You’re anxious. That’s what everyone tells you. You feel sick, though. You may have a throbbing headache, pain in your shoulders, a stomach ache, and feel the need to use the bathroom frequently. Your muscles hurt. Many people even feel like they have the flu. While you may feel intensely sick (and you could be), it’s also important to consider how anxiety impacts your body physically and can cause many of these symptoms.
If you believe you are ill, seeking medical care, especially in a health crisis, is important. If you believe you are facing a mental health crisis, do not wait to call 988 or to visit Willow Creek Behavioral Health immediately. We offer walk-in mental health care in Green Bay.
Why Your Body Reacts Physically to Anxiety
Anxiety can quickly become a hard-to-control experience. It’s not uncommon for it to create numerous physical symptoms, such as:
- A fast heart rate
- Dizziness
- Stomach pain and diarrhea
- Fast breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Discomfort in your chest
- Sweating
- Shaking
- Loss of energy
All of this could be your body’s natural reaction to stress. When anxiety causes symptoms like these that become impossible to manage or consistent, it’s time to reach out for mental health care treatment.
Why Does Anxiety Trigger Physical Pain and Symptoms?
Anxiety is a built-in tool meant to provide you with help when you need it the most. Anxiety triggers the fight-or-flight response you’re built with to help you fight your way out of difficult situations. When your body senses a high-stress situation or some risk to your well-being, it releases adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream.
Those hormones send your body into hyperdrive. Your heart rate increases, your digestive processes slow so your energy can be focused elsewhere, and your brain becomes more aware of your surroundings. These are all factors that contribute to physical effects, such as muscle tension, increased blood pressure that causes headaches, and fatigue due to just how fast your heart is racing.
Back hundreds of years ago, anxiety would give your body’s muscles and brain every bit of energy to run or fight. Today, it can do the same, but there’s a challenge. Stress isn’t a momentary factor any longer. It’s constant, and that means your body is constantly experiencing high bursts of cortisol and adrenaline in your bloodstream.
Your body isn’t meant to have this high level of intense focus and function. And, over time, it wears down your overall health and stresses every other component of your body.
How to Know When Anxiety Is a Problem
Anxiety disorders range widely, but the most common form, generalized anxiety disorder, develops in people who face stress on a frequent basis, whether there is a true risk present or not. If you have any of the following, you may have an anxiety disorder that requires treatment.
- Excessive worrying about everyday things
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feeling on edge all of the time
- Feeling restless
- Sweating excessively and frequently
- Needing to use the bathroom frequently
- Difficulty controlling feelings of being nervous
In addition to these symptoms, look beyond what you feel in that moment. For example, you may be facing implications and consequences from these symptoms. Your job may be at risk, or you could be facing illness as a result of the constant stress. Many people find relationships challenging, chores become impossible to accomplish, and taking care of their family can be hard to do.
What to Do If You Have Physically Demanding Anxiety
If you believe you’re struggling with generalized anxiety disorder, seeking treatment can transform your thoughts and help you regain more control over your future. Treatment may include psychotherapy, a form of talk therapy where you’ll learn how to better control your thoughts.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, for example, helps you recognize that the negative thoughts you have may not be accurate. You’ll learn to recognize when those thoughts are occurring and, ultimately, change them. That can help you avoid negative outcomes.
For many people with debilitating anxiety, the use of medication is beneficial. Medications don’t take away the anxiety, but they can help the brain balance hormones more effectively. That includes calming the nervous system.
Knowing when it’s time to get help for anxiety is critical. If you’re thinking about anxiety often, feeling the physical impact, and facing ongoing consequences from these feelings, there’s no real reason not to seek care. Anxiety treatment can be life-changing. You simply don’t need to live in fear.
Seek Help With Our Team Right Now
Contact our team at Willow Creek Behavioral Health today for guidance and support. Let us offer a strategy to help you improve your future by bringing anxiety under control.
