11 Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
It is a normal and often healthy emotion or a mental condition. However, when an individual regularly feels disproportionate levels of Anxiety, it might become a severe disorder. Here, in this blog you know 11 Physical Symptoms of Anxiety.
The American psychological association has defined it as an emotion characterized by experiences of tension, worried thoughts, and physical interference like increased blood pressure. Occasional anxiety is an expected part of our life. A patient with Anxiety might experience anxiety when faced with a problem at home, work, or school, before taking a test making or making an important decision. But anxiety disorder involves more than mortal fear or worry. Its symptoms can interfere with daily life activities such as school work, job performance, and relationships.
Apart from these interferences, Anxiety can cause specific physical effects and produce unexpected medical conditions.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
Physical symptoms of anxiety can include the following.
1. Rapid Heart rate
A rapid heartbeat is when someone’s heart is beating faster than usual. A normal spirit in a healthy man is 60 to 70 beats per minute. But when something scares someone suddenly, such as a loud noise, it triggers stress hormones (cortisol, noradrenaline adrenal) that make his or her heartbeat harder and faster. An individual with Anxiety may feel like it is beating unevenly (heart palpitations). Over time, if it happens too much, the patient is more likely to have high blood pressure, hardened arteries, heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, and heart attack, etc.
2. Fast breathing
Rapid or fast breathing, also called tachypnea, seems when someone takes more breath than usual in a given time. An adult takes typically between 12 to 20 breaths per minute. When someone breaths rapidly, it is sometimes known as hyperventilation, but hyperventilation usually refers to rapid breaths.
Along with a pounding heart, the patient might start breathing more quickly when he is scared or anxious or feel like he can not get enough air. Some individuals breathe so fast that they get lightheaded or pass out. This condition can be more severe in a patient who already has breathing problems because of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung disease, and other conditions.
3. Fight or flight response
The term fight or flight refers to the choices that our ancient ancestors had when faced with danger in their life or the environment. They could either fight or flee. In either case, the psychological and physiological response to stress prepares the body to react to the danger. Fight or flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a physical reaction that comes in the presence of something terrifying, either physically or mentally.
In the case of Anxiety, a patient’s fright triggers the release of hormones that send signals through his brain spinal cord, and nerves. Glucose and blood flood to his arms and legs to prepare to meet the threat with one of two choices fight or run away. His breathing and pulse speed up. He also might get shaky and sweaty.
4. Tense muscles
Tense muscle is when someone’s muscles feel tight, and he finds it more challenging to move than he usually does, especially after rest. He may also have cramping, muscle pain, and discomfort. It is different from muscle spasticity and rigidity. With these two symptoms, the patient’s muscles may stiff even when he is not moving.
The human body gets ready to protect itself when he or it is anxious. If he is startled, his muscles tense all at once, they relax once the stress or fright passes, but if it happens a lot or if he feels worried all the time, his tight muscles and shoulders can lead to headaches such as migraines. If someone has these types of medical conditions, he should try deep breathing and Yoga.
5. High blood sugar
The human body has glucose or sugar in the blood vessels. The right quantity of blood sugar gives the body’s organs and cells energy. Too much sugar is known as hyperglycemia. And stress hormones can provide a burst of this instant fuel when someone is anxious or scared. It is helpful if the patient needs to run from danger or fight it. Usually, his body gathers up and stores the extra sugar. But constant or high Anxiety could keep blood sugar too high for too long. This particular condition can cause diabetes as well as heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke.
5. Sleep problems
Several people experience trouble sleeping at one time or another. Usually, it is due to illness, stress, travel, or other temporary interruptions to the normal life routine. If these problems are a regular occurrence and interfere with daily life, individuals may be suffering from a sleep disorder. In other terms, it is a condition that frequently impacts the ability to get enough quality sleep.
In the case of Anxiety, worry can keep a patient up at night. Sleep problems can ramp up Anxiety even more, especially if he has to work the next day. A to-do list might lessen stress by breaking down problems to solve. People with such a condition should make some changes in their daily life routine and try to get sufficient sleep. They may try to have regular sleep and wake times, a serene bedroom, a bed in the dark, etc.
6. Problems fighting off germs
An individual’s body may not beat back infections so well when he worries. Even just thinking about something that made him sad or angry can lessen the response of his immune system – his defense against germs – in as little as 30 minutes. An anxiety disorder that stretches over days, months, or years can take a more significant toll on the immune system, making it tough for a patient to fight the flu, shingles, herpes, and other viruses.
7. Upset stomach
Anxiety and stress can make an individual feel like he has knots in his belly. Some individuals feel vomit and nauseated. If this happens all the time, the patient can develop digestive problems like sores in his stomach, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. Patients should talk to their healthcare advisor if they have severe belly pain or vomit when they are anxious.
8. Bowel problems
Stress or Anxiety can make individually constipated. Medical professionals are not exactly sure exactly why, but it may be that being anxious changes the way someone uses the muscles that control how he poops. It can also cause diarrhea because it changes the way the patient’s body absorbs certain nutrients. The patient’s guts may be sensitive to stress if he already has IBS or another digestive issue. A doctor might be able to help the patient manage anxiety triggers in his life.
9. Weight gain
Weight gain is a significant part of the problem that anxiety can sometimes make a patient more eat. It also may lead the patient to seek foods with lots of sugar and fat, which have extra calories. And these meals seem to work in the sense that improves anxiety symptoms, which makes an individual crave them more. Over time raised anxiety can mess up his body’s stress response and cause him to put on some unexpected pounds.
10. Men’s sexual problem
At very first, stress can trigger a patient’s fight or flight system, which makes the hormone testosterone. That makes an individual friskier. But another anxiety hormone, cortisol, can have the opposite effect. Over time worry can decrease testosterone, lessen or change sperm, and slow or stop his normal response when he wants to have sex.
11. Women’s sexual problems
Worry can tire a patient and distract him, so he is less interested in sex. Cortisol stress hormones may also lessen desire. Increased levels of stress can make affect her cycle. It can also cause uneven or missed periods or make them more painful or more prolonged than estimated. It may worsen bloating, cramping, and more swings in the week before period, sometimes called premenstrual syndrome. Anxiety disorder can also make it harder to get pregnant.