It is completely normal for everyone to feel anxious for some reason or the other. However, feeling anxious far too often and for little things is a serious matter of concern. Anxiety builds unnecessary fear in your mind and you feel nervous, restless, and uncomfortable without any valid reason. Although anxiety is a psychological disorder, it begins to affect your physical health over a period of time.
Anxiety can be caused due to many different reasons. Failed relationship, childhood insecurities, major life changes, fear of failure, and losing a job are some of the most common reasons for anxiety. People of all age groups can be affected by anxiety. Chronic stress and anxiety produce various different types of physical symptoms. Some of the most common ones among them are explained below.
Palpitation
Palpitation is an abnormal heartbeat sensation that makes you feel like your heat is either missing a beat or two or there is a temporary stop in between the beats. Palpitation can be sensed in the chest, neck area, and throat.
Chest Pain
Anxiety can produce certain symptoms that are very similar to those of a heart attack. These include chest pain, twitching chest muscles, and pressure on the chest wall. This is the main reason why many people often confuse an anxiety attack with a heart attack. This makes them feel more panicked. The difference between chest pain caused by a panic attack and a heart attack is that in case of a panic attack the pain does not aggravate but disappears on its own.
Breathing Difficulty
Having a panic attack makes it difficult for you to maintain normal breathing. An anxiety attack causes your breathing to become fast and shallow. It might also make you have a choking sensation in the throat.
Shaking and Trembling
Anxiety often causes the person to shake and tremble. This happens because anxiety attacks make people lose control over their bodily functions.
Dizziness
Dizziness causes your head to spin and makes it difficult for you to maintain the body balance. It is one of the most common physical symptoms of anxiety.
Other Symptoms
Some general symptoms of anxiety include excessive sweating, upset stomach, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, tremors, headache, muscle tension, hot or cold flashes, loss of appetite, fatigue, etc. Some of the most common anxiety symptoms in women include sleep disorder, infertility, and menstrual irregularity.
Treating Anxiety
In case of severe anxiety symptoms, doctors tend to prescribe medicines. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines are two of the most commonly used medications to treat anxiety and depression. Beta blockers are often used to control symptoms like sweating and palpitation. Although these medicines reduce the severity of anxiety symptoms, they only provide temporary relief. To get permanent relief, you will need to identify the root cause of your anxiety. Once the factors that are making you anxious are known, you can get control over them with the help of cognitive behavior therapy. Exercise and various relaxation techniques such as breathing control, meditation, and yoga can also help to reduce anxiety and get over unwanted feelings.
The physical symptoms of anxiety should never be neglected. Not accepting the fact that you are prone to anxiety and delaying the treatment will only complicate the problem. Anxiety affects all the aspects of your life. Proper and timely treatment will help you to notice an improvement within weeks.