Knowing the signs and symptoms of anxiety is important. Sometimes you may be feeling a particular way or showing a symptom, but fail to recognise it. In fact, anxiety can manifest itself in various ways, including emotional and physical symptoms. Here are the main physical symptoms of anxiety.
The physical symptoms of anxiety
Rapid breathing. When anxious, your breathing rapidly increases. Because your emotions are all over the place, you feel nervous, scared and worried. There’s a sense of impending doom. As a result, you feel hyper and start breathing heavily. It is one of the main physical symptoms of anxiety. This is why breathing exercises are a great way to reduce anxiety.
Headaches. When anxious, the amount of cortisol in your body shoots up. This leads to a constriction of your blood vessels and tightness. As result, the reduced blood flow can cause headaches. In fact, anxiety headaches are extremely common and one of the most popular physical symptoms of anxiety. If you find yourself suffering from a headache after a confusing or unpleasant experience, it could be an anxiety headache.
Excessive sweating. Anxiety and anxious thoughts lead to your body producing more adrenaline. This hormone directly activates your fight and flight response. The presence of adrenaline causes your sweat glands to act. As a result, you start to sweat a lot. Moreover, nervousness and worry adds to sweating. Whenever your mind is racing, you feel stressed or anxious, excessive sweating is common.
Elevated heartbeat. Anxious thoughts trigger the release of stress hormones, which act on the same brain areas that regulate cardiovascular functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, your heart starts beating faster. It’s one the earliest physical symptoms of anxiety that is visible.
Anxiety and stress can manifest itself in various ways, these are just some of the physical symptoms of anxiety. What matters is knowing how to manage anxiety and to take measures to reduce it as soon as you can. Meditation, lifestyle choices, showing yourself some love and a few simple habits can help!
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