Serious Physical Effects Your Body Can Have From Anxiety

When people cannot figure out how to manage their chronic anxiety symptoms over time, they experience intense physical side effects to their body. Because they are so stressed all the time, stress hormones are constantly being released. By getting treatment as soon as you realize that you cannot handle your anxiety symptoms alone, you are protecting not only your mental health but physical health as well.

Yawning

Those with anxiety may experience uncontrollable yawning before and after anxiety episodes or could happen randomly. This can be because of having a poor night’s sleep. Anxiety has a tendency to either make us wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to fall back asleep or to hardly be able to fall asleep because of our racing thoughts. Another reason for yawning could be as a response to the stress we are feeling as a way to help us relax. Having a panic attack can make us hyperventilate where we are not getting a full breath. By yawning, you are expanding the rib cage and sending a signal to your brain that you got a full breath. You can prevent this constant yawning by breathing in for four seconds and breathing out for another four seconds.

Muscle Aches

You may also experience random muscle pain that seems to come out of nowhere like muscle tension, soreness, back pain, and headaches. When a person’s fight or flight response is activated, the muscles will naturally contract. The longer you are constantly in that fight or flight response, the longer your muscles will contract as well. How we feel mentally will make us hurt even more physically. We constantly dwell on the pain that we are in that we do not do enough to make it better. We may feel that if our back hurts or we are getting headaches, it is best not to exercise or do any high intensity movement, which will make our muscles hurt more if we do not move them. You can treat this by taking a hot shower to provide instant relief to muscle tension as well as a massage for someone to push out those tense muscles.

Pins and Needles

The feeling of pins and needles is like when your foot falls asleep when you leave it in the same position for a long period of time. The same can happen to you if you experience chronic anxiety. The nerve stops sending signals when we feel stress which causes us to feel numb. Shock waves are sent to the nerves to wake them up. Our body tenses up so much that our body feels like it is in constant terror. You can stop this from happening by breathing in slowly for five to seven seconds and breathing out for the same length of time. Try clenching your fists when you feel this tingling or walk around the room to get the blood flowing in these areas and remind your body to wake up.

Losing Your Voice

You may find that feeling so tense all the time can make you feel like you are losing your voice. This can be because anxiety tends to make acid reflux symptoms worse which can give us a sore throat or loss of voice. When your fight or flight response is activated, we are also produced less saliva in our mouth. It may help for you to try speaking more loudly and more confidently when you enter a room so that you do not have to be so quick to mutter when you speak. It is also more important for you to drink more water to keep your throat hydrated. This will help you from adding further stress to yourself by using water as a source of treatment.

Rashes

Anxiety can also lead to us developing rashes in which we are put in a state of tension, releasing a lot of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream. This can lead to your skin being more sensitive and developing reactions much more easily like acne, psoriasis, herpes, eczema, etc. It is best to try to control your anxiety through medications, deep breathing, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc. If the rash is not too bad, you are wait it out as it should last a few days to a week. You can take medications for rashes like Benadryl or rash reducing medications like hydrocortisone cream. Make sure not to scratch your rash or wear clothes that can irritate your rash worse.

Vertigo

Anxiety has a tendency to make you feel dizzy because of hyperventilation. Our breathing starts to occur unevenly where we eliminate too much carbon dioxide while making you feel like you are not getting enough oxygen. Your blood vessels begin to tighten, develop a rapid heartbeat, and blood flow is reduced towards your brain which leads to dizziness as well as being lightheaded or having trouble thinking. To avoid feeling like you are on a rollercoaster, you should try your best to breathe slowly at all times to avoid hyperventilating.

Having a Cold

When stress hormones are released, your immune system starts to weaken as a result. This can lead to constantly developing the common cold or high blood pressure problems in the long-term. By listening to what a therapist tells you and being in control of your anxiety, you will be able to control your physical health as well.

Located on the shore of Southern New Jersey, Enlightened Solutions is a recovery center that uses evidence-based therapies and holistic healing to treat addiction and mental illness. With the opportunity to learn about therapies that are keyed in to healing the human spirit and learning about new stress reducing techniques centered around a 12 step network, you will be ensure a lasting recovery. For more information, please call us at 833-801-LIVE as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.