Unexpected Habits That Are Actually Caused By Anxiety। These are some anxiety trigger behaviour|Psychologist Talk| Dr Manju Antil| Wellnessnetic Care ~ Dr Manju Antil (Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist)

Ignoring yourself and not taking care of your personal needs can be an anxiety trigger. Whether you're not showering regularly, skipping meals, staying up too late, or not reaching the physician purposely, it's crucial to evaluate these behaviors and work to take better care of yourself.

Some common habits are caused by anxiety.

Biting your nails. Mom always told you that biting your nails makes your hands ugly. ...
Chewing on pencils. ...
Chewing gum. ...
Pulling or twisting your hair. ...
Licking your lips. ...
Cracking your knuckles. ...

Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB)

These include skin-picking, nail-biting, hair-pulling, nose-picking, lip-biting, and so on.

Peeing excessively

i.e. even when there is nothing/little pee inside your bladder just force it out and empty it

Lying to people

e.g. friends, family, teachers, and doctors to cover up your anxiety or avoid uncomfortable Situations

Mind-Reading

Hyper-fixating on someone's words or gestures to try and read their thoughts and emotions especially when we feel like we did/said something wrong, often concluding that they are judging or annoyed by us which isn't true.

Being hyper-aware of your bodily sensations

(heartbeat, breathing, temperature, peeing/pooing, muscle tension, and so on)

Drowning your anxiety in meaningless activities e.g. endless scrolling on social media, binge/emotional eating, excessive shopping, smoking, alcohol or other drug use

Predicting and Rehearsing

Trying to predict the events of the day or what someone will say, creating elaborate branching plans when this or that happens but shutting down when it inevitably goes wrong

Procrastination

When we want to do something and come up with ideas for it but put it off or fail to do it completely. We usually think of procrastination as laziness, but it is an issue with dealing with difficult emotions including anxiety.

Anxiety, stress, and discomfort are extremely good friends, and the feeling of discomfort often leads to you doing these limiting behaviors to reduce anxiety....which creates a cycle.

To break out of this cycle, you have to accept this discomfort instead of trying to suppress it, refocus your attention on your task at hand, and replace these with healthier behaviors even if they are uncomfortable at first.