Have you ever noticed how your heart starts racing or your hands start to sweat right before you have a big presentation? That’s an example of your sympathetic nervous system going into overdrive, aka your fight or flight system at its misguided finest. We have known for God knows how long that emotions, such as anxiety, can produce physical symptoms. So in this article, I will discuss the 9 distressing ways that anxiety manifests in the body.
The 9 ways anxiety manifests in the body are rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, dizziness, digestive issues, sweating, trembling, fatigue or insomnia, muscle tension/aches, and headaches.
Admittedly, there are so many ways that anxiety can appear in the body as we are all different, but these symptoms are the most common that I have read in the literature and seen as a physician. And a number of patients with anxiety are actually suffering from psychosomatic illness.
What is psychosomatic illness?
Psychosomatic illness is a chronic dysfunction (>6 months ) in mind-body connection such that mental illness may trigger or worsen physical ailments. The typical scenario is a patient comes in with a health concern, such as chronic abdominal pain. An extensive work-up is performed, including an in-depth physical exam, labs, imaging, and referrals if necessary. Despite the medical team’s best effort, no medical explanation is found to explain the patient’s concern. So the patient has to manage their symptoms and hope the problem disappears over time.
People with [psychosomatic illness] may have excessive thoughts, feelings, or concerns about the symptoms – which affect their ability to function well.
The Cleveland Clinic
People with psychosomatic illness are caught in a cycle of feeling anxious about their body and having anxiety worsen their physical health. And the pain they feel is real. It’s an exhausting experience.
So if you have anxiety and have developed persistent symptoms, know that it’s not all in your head.
Who is At-Risk of Developing Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
- Adults with a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as childhood neglect.
- Individuals with alexithymia, or difficulty experiencing, identifying and expressing emotions.
- Individuals with a hectic lifestyle
- People with aType A personality
- People with a history of sexual trauma.
- Someone with a history of mood disorders, i.e. depression, or personality disorders
- Someone who misuse substances, including alcohol.
- Unemployed individuals
The 9 Distressing Ways Anxiety Shows Up in the Body
Anxiety shows up in the body in 9 ways (Click to expand):
>Rapid Heartbeat
Anxiety can activate the fight or flight response, which increases the heart rate. Your heart may feel like it is racing or pounding out of your chest, which only adds to the apprehension you feel. Sometimes, you may experience palpitations, which is when your heartbeat becomes irregular.
>Rapid Breathing
Your breathing rate increases when you are anxious due to the complex fight or flight response. Ironically, rapid breathing can make you feel short of breath. When this happens, you have to be intentional about trying to slow down your breathing to a normal rate.
>Dizziness/Lightheadedness
Anxiety can cause dizziness or lightheadedness due to rapid breathing. This reduces the levels of carbon dioxide in your blood, which can make you feel like you are going to faint. This may also cause symptoms of nausea or tingling in your hands and feet.
>Digestive Issues
Anxiety causes your body to redirect resources away from digestion, which causes digestive issues like nausea, dyspepsia, diarrhea and constipation. In addition, chronic chemical and hormonal disruption to the mind-gut connection can affect the microorganisms in the gut who aid in digestion. This is one possible cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
>Sweating
Anxiety causes sweating through stress hormones like adrenaline released by the sympathetic nervous system.
>Trembling
Anxiety causes trembling through stress hormones released in fight or flight system. You are shaking because your muscles have been prepared to respond to a threat.
>Fatigue or Insomnia
Anxiety causes fatigue as the mind is on overdrive, using up resources that were reserved for emergency situations. That’s exhausting not only for the mind, but also for the body. And because you are in this excited state, it can be difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep at night. Unfortunately, lack of sleep on worsens your feelings of exhaustion and your anxiety!
>Muscle tension/ache
Anxiety causes muscle tension in the body, which can lead to pain. Most commonly, people report back pain. What’s important to know is that muscle tension can cause anxiety too! So if you feel tension in the body, stretch or massage that area, and you will feel much better.
>Headaches
The same muscle tension that caused back pain, can also affect the scalp, neck and shoulder muscles. This triggers tension headaches, a band like pain around the head that is typically mild to moderate intensity. Some individuals with a predisposition to migraines, may experience increased migraines instead.
Not only are you dealing with this headache, you may also find that your ability to handle complex material is hindered at this time. Definitely, try not to make major decisions when you are extremely anxious or you may find that you didn’t think it all the way through.
How Do You Stop Anxiety Symptoms
You can stop anxiety symptoms through consistent practice of relaxation techniques, exercise, and cognitive behavioral techniques (CBT) combined with wellness behavioral techniques (WBT).
First and foremost, practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation can help calm the mind and body. Once you have developed good relaxation skills, you should increase your weekly physical activity.
While relaxation strategies help calm the mind, engaging in regular physical activity helps clear it. Consider it maintenance to keep the worrisome thoughts at bay. It also provides you with a physical way to remove your stressors so that it does not show itself in tight muscles or an upset stomach.
Other tips include improving your diet and sleep routine. Take a close look at your diet and make changes that will help keep you grounded, such as eating more leafy greens. Start going to sleep 1 hour earlier if you have difficulty falling asleep, that way you stand a better chance of getting 7 to 9 hours a night.
And finally, know when to get help. If you are getting angry or depressed about your situation such that it is interfering with your school, work, or your relationships, it’s time to ask for help. CBT is first line for anxiety because it helps reframe the way you think about problems in your life. WBT is a newer method that focuses on emphasizing what is keeping you well in your life. So it’s a more positive approach in my opinion. WBT has been shown to speed up results when combined with CBT and even reduces your risk of recurrent mental illness.
Ultimately, finding the right combination of strategies tailored to your needs and preferences is key in effectively managing and alleviating anxiety symptoms.
In Summary
Anxiety symptoms can have distressing effects on the body. So no, you are not going crazy. You did the right thing to get an extensive medical work up. That is step #1. Now what’s crazy is trying to address the symptoms rather than the root cause of the problem.
I know you are irritated that you have been to numerous doctors without feeling significantly better. It’s depressing to feel like your body has let you down. I became a coach in order to provide the support you need to figure out the strategies that will work for you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me!
