Anxiety affects our emotions, thoughts and bodies. If you've been dealing with anxiety for a long time, you've probably noticed that your anxiety can leave you feeling like you’re just not yourself anymore. You may be a bit more agitated and/or restless; and you may find yourself quicker to experience annoyance or other negative emotions. This is all a part of anxiety.

For example, a person with anxiety may find that they are frustrated with their partner and more prone to lashing out. They may get annoyed when someone tries to help them even though the help is kind and justified. They may become resentful without too much provocation. At times these emotions may be strong enough to erupt into fully-expressed anger. At other times, this may just be a matter of low level agitation that makes you more prone to experience unpleasant mood states.

Difference Between Agitation and Anxiety

There are ways in which anxiety and agitation are similar. Both cause tension. Both put a person in a more heightened state of arousal. Both make people irritable. Both can also cause the other, where agitation can make someone anxious and anxiety can make someone easily agitated.

But the difference lies in the primary symptoms. A person that is agitated is quick to frustration or anger, often feeling bothered. A person with anxiety tends to have more of a fear response first, with symptoms like nervous energy, rapid heartbeat, and sweating. Their agitation then stems from the discomfort of those experiences.

Negative Emotions Are a Part of Anxiety

People think of anxiety as its own emotion. But in reality, it would be more accurate to say that anxiety is a state of being which can manifest in our thoughts, behaviors, physical sensations and emotions. In other words, anxiety is a psychological disorder - one which often causes a host of other symptoms that may seem unrelated.

There are many different reasons to explain the link between anxiety, agitation, and other negative feelings. Some include:

• Nervous Energy At their core, agitation and restlessness are linked to nervousness and the impact that anxiety has on your body. For example, anxiety provides a constant flow of adrenaline in your system. This adrenaline puts your entire body on edge because it's preparing you for "fight or flight" - an evolutionary system designed to keep you safe in times of danger. Of course, people with anxiety often experience this in the absence of any real threat, so that energy goes unused, and this leads to a feeling of being very agitated.
• Negative Tendencies Not all agitation is physical. Anxiety has a tendency to cause the mind to notice and focus on the things that are negative. Research1 has shown that anxiety is actually linked to changes in brain chemistry and electrical activity, making it less likely that you’ll be able to view situations in a positive light. During periods of high anxiety - especially during or right before an anxiety attack - anything that may bother you becomes amplified, and you start to feel as though the world is a bit overwhelming.
• Anxiety-Related Fatigue Finally, many people become more restless and on edge simply because they're tired of the anxiety. Dealing with anxiety every day can often be very troubling, taxing your resources for coping. Eventually, you may find yourself feeling annoyed at yourself and your anxiety every time it happens. This, too, can cause agitation, and in some cases negative emotions may even cause you to lash out at those around you.

Agitation can be defined in many different ways and when it comes to anxiety, agitation can manifest in varying forms. It's not as simple as saying that your fight/flight system causes agitation or that you're agitated because you're irritated with your anxiety symptoms. There are so many things going on every time you're dealing with anxiety that all of them come together and create that restless feeling.