It’s obvious that no one likes to be stressed or anxious, but when anxiety becomes chronic, its impact can range from a simple worry to what we call anxiety physical symptoms. These symptoms can affect your health. Whether your anxiety episode is an isolated event due to high stress or you are a victim of a chronic anxiety disorder, the anxiety physical symptoms can have a much greater impact on your body than you think. We have listed for you the 10 most common physical symptoms of anxiety, whether it’s a brief episode or a long battle to finish.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 01: Throat Pain
That squeaky, hoarse voice that seems to have taken over your vocal cords is an immediate reaction to a stressful situation. When anxious feelings set in, your body redistributes its fluids to more essential areas, causing your throat muscles to spasm, resulting in a tightening that makes swallowing difficult.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 02: Liver Reaction
When the body is under assault from stress and anxiety, the adrenal system produces a large amount of cortisol, the stress hormone. Too much of this hormone causes the liver to produce more glucose to provide energy for the fight-flight reflex. In most people, this excess glucose can be reabsorbed by the body without too much concern, but for people predisposed to diabetes, this excess glucose could lead to adverse health effects.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 03: Skin Reaction
Those cold sweats or flushed cheeks are an immediate anxiety physical symptom, and this is caused by changes in your blood flow. When we are anxious and our body goes into the fight-flight mode, it redirects more blood to the muscles, a very useful reflex when needed.
However, if this reaction lasts too long or occurs too often, it can lead to a variety of skin reactions, including premature aging, unusual sweating, and even an increase in histamines, which can cause swelling. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, severe episodes of stress or anxiety can even cause eczema attacks.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 04: Active Spleen
Anxiety doesn’t just affect the most obvious organs like our brain or heart. It also affects organs that have an internal function, such as the spleen. To provide more oxygen to the body, the spleen secretes more red and white blood cells. In this reaction process, your blood flow increases by 300-400% in response to the fight-flight reflex.
Anxiety Physical Symptoms 05: Tense neck, Tense Back, Tense Shoulders…
When anxiety takes hold of you, the body naturally tenses up, which can tax the most important muscle groups. Chronic stress or anxiety can exacerbate this tension, leading to headaches, stiff shoulders, neck pain, and sometimes even migraines. People who are constantly stressed are at greater risk of developing chronic musculoskeletal disorders.
Before We Continue
Anxiety is an emotion that we all feel from time to time, it is innate. The key is to identify temporary anxiety and know how to control it so that it does not become depression. We have written an article on this subject! Learn how to differentiate the symptoms of anxiety from those of depression by clicking here.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 06: Heart Problems
People with chronic stress or anxiety are at greater risk for cardiovascular problems because of their consistently high heart rate, high blood pressure, and overexposure to cortisol. According to the American Psychological Association, prolonged exposure to stress can also cause high blood pressure, arrhythmias, and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.
Anxiety Physical Symptoms 07: Asthma, Difficulty breathing
Studies have shown a link between anxiety disorders and asthma. In fact, asthmatics are more likely to have panic attacks. Another study at the University of São Paulo found a link between anxiety, asthma, and balance.
Anxiety Physical Symptoms 08: Headaches, Stress, Brain Chemical Reactions
The most pronounced anxiety physical symptoms are the consequence of our psychological response. Chronic stress and anxiety affect areas of our brain that are responsible for our short- and long-term memory, as well as being involved in certain chemical reactions in our body, which can lead to certain hormonal imbalances. In addition, chronic stress constantly stimulates the nervous system, which in turn can impact other systems in our body by triggering unnecessary physical reactions, resulting in fatigue, among other things.
People who suffer from anxiety often have difficulty falling asleep, mainly because they keep replaying their worries. According to data from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 54% of people say that stress and anxiety have an impact on their ability to get to sleep, and of those, 50% of men and 40% of women say it has an impact on their level of concentration the next day.
Anxiety Physical Symptom 09: Weakened Immune System
Exposure to stress can physically affect your immune system, as it is weakened or even suppressed by the presence of the fight-flight reflex. Studies have also shown that when you’re stressed, you’re more likely to catch a cold and are more susceptible to infection and inflammation.
Anxiety Physical Symptoms 10: Stomachache, Diarrhea, Painful Periods
When your body reacts to stress, it doesn’t properly regulate digestive functions. Chronic or acute stress can also have long-term effects on your intestines and the nutrients they absorb, which can cause acid reflux, bloating, diarrhea, and sometimes even complete loss of bowel control. Long-term stress or anxiety can also have an impact on your metabolism, which can lead to overweight or even obesity. One study found that constant cortisol secretion can lead to a loss of insulin sensitivity, while another study found a link between anxiety and physician-diagnosed ulcers in adults.
Fighting Anxiety Disorder Requires Adapted Weapons
Too often we treat our physical pain on the surface with painkiller medications. This is effective in the short term, but if the source of the pain is identified as an anxiety disorder, it will come back indefinitely. Fortunately, there are completely natural treatments that have been proven to combat anxiety disorders, and therefore these physical symptoms by rebound effect. In this fight against this distressing emotion, we strongly recommend our readers try the incredible formula from NeuroPure. Click the image below to start fighting anxiety.
