Anxiety: 11 ways it manifests itself in our body

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The physical symptoms of anxiety can be confused with an illness. However, behind the persistent headache, insomnia or back discomfort there is usually this psychological condition.

The physical symptoms of anxiety are a clear example of how body and mind can orchestrate a clearly painful direct link. Headaches that don’t stop, insomnia, palpitations, that distressing knot in the stomach… Emotions, worries and constant hyperarousal have their harsh impact on the body.

Anxiety is the vertigo that life produces in us, said Søren Kierkegaard. The truth is that it is like this, our reality, the environments in which we move and the way in which we interpret what happens to us keep us on alert.

It doesn’t matter that we have been living with anxiety for thousands of years and making it our basic survival mechanism. Sometimes, It is she who controls us and not the other way around.

Sometimes, instead of acting for our benefit, giving us the motivation and activation necessary to respond to the demands around us, it emerges as our worst enemy. In those cases in which this psychological condition becomes a (bad) life partner, the physiological changes are very striking.

We analyze them below.

Physical symptoms of anxiety that you should know

One of the reasons that most motivates visits to primary care centers is anxiety. This psychological disorder may be camouflaged with back pain that does not go away with paracetamol. Also with that headache that does not respond to drugs or that tachycardia that does not actually hide any cardiac problem behind it no matter how many tests they do.

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In this way, studies such as those carried out in the department of psychiatry at the University of Arizona show us that despite The high prevalence of this problem continues to be one of the most neglected psychological conditions. Not only is it not detected early, but in the long term it also has a high cost to health.

Untreated anxiety can lead to depression, eating disorders (ED), a greater tendency towards addictions or developing a long-term illness. It is therefore decisive to be attentive to the characteristics and especially the physical symptoms of anxiety. We analyze them.

1. Constant fatigue

What causes this persistent fatigue when we have anxiety? This is one of the most common symptoms and the ones that worry the most. The truth is that it is important to remember that This psychological state aims to put us on alert. Activate ourselves to react and act in the face of a real or imaginary threat.

Hormones such as cortisol generate a series of physiological responses to enable the body to trigger two responses: attack or flight.

This general hyperactivation maintained over time It represents an excessive waste of energy for the body and from there, the fatigue, the pain…

2. Disturbed sleep

One of the most debilitating physical symptoms of anxiety is related to sleep disturbances. We’re not just talking about insomnia.

Generally, this psychological condition is linked to many more characteristics: problems sleeping, nighttime awakenings, palpitations in the middle of the night, sweating and often even daytime sleepiness.

3. Sudden dizziness

Dizziness due to anxiety or psychogenic vertigo They are another recurring dimension in the person who suffers from this condition.

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The origin of this annoying alteration is often in hyperventilation, that is, in that faster breathing than necessary that ends up altering the level of oxygen in the blood.

4. Palpitations that take away our breath

Continued anxiety, which is not managed and becomes chronic, has serious effects. One of them is palpitations due to the presence of hormones that accelerate the heart, altering heart rhythms.

On the other hand, arrhythmias and tachycardias are effects that should be controlled with the doctor to rule out possible diseases.

5. Physical symptoms of anxiety: annoying back pain

It is a classic. Back pain is rarely absent among the physical symptoms of anxiety. The persistent tension associated with this psychological state tends to strain not only the back, but also the shoulders, the neck, the shoulders, the arms…

Muscle contractures are usually common in these circumstances.

6. Chest pain

Have you ever had chest pain due to anxiety? When this alteration appears, many people go to the doctor to rule out a heart problem.

Generally, the reason for this worrying symptomatology lies in the high level of adrenaline and cortisol, something that at a physiological level produces excessive activation of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system. Hence the tachycardia, the feeling of suffocation, the pressure in the heart…

7. Tremors

The hormones released by the brain in situations of stress and anxiety can cause this effect. The muscles become excessively tense and it is very easy for us to feel tremors in our hands. in the stomach or even in the eyelids (the classic eye twitch).

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8. Stomach pain

Cramping, feeling of emptiness, burning, poor digestion and even vomiting… Alterations in the digestive system are another of the most common and debilitating physical symptoms of anxiety on a daily basis.

9. Cramps and tingling

On average, cramps and tingling are due to low concentrations of electrolytes, such as potassium, magnesium or calcium in the blood. However, anxiety disorders also generate these symptoms in many people.

10. The headache

Tension headaches associated with anxiety disorders are usually a reason for a medical visit. They are also very disabling clinical realities.

Thus, when a patient does not experience improvement with classic pharmacological treatments (and there are no organic health problems) it is always appropriate to evaluate a psychological problem.

11. Sweating

Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating is a problem that many people suffer from. It is true that it can be associated with other problems, however this is also one of the most common physical symptoms of anxiety as well.

The origin of this phenomenon lies in the fact that in this psychological condition, sweat glands overwork due to hormone disruption.

This causes us not only to sweat during the day, but it is also common to experience it at night.

In conclusion. It is true that everyone knows how to recognize that they have an anxiety problem. The most decisive thing is not only to be aware of it, but to seek help, receive a good diagnosis and manage that condition.

Likewise, given all these physical symptoms, It is also decisive to rule out possible associated medical problems.