If you have anxiety, you know what it feels like to be worried, nervous, and/or afraid about typical everyday events. Your anxiety can feel upsetting and difficult to manage. Anxiety can make your life a daily struggle, and may even leave you questioning many things- from your safety to your own anxiety symptoms.
Oftentimes, anxiety can physically manifest in your body. Many people may think that they are being dramatic or simply imagining the physical symptoms of anxiety, but they are 100% real. Some people with anxiety may experience physical symptoms while others may not.
Think back to a time where you felt nervous. Perhaps you were preparing for a big presentation at work and you noticed that your palms started to sweat and your legs felt shaky. Maybe you were preparing for a first date, and started to experience some dating anxiety. You may have begun to feel sick to your stomach and experienced an increased heart rate. You might have linked these physical symptoms to nervousness, but were unsure of the exact reason as to why you did not feel good.
Most people will experience anxiety on occasion; however, if you have an anxiety disorder, these feelings and symptoms may be the norm for you.
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with mental health therapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, and couples with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, life transitions, and more. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and teletherapy sessions to residents of New Jersey, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Utah.
Anxiety can be serious or turn into a disorder if it…
Lasts for a long time
Causes significant distress
Significantly interferes with your daily life
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is your body’s response to a stressful situation. This can range from speaking in public to attending a major life event. At the end of the day, you are a human being- it is normal to feel nervous, tense, and/or apprehensive in settings that trigger your anxiety.
For someone with an anxiety disorder, you may experience anxious feelings in situations that are not stress-inducing. You may have feelings of anxiety that are extreme and overwhelming, causing irrational fears and heart-pounding panic attacks. If this is the case for you, you may have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders are common mental health disorders. At Anchor Therapy, we have anxiety therapists who can help you feel like your best self again.
Some types of anxiety include:
Panic disorders (Read our blog “4 Ways To Cope With A Panic Disorder” for some support) - This occurs when people experience random, recurring panic attacks. Panic attacks are characterized by sudden periods of intense anxiety and fear. If you struggle with panic attacks, check out our blog “How To Manage A Panic Attack.”
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) - A condition that encompasses excessive worry about everyday issues and situations. Individuals with GAD find it difficult to control their worries.
Separation Anxiety - This can occur if you fear being away from a certain person or place. This is common amongst children and teens, but can occur in adults as well.
Social Anxiety - Social Anxiety Disorder impacts people in and before social situations and interactions with other people. Social anxiety can cause overwhelming fear. If you struggle with social anxiety, our blog “6 Helpful Tips for Living with Social Anxiety” is a must-read.
Phobias - People with phobias have a high level of fear related to certain situations, activities, objects, or events. For example, one common fear people may have is a fear of flying, formally known as aerophobia. If you have aerophobia, read “8 Tips to Overcome Flight Anxiety.”
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - OCD is characterized by repetitive irrational thoughts followed by distinguished behavior patterns. Check out our blog “How Counseling Can Help You Break OCD Habits” for more information.
Illness anxiety disorder - This is typically referred to as hypochondria. If you are overly-anxious about your health and imagine that you have physical health issues, you may be suffering from illness anxiety disorder. If that is the case, read our blog “3 Ways to Overcome Health Anxiety.”
Some forms of anxiety have specific symptoms linked to them. For example, if you have OCD, one of your fears may be contamination. If that is the case, a symptom of your OCD may be frequent hand-washing. If this is something you struggle with, read our previous blog “How to Manage OCD Intrusive Thoughts with CBT” for more information.
Generally speaking, anxiety disorders share many physical symptoms.
How does anxiety impact the mind and body?
Some common signs and symptoms of anxiety include:
Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
Having an increased heart rate
Having a sense of impending danger, doom or panic
Trembling
Sweating
Feeling weak or tired
Breathing quickly (Also known as hyperventilating)
Having difficulty sleeping (If you struggle with insomnia, our blog “How CBT Can Help With Your Insomnia” is a must-read!)
Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything that is not related to your current worry
Experiencing gastrointestinal or GI issues
Having a hard time managing your worries
Having an urge to avoid people, places, or activities that may trigger your anxiety
While anxiety is a mental health condition, it can trigger physical reactions in your body.
Some physical symptoms of anxiety include:
A dry mouth
Feeling faint or light-headed
Restlessness
Hot flashes or chills
Sweating
Tingling or numbness
Shortness of breath
Shaking
Nausea
An increased heart rate
Changes in appetite
Gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., upset stomach, indigestion, etc.)
How does a panic attack differ from anxiety?
Your anxious feelings can often lead to panic attacks. A panic attack occurs suddenly. If you experience a panic attack, you may feel like you are losing control or you are in extreme danger.
During a panic attack, people often have strong physical reactions. Oftentimes, people may even mistake panic attacks for heart attacks.
While each person is different, some common symptoms of a panic attack can include:
Excessive sweating
A racing heart beat
Chest pain
Chills
Difficulty swallowing, or a feeling of choking
Difficulty breathing
Feeling faint
Feeling nauseous
Feeling like death is imminent
Hyperventilation
Hot flashes
Shaking
Stomach pain
Numbness or tingling in the fingers, arms, and toes
Feeling cold in the hands and feet
Feeling detached from your body
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Blurry vision
Why does my body respond to anxiety?
