Common Anxiety Triggers and Ways to Cope With Them

1. Excessive Caffeine Use

Overuse of caffeine is one of the most common anxiety triggers, and it’s not surprising. Given the amount of stress people deal with, it’s understandable that they rely on coffee to keep up.

Sometimes that extra cup of coffee or energy drink feels like a lifesaver, but it can backfire by making your heart race and your mind buzz too much.

If you notice jitters, racing thoughts, or trouble falling asleep after a late-day latte, that’s caffeine acting as an anxiety trigger.

So, how can you overcome one of the common anxiety triggers?

Try swapping a cup of coffee for herbal tea or water, especially in the afternoon or evening.

2. Work-Related Stress

When deadlines are tight and your inbox never empties, it’s easy to feel like you’re always on the clock. This constant push to perform can heighten your stress levels and leave you mentally drained.

This is what makes work one of the most common anxiety triggers.

In my experience, taking short breaks and breaking big tasks into smaller steps really helps manage your work and feel less anxious.

3. Financial Concerns

Worrying about rent, bills, or unexpected expenses can send your mind spiraling, imagining worst-case scenarios. That’s why financial concerns are one of the common anxiety triggers and the biggest causes of anxiety.

We recommend tracking expenses and creating a monthly budget to feel more in control of your finances. Though it’s one of the common causes, it can be easily overcome with some planning.

4. Major Life Changes

Whether it’s moving to a new city, starting a new job, or ending a relationship, big transitions shake up your routine and your sense of security. These shifts can feel exciting and terrifying at once, making them common anxiety triggers.

Here’s a list of major life changes that could act as common anxiety triggers.

So, what can you do to avoid these common causes of anxiety?

Give yourself permission to feel all the feels, excitement, sadness, relief, in your own time. Reach out to a friend for a chat or schedule a weekly check-in with someone you trust to share how you’re adapting.

These simple steps will help you feel less overwhelmed, which will help reduce anxiety.

5. Hectic Schedule

When your days are so full you barely catch your breath, it’s easy to hit burnout. It’s one of the modern problems causing anxiety and one of the common anxiety triggers for working professionals.

Racing from task to task without a pause keeps your stress levels high and your mind on overdrive.

To avoid this trigger, prioritize tasks and plan your day instead of being bogged down by tasks as they come. Also, take breaks and practice mindfulness and meditation practices to stay calm, even when you have to deal with a lot of work.

6. News and Social Media

This is another one of the modern problems causing anxiety, and that’s why we felt it was important to list it on our list of common anxiety triggers.

Scrolling headlines and updates around the clock can fuel worry about things you can’t control. While it’s important to stay informed, it should not be at the cost of your mental health.

We seriously request that you avoid channels that sensationalize news, as that could be one of the causes of anxiety for you. Also, set time limits on social media use and unfollow accounts that post triggering content.

7. Substance Use

Talking about modern problems causing anxiety, we have another one: substance use.

Grabbing a drink or other substances to “take the edge off” may seem helpful, but they are common causes of anxiety. The temporary calm often gives way to a bigger spike in worry later.

We’re not saying you should quit drinking altogether. Instead, reduce both the frequency and quantity to moderate your consumption. Also, avoid drugs or harmful substances altogether.

8. Health Issues

Living with ongoing health concerns or pain can keep your mind on alert, bracing for the next flare-up. Worry about symptoms and treatments ranks high among common anxiety triggers.

Talking to a therapist can help you cope with the emotional stress of your diagnosis and help with anxiety recovery.

9. Phobia Related to Everyday Tasks

Sometimes even simple tasks can lead to a full-blown anxiety attack. Constantly worrying that something might scare you, can make you want to avoid everything just in case.

For example, people with driving anxiety (Amaxophobia) get nervous about traffic and losing control or causing harm.

At times, phobias like phobophobia (the fear of being afraid) and autophobia (the intense fear of being alone—not just feeling a little lonely, but genuinely panicking at the thought of having no one around) can make you anxious and trigger anxiety.

These phobias can sneak into everyday life and make the simplest things feel impossible.

10. Social Gatherings

Even fun events can stir up worry about fitting in, saying the right thing, or just feeling “on” all the time. If you can relate, you probably suffer from social anxiety.

The thing is, you’re not alone. It’s a common type of anxiety disorder, making social events one of the most common anxiety triggers.

You can plan a start-and-end time for gatherings and step outside for a breather to deal with social anxiety.  Here are some treatment options for social anxiety disorder that you can also consider.

11. Conflict

Whether it’s a tense conversation with a partner or a disagreement at work, conflict is one of the common anxiety triggers for many.

It often brings up fear of rejection, being misunderstood, or losing a relationship, which can make your heart race even if the argument is small.

One thing that could help you is pausing before you react. Mastering breathing exercises and grounding techniques can also help you calm yourself in tense situations.

12. General Stress

Sometimes there isn’t one big thing causing anxiety, just a pile of little things that add up. Stress is quite prevalent today and is one of the common anxiety triggers that can make everything harder than it is.

Working with a therapist or making lifestyle changes can help you reduce stress over time.

You can also try less common, but effective methods like naturopathic treatments and hypnotherapy to deal with general anxiety caused due to stress.

13. Public Speaking

Getting up in front of a crowd, even a small one, can send your nerves into overdrive. Fear of messing up or being judged makes public speaking one of the most common anxiety triggers out there.

Practice helps, but so does reframing the situation. Remind yourself that you’re just sharing an idea, not performing for perfection. A deep breath before starting and making eye contact with one friendly face in the room helps calm the nerves.

14. Past Trauma

Old emotional wounds, especially unprocessed ones, can quietly shape how we react to stress. All of us have gone through something stressful or traumatic when we were younger, which is why it’s one of the common anxiety triggers for us today.

Even small triggers can bring up big feelings when trauma is involved. After all, the body keeps the score even if you consciously repress your traumatic memories.

We’ve found that talking to a trusted therapist or journaling about past experiences can help make sense of those reactions. Healing doesn’t mean forgetting; it means learning how to feel safe again.

15. Medications

Some medications, especially those that affect the nervous system, can cause side effects like jitteriness, racing thoughts, or sleep trouble. These physical symptoms often become common anxiety triggers on their own.

If something feels off after starting a new med, talk to your doctor right away to adjust the dose or switch to something else.

16. Negative Thinking

Getting stuck in a loop of "what ifs" or expecting the worst can seriously fuel anxiety. Many cognitive distortions lead us to think negatively about every situation.

Also, overthinking can worsen anxiety, especially if you tend to enter negative thought loops. Such negative thought loops become common anxiety triggers, which can leave you anxious and may even cause panic attacks.

Cognitive behavioral therapy and thought reframing are two powerful ways ot overcome this.

17. Loneliness or Isolation

Sometimes, the loneliest moments happen when we’re not alone—especially when love is involved.

Love can stir up a lot of anxiety. You might find yourself constantly overthinking: Do they really care? Am I too much? What if they leave? Thus, it's important to understand the relation between love and anxiety to decipher that what you’re feeling is love or just anxious thoughts.

It’s that tug-of-war between fearing rejection and loving that can leave you feeling isolated, even in a relationship.

18. Environmental Factors

Loud noises, strong smells, crowded places, or even bad lighting can wear you down without you realizing it. Many environmental factors can act as common anxiety triggers and causes of anxiety for you.

If you ever get anxious without an apparent cause, assess your environment and identify the things that can be common causes of anxiety for you.

Here are some environmental factors that are known to be common causes of anxiety.