What Anxiety makes us do ? The Behavioral Changes 

“Anxiety doesn’t always shout; sometimes it whispers through restless habits and subtle behaviors.” - Unknown

Ever catch yourself shaking your leg under the table or playing with your hair during a meeting? Or maybe you’ve been in a conversation and found yourself chatting nonstop, just to fill the silence. Sound familiar? You might think it’s just restlessness, but what if I told you these behaviors could actually be signs of anxiety sneaking into your day-to-day life?

Physical Tension: Your Shoulders Know It First

It’s wild how anxiety can show up in ways we don’t even recognize. Take physical tension, for example. Have you ever checked in with your body after a long day and realized your shoulders are practically glued to your ears? Or your neck feels stiff? It’s like your body is bracing for something bad to happen, except nothing is really going on. Anxiety loves to make itself known through tension in the neck, shoulders, or even your abdomen. Have you noticed that before? It’s crazy how stress can just sit there, unnoticed, until you suddenly feel it. 

Checkout this interesting video where Dr. Varma explains High-Functioning Anxiety and its symptoms: High Functioning Anxiety

Fidgeting and Nervous Chatter: Your Body’s Nervous Energy

Have you ever caught yourself cracking your knuckles, twiddling your fingers, or bouncing your leg up and down under the table? It's like your body is full of nervous energy, and it has to do something with it. Do you ever think, “Why am I doing this?” without even realizing it’s anxiety in action?

Then there's talking—a lot of talking. Do you ever find yourself filling every silence, rambling on, even when you don’t have much to say? That nervous chatter is a classic anxiety move. It's like your brain can’t handle the quiet, so it floods the space with words. Ever notice how you feel mentally drained after? Like you just ran a verbal marathon and didn’t even realize it until you’ve stopped.

Watch this short video of a 17-year-old who’s been dealing with anxiety for five years, where she shares her experiences : Living with Anxiety

Overcommitting: Saying Yes to Everything

How about overcommitting? Have you ever said yes to something you really didn’t have time for, just because you didn’t want to let someone down? Anxiety has a way of making us feel like we can’t say no. So, you keep adding to your plate, and suddenly, you’re juggling a million things. Does that sound familiar? It’s like, “Sure, I can do it!” but internally, you’re already freaking out about how you’ll manage it all.

Compulsion to Stay Busy

Do you ever feel like you need to stay busy, even when you’re tired or don’t have much to do? That compulsion to keep going is often anxiety at work. You feel like if you stop for a second, your thoughts might catch up with you, or you’ll feel like you're falling behind. Staying busy becomes your safety net—a way to avoid facing stress or worry. It’s not even about being productive at this point; it's just about keeping your mind occupied. It's a tricky cycle, because the more you stay busy, the more you avoid dealing with what’s really bothering you.

Sleepless Nights: When the Brain Won’t Shut Off

You’ve probably had those nights where you’re exhausted, but the minute your head hits the pillow, your brain decides it’s time to kick into high gear. Racing thoughts, worries about the future, or replaying something that happened during the day—before you know it, it’s 3 a.m., and you’re wide awake. Ever have nights like that? It’s like your brain is running a marathon while your body begs for rest.

Harvard Medical School suggests “sleep hygiene” routines to manage sleep cycles during anxiety phases.

Creeping Burnout

Burnout is what happens when anxiety slowly pushes you into a state of constant exhaustion. It’s not just about feeling stressed or overwhelmed; your body starts to operate in a fight-or-flight mode. This survival instinct, meant for short bursts of action, becomes a permanent state, keeping you alert and tense even when there’s no immediate threat. Over time, it wears down your mental and physical energy. You keep going, taking on more tasks, pushing through, but the more you do, the more burned out you feel.

Decision Fatigue

When anxiety takes over, even simple decisions can feel monumental. Decision fatigue sets in as your brain gets overwhelmed by choices, both big and small. What to wear, what to eat, how to respond to a message—it all becomes mentally exhausting. Anxiety turns these everyday decisions into stressful moments because it convinces you that the wrong choice will lead to bad outcomes. The pressure builds up until you feel paralyzed, drained by the sheer volume of decisions you have to make. It’s like your brain can’t handle the constant weight of responsibility, leaving you feeling stuck and indecisive.

References 

1. Impact of remaining constantly busy
2. Sleep hygiene
3. Living with anxiety
4. High functioning anxiety