Stressful life events can trigger panic attacks. However, panic attacks may not be the only obvious cause of anxiety in your life.
The physical symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety in general are caused by your body’s fight-or-flight response. This response is an automatic physiological reaction that you have to an event that is seen as stressful or frightening. The perception of a threat activates your nervous system and triggers a stress response in your body that prepares you to fight or flee the situation. The fight-or-flight response can cause fear and anxiety.
It is important to note that, during a fight-or-flight response, the body reacts to danger whether it is authentic or unreal. The body’s response and physiological reactions are the same.
In a fight-or-flight situation, you may experience a racing heart beat, a surge of adrenaline, and you may become hyper-alert of your surroundings. You respond in this manner because your body is trying to push you to stay in the situation and fight, or to run away to safety.
You may experience an increase in blood flow which prepares your muscles to run away from danger, and gives your brain the space to make quick decisions and to focus. The rapid breathing gives you more oxygen, another tool to be used in making an escape.
While these are all normal bodily responses to anxiety, it can cause you to feel like you are not getting enough air, which can add fuel to the fire of anxiety, causing further despair.
What are the long-term effects of anxiety?
Anxiety disorders can make you want to avoid situations that you know will cause negative emotions to stir up inside of you. You may feel ashamed because you cannot live your life like everyone else does. These feelings may lead to further withdrawal and increased social isolation.
When this happens, it is easy to get stuck into a cycle of anxiety and isolation where you are living in fear of fear. For example, the fear of having another panic attack in public may prevent you from leaving your house.
If you have chronic anxiety, you are always on high alert.
Having anxiety can negatively impact the following health sectors:
Cardiovascular health
Digestive health
Immune health
Respiratory health
How can I manage my physical symptoms of anxiety?
Treatment for anxiety disorders depends on what symptoms you have and the severity of your symptoms. Luckily, you can take action towards lessening your anxiety symptoms, and take back control of your life!
Continue reading for some anxiety management tips…
Work With An Anxiety Therapist
A therapist for anxiety can help ease your anxiety. One of the most popular and effective anxiety treatments is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, often simply referred to as CBT. CBT for anxiety is a type of psychotherapy used to treat mental health disorders, such as an anxiety disorder. Your CBT therapist will use talk therapy to change negative thinking, beliefs, and actions into positive thoughts and behaviors.
By working with a CBT counselor for anxiety, you will learn helpful strategies to cope with your stress triggers and anxiety symptoms.
If you are interested in learning more, read our blog “How You Can Treat Your Anxiety Using CBT.”
2. Practice Self-Care
One of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety is to practice self-care. Self-care looks different for everyone, so you may have to try out a few different activities before finding the right fit for you.
Some benefits of self-care include:
Stress reduction (If you are struggling with stress, check out “Everything You Need To Know About Stress Management Therapy”)
Increase in motivation
Work-life balance
Strong immune system
Life satisfaction
Lowered risk of developing mental health disorders
Some examples of self-care include:
Going for a walk
Drinking water
Eating well-balanced meals
Sitting in the sunlight
Taking a shower or bath
Doing a face mask
Lighting your favorite candle
And more!
3. Implementing Lifestyle Changes
Self-help strategies can make your life easier by reducing your anxiety symptoms.
Here are some lifestyle changes you can implement into your daily routine:
Meditate - Mindfulness practices can improve positive thinking and lessen anxiety. Even a regular 5-minute meditation practice can help lower your stress levels. To learn more, read “How Meditation Can Lead To Stress Reduction.”
Practice good sleep - Sometimes, getting enough sleep can feel like the hardest thing for you to do. Not only does anxiety affect sleep quality, but your anxiety could also get worse with poor sleep. Therefore, you should aim to focus on your sleeping habits. For instance, you can try to get into bed at the same time each night, sleep in a dark and quiet room, and avoid blue light before bedtime.
Engage in regular physical activity - Regular exercise can help lower anxiety. You can increase your physical activity in small ways, such as taking the stairs, parking further away from the door, and taking a walk during your lunch break. Check out our blog “5 Ways Exercise Benefits Your Mental Health” for more information.
Try deep breathing exercises - Your diaphragm, the muscle at the bottom of your rib cage, is in control of your breathing. When you engage in deep breathing exercises that focus on breathing from your diaphragm, you can manage your anxiety and increase your attention.
Persistent fear and worry are some of the more obvious symptoms of anxiety, but anxiety also manifests physically. With your physical symptoms, you may be unaware that you are experiencing anxiety.
If your anxiety symptoms are impacting how you feel, are causing you distress, and are leading you to avoid activities that you want to engage in, is it highly recommended that you seek out anxiety counseling. There are effective anxiety treatments, such as CBT, available so you can learn how to cope with the stressors in your life.
Untreated anxiety can negatively impact your health, both mentally and physically. Be sure to reach out to an anxiety therapist if you are struggling so you can reduce your symptoms and start feeling like your best self again.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager, Intake Coordinator, and Office Manager at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is a graduate of the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark. In her roles, Victoria is committed to managing the office’s social media presence and prioritizing clients' needs.
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