Did you know that Anxiety can manifest in your body and cause pain, discomfort, and sickness? This can happen in mild ways, and oftentimes, people notice anxiety in their bodies before they notice it in their thoughts. This can particularly happen for people who tend to dissociate and push difficult thoughts away rather than be present with them. Mild physical symptoms are normal; it is your body's way of telling you to pay attention. However, if we continue ignoring these physical messages, Anxiety can lead to far more serious health issues.
The best way to prevent more serious health consequences is to learn to understand your body and where it is sending you physical messages. Then, you can notice these physical signs and turn inward, asking yourself, "Is there something I'm anxious about? Am I avoiding something?" Each person has different symptoms, which is why it is important to learn what messages your body is sending. Here some physical symptoms of Anxiety that you may be experiencing:
Muscle Tension: Common areas that people hold anxiety tension are their shoulders, pelvis, and jaw. Typically, anxiety can make us tense these muscles without even realizing. If these muscles are tight, making it difficult to move them, it could be a symptom of anxiety.
Headaches: Another common symptom is headaches. Headaches can happen for many different reasons. But if you are having a lot of headaches, and particularly if you are experiencing any of the other symptoms, anxiety may be the culprit.
Nausea: You know that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you are nervous? That's anxiety, and it happens far more often than just when we are nervous. Anxiety before a presentation, test, or first date is normal, but you are experiencing prolonged nausea, or there isn't an event you are nervous about, it could be due to anxiety.
Tiredness / Sleeping Issues: Anxiety can cause you to get too much or too little sleep. You may also experience panic or bad dreams related to your anxiety. However, you could also be getting a normal amount of sleep and be feeling groggy and tired.
Chest Pain / Shortness of Breath / Racing Heart: Each of these symptoms can be related to anxiety. A racing heart and shortness of breath tends to happen when we are experiencing a panic attack, while chest pain could be more prolonged or appear sharply and then disappear without reason.
Excessive Sweating: Again, this can happen in the midst of a panic attack, but it can also happen when you are thinking about something that is stressful and causing anxiety.
There are many physical symptoms of anxiety, even more than in this list. Anxiety can be confusing because all of these symptoms could be related to something else. When you notice a physical symptom that could be anxiety, reflect on what could be causing anxiety and if you are avoiding something. If things symptoms seem unrelated to anxiety, seek a medical professional. The best way to take care of your body is to listen to it and understand what it is trying to tell you.
If anxiety feels unmanageable and is disrupting your life, consider working with a therapist who specializes in anxiety to learn coping mechanisms, how to notice when you are avoiding stressful decisions/issues, and how to reduce the impact anxiety has on your life.
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