Many factors, like financial concerns or dealing with conflict, can trigger anxiety symptoms. Being aware of the cause can help you cope with stressors and manage your anxiety.
Anxiety can cause feelings of worry, fear, or tension. For some people, anxiety can also cause panic attacks and physical symptoms, like chest pain or shortness of breath.
What causes anxiety and anxiety disorders can be complicated. It’s likely that a combination of factors, including genetics and environmental reasons, play a role.
But it’s clear that some events, emotions, or experiences may trigger symptoms of anxiety to begin or may make them worse. These are called triggers.
Keep reading to learn about these anxiety triggers and what you can do to manage your anxiety.
Identifying your triggers is an important step in managing them. Anxiety triggers can be different for each person, but many are common among people who experience anxiety.
1. Health issues
A health diagnosis that’s upsetting or difficult, such as cancer or a chronic illness, may cause or worsen symptoms of anxiety. This is a powerful trigger because of the immediate and personal feelings it produces.
You can help reduce anxiety caused by health issues by being proactive and engaging with a doctor. Talking with a therapist may also be useful, as they can help you learn to cope with your emotions around your diagnosis.
2. Medications
Certain prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications may trigger anxiety. That’s because active ingredients in these medications may have side effects that cause your body to respond with certain symptoms of anxiety.
Those feelings can set off a series of events in your mind and body that may lead to even more anxiety symptoms.
Medications that could cause anxiety include:
Talk with a doctor about how these medications make you feel. They can help you find alternative options that may not lead to symptoms of anxiety.
3. Caffeine
Many people rely on their morning cup of joe to wake up, but it might actually trigger or worsen anxiety.
According to a 2022 research review, drinking about five cups of coffee increases anxiety and induces panic attacks in people with panic disorder.
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You can cut back on your caffeine intake by substituting noncaffeinated options whenever possible.
4. Skipping meals
When you don’t eat, your blood sugar may drop. This can lead to shaky hands and a rumbling tummy.
Eating balanced meals is important for many reasons. Nutritious foods provide you with energy and important nutrients. Plus, they keep those hands from shaking.
If you can’t make time for three meals a day, healthy snacks are a great way to prevent:
- low blood sugar
- feelings of nervousness
- agitation or irritability
- symptoms of anxiety
5. Negative thinking
Your mind can impact how your body feels, and that’s certainly true with anxiety. When you’re upset or frustrated, the words you say to yourself can trigger greater feelings of anxiety.
If you tend to use a lot of negative words when thinking about yourself, you can learn to refocus your language and feelings when you start down this path. Working with a therapist can be incredibly helpful.
6. Financial concerns
Worries about saving money or having debt can trigger anxiety. Unexpected bills or money fears are triggers, too.
Learning to manage these types of triggers may require seeking professional help, such as from a financial advisor. When you feel like you have a companion or guide in the process, it can ease some of your concerns.
7. Parties or social events
If a room full of strangers doesn’t sound like fun, you’re not alone.
Events that require you to make small talk or interact with people you don’t know can trigger feelings of anxiety, which could be a symptom of social anxiety disorder.
When possible, bring along a companion to help ease your worries or unease. But it’s also important to work with a professional to find coping mechanisms that make these events more manageable in the long term.
8. Conflict
Relationship problems, arguments, disagreements — these conflicts can all trigger or worsen anxiety. If conflict particularly triggers you, you may need to learn conflict resolution strategies.
Consider talking with a mental health professional to learn how to manage the feelings these conflicts cause. If you’re in conflict with a friend or partner, you may be able to go to a counselor together.
9. Stress
Daily stressors like traffic jams or missing your train can trigger symptoms of anxiety. Long-term or chronic stress can even contribute to a person developing an anxiety disorder or worsening symptoms.
Stress can also lead to behaviors which may trigger or worsen symptoms of anxiety like:
- skipping meals
- drinking alcohol
- not getting enough sleep
Treating and preventing stress often requires learning coping mechanisms. A therapist or counselor can help you learn to recognize your sources of stress and handle them when they become overwhelming or problematic.
10. Public events or performances
Common triggers of anxiety include:
- public speaking
- talking in front of your boss
- performing in a competition
- reading aloud in front of others
If your job or hobbies require this, a doctor or therapist can work with you to explore ways to be more comfortable in these settings.
Also, positive reinforcements from friends and colleagues can help you feel more comfortable and confident.
11. Personal triggers
These triggers may be difficult to identify, but a mental health specialist is trained to help you identify them. These may begin with a smell, a place, or even a song. Personal triggers remind you — either consciously or unconsciously — of a bad memory or traumatic event in your life.
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently experience anxiety triggers from their environment.
Identifying personal triggers may take time, but it’s important so you can learn to overcome them.
If you can identify and understand your triggers, you can learn specific coping strategies to handle them when they happen.
Here are three tips for identifying triggers:
- Start a journal: Write down when your anxiety is noticeable, and record what you think might have led to the trigger. Some apps can help you track your anxiety symptoms, too.
- Work with a therapist: Some anxiety triggers can be difficult to identify, but a mental health specialist has training that can help you. They may use talk therapy, journaling, or other methods to find triggers.
- Be honest with yourself: Anxiety can cause unhelpful thoughts and negative self-assessments. This can make identifying triggers difficult because of anxious reactions. Be patient with yourself, and be willing to explore things in your past to identify how they may affect you today.
Although you may sometimes feel anxious for apparently no reason, there is usually an underlying cause. That trigger just might be beyond your awareness at the moment.
If you constantly feel anxious without knowing why, this is a symptom of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) associated with free-floating anxiety. In addition to the triggers listed above, the following factors may also contribute to your symptoms:
- Genetics: Anxiety disorders may be hereditary. If someone in your family has an anxiety disorder, you have a higher chance of having one, too.
- Brain functioning: A 2021 brain imaging study suggests that people with GAD usually have denser neurons in some areas of their brains and fewer in other areas. This can affect how you process fear and regulate your emotions.
- Co-occurring health conditions: Some medical conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, COPD, and diabetes, may be
associated with anxiety.
If you’re feeling anxious but don’t know why, talking with a therapist may help determine possible risk factors.
Anxiety disorders are highly treatable mental health conditions. However, many people with anxiety don’t seek treatment.
If your anxiety is affecting your daily life, consider seeking help. You may start by talking with a doctor about your symptoms and health history. They can also do a physical exam.
From there, your doctor may choose to treat you with medication or refer you to a mental health specialist. A mental health specialist can help you find a treatment plan that eases your symptoms, and they can help reduce your response to triggers.
If you believe you worry too much or suspect you have an anxiety disorder, you’re not alone. Recognizing anxiety is often difficult but support is available to help you during this time.
