have to white-knuckle this alone. If phrases like sleep problems anxiety, restlessness anxiety, or difficulty concentrating anxiety describe your days, that’s already valuable information. You’re allowed to ask for help—whether that’s an anxiety therapist for a short skills burst or a longer course of anxiety therapy Calgary focused on steadier structure and care. If you’ve been wondering about GAD symptoms, generalized anxiety disorder, or the causes of generalized anxiety, a clinician can help you sort signal from noise and plan a right-sized next step. When you’re ready, the door is open.
Clinic Info
Compassionate Central: Counselling & Therapy 5940 Macleod Trail SW, Suite #500, Calgary, AB T2H 2G4
Phone: (587) 328-7732 Booking portal: Directions & Appointments Services: Depression Therapy, Anxiety Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for adults; in-person sessions. Sliding-scale spots released periodically. Accessibility: Elevator access; on-site parking; transit-friendly. Learn more about our Calgary Counselling & Therapy Services
Ready to talk?
Book a free 20-minute phone consultation to ask questions, map a first step, and decide if we’re a fit: Schedule your call.
References (selected)
StatPearls — Generalized Anxiety Disorder (DSM-5/DSM-5-TR overview)
NICE Guideline — Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults: Management
AAFP — Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder in Adults (2022 review)
JAMA Psychiatry — Somatic Symptoms and Physiologic Responses in Generalized Anxiety Disorder
American Journal of Psychiatry — The Critical Relationship Between Anxiety and Depression
Alberta/Calgary resource:
FAQ
What is GAD, in simple terms?
It’s a pattern of frequent, hard-to-control worry that shows up most days for at least six months and affects how you sleep, focus, and function. Clinicians also look for symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, muscle tension, or disturbed sleep.
How is GAD diagnosed?
A licensed clinician or physician uses a clinical interview (and sometimes questionnaires) to check for DSM-5-TR criteria, rule out medical causes, and understand impact on your daily life before making a diagnosis.
What are the GAD symptoms people often miss?
Mental blanking, jaw/neck tension and unexplained aches, wired-but-tired sleep, over-responsibility/safety-seeking, and perfectionistic procrastination—alongside the more familiar worry.
What treatments work best?
CBT is the best-studied option; stepped-care approaches add or intensify therapy (and sometimes medication via your physician) based on severity. Skills from DBT or parts-based work (IFS) can complement CBT for many adults.
Can anxiety and depression happen together?
Yes—often. Treating both sides of the loop (worry patterns and low-mood patterns) improves outcomes and reduces relapse risk.
Do I need medication?
Many people improve with therapy alone; others benefit from adding medication in consultation with a physician. A clinician can help you weigh options based on your goals and symptom profile.
Author
If you’re in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, call 911. In Canada you can call or text 9-8-8 anytime. In Calgary, the Distress Centre offers 24/7 support at 403-266-4357 or via chat/text at distresscentre.com.
