How Anxiety Affects The Body |Top 5 Symptoms|
Anxiety is often mistaken as stress or worry until it shows severe symptoms that impede daily life. While stress and anxious feelings are common responses to any situation when we face intense pressure, they usually fade once the stressful situation has passed or the stress element has been successfully removed. You can call it anxiety when these feelings don’t go away and keep returning to you for no particular reason or cause. Everyone feels anxious occasionally, but for someone experiencing anxiety, these feelings get challenging to control all by themselves. So, How Does Anxiety Affect The Body? If you notice these symptoms, we will share time to address the issue as soon as possible.
5 Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety That You Must Not Ignore
Anxiety can manifest in various physical symptoms. This is like the warning bells by your body to address it. Neglecting it for a long time creates a detrimental impact on one’s overall health and well-being. Our body’s fight-or-flight response is triggered during periods of anxiety. This response thus releases stress hormones, leading to various physiological reactions. Not only this, Chronic anxiety can lead to headaches, migraines, and even panic attacks followed by heart palpitations, sweating, shaking, and a sensation of impending doom. The symptoms that you must be aware of to address anxiety are:
Cardiovascular System Anxiety
Anxiety can have significant effects on the cardiovascular system. It entails symptoms like Increased heart rate, palpitations, chest pain, and hypertension. These are pretty common in individuals with chronic anxiety. Neglecting it over time can increase the risk of hypertension and heart disease.
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Digestive System Anxiety
In this category, it impacts the digestive and excretory systems. Most common symptoms, such as stomachaches, nausea, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), get worsened by chronic anxiety. Based on the severity, weight loss or gain can also occur. Are you facing stomach upsets lately even though you are consuming home-cooked meals? Then maybe anxiety is to be blamed for sure.
Immune System
The fight-or-flight response is an instinctive reaction to stress that makes the immune system cautious. However, in chronic anxiety, a prolonged state of heightened tension weakens your immune system in the long run. It makes you more vulnerable to infections and illnesses. Though the fight-or-flight response can temporarily boost immune function, long-term anxiety has the complete opposite effect, thus compromising the body’s ability to defend against all kinds of pathogens and maintain overall health.
Respiratory System Anxiety
Anxiety can often lead to shallow breathing, known as hyperventilation. This response often leads to panic attacks. It worsens respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.
Hyperventilation helps reduce carbon dioxide levels in the blood, thus disrupting the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide. As a result, symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest tightness, lightheadedness, and a sense of impending doom get pronounced. So it is imperative to manage anxiety through relaxation techniques while seeking appropriate medical care to minimise these effects on the respiratory system.
Understanding The Physical Effects
You can tackle anxiety by seeking help and adopting various strategies. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), medication, and lifestyle modifications play crucial roles in helping individuals address their symptoms and lead healthier lives.
The bottom line is that seeking professional assistance is vital, as trained therapists guide you properly by understanding and challenging your anxious thoughts and behaviours. Medication can also be prescribed to alleviate symptoms according to your condition. To restore a sense of calm.
Furthermore, incorporating lifestyle modifications such as regular exercise, healthy sleep patterns, stress management techniques, and support from loved ones can significantly contribute to anxiety management. Thus by acknowledging the importance of seeking help and employing these strategies, individuals can take control of their anxiety and enhance their overall well-being.
