Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

I've been living with an anxiety disorder my entire life. I had already been diagnosed when I was in kindergarten. I'm often surprised when I find out how few people really understand what anxiety is. Overall, people tend to believe that it's purely psychological and is simply a tendency to worry. But, for people with anxiety disorders, anxiety and panic have significant physical symptoms, which are often as uncomfortable as the mental aspects. If you have anxiety, you may experience any or all of the following symptoms:

-Sensations of electric shock. 

These are caused by the way your blood vessels and nervous system react to increased stress, and they can be painful or scary.

-Breathing problems. 

Anxiety can affect your lungs and circulation by causing you to hyperventilate, which can in turn cause chest pain and fatigue. You might also feel like you're choking.

-Chest pain. 

This can happen with or without breathing difficulty. Be sure to get in touch with your doctor quickly if you have chest pain, even if you're pretty sure it's a physical symptom of anxiety, and not something worse. Your doctor may need to make sure your heart is okay.

-Heart palpitations. 

You might feel your heart beating in your chest and hear the sound of your heartbeat in your ears. This is very normal but can be uncomfortable.

-Rapid heart rate. 

Anxiety tends to run alongside tachycardia, or elevated heart rate. Untreated, tachycardia as a physical anxiety symptom can cause fainting and dizziness.

-Body pain. 

Like depression, anxiety can cause you to feel pain and tension all over your body.

-Headaches. 

It's very common for people to experience tension headaches, which can sometimes be very severe, if they experience a lot of anxiety.

-Trembling or shaking. 

Many people with chronic anxiety have a tendency to "vibrate" because of the effects that anxiety has on physical health. Some even shiver violently as if they are cold.

-Weakness. 

The physical symptoms of anxiety take their toll over time, so many people who experience it a lot will feel weak and exhausted.

-Nausea and vomiting. 

Severe anxiety can cause nausea and, less commonly, vomiting. But since it's not one of the more common causes of vomiting, you should touch base with your doctor if this symptom shows up suddenly.

There are many other possible physical symptoms of anxiety and no two anxiety sufferers will have the exact same set of symptoms. However, those listed here tend to be the most common. If you develop any new or worrisome symptoms of anxiety or panic, it's probably nothing to worry about, but there's never any harm in double-checking with your doctor to make sure that you don't need to be evaluated for other problems. Your health care provider can help you address these issues without the guesswork. For a more complete list of anxiety symptoms, visit Mayo Clinic's website.