The Lesser-Known Physical Experiences of Anxiety
top of page
Search

The Lesser-Known Physical Experiences of Anxiety

Those who have never experienced disordered anxiety might think that it’s just “feeling nervous”, or “a bit on edge” all the time. Yes, that might be part of it, but it may even be the smallest factor to someone living with anxiety. Experiencing anxiety every day not only leaves you feeling a sense of so-called nervousness, but it affects so many other aspects of life. In this post I am going to go through some of the physical symptoms and experiences of those who have anxiety that I had no idea existed and aren’t spoken about as much as maybe they should be.


Nobody talks about the physical symptoms that someone living with anxiety can experience daily. There is no way that I would be able to go through all of them here as this would become a very long article indeed, however I will pick out some that I personally was the most surprised to learn of.


· Physical numbness and tingling

An anxious episode can leave people with numbness or tingling in their arms and/or legs, hands, feet, or even their face. It might even feel like physical weakness. This can be so scary as it might lead people to believe they have got something seriously wrong with their body.


· Brain shivers or zaps

Yes, this is as unpleasant as it sounds. Anxiety can cause you to have shivering or zapping sensations in your head. These can feel like jolts or electric shocks, vibrations or shaking.


· Derealisation

This is an unusual one yet so common amongst those who experience anxiety. Derealisation is where the person is left feeling disconnected from reality. Their perception may be altered where time slows down, and spatial awareness might change. As well as this when someone experiences derealisation, things might appear foggy, or they may feel like they’re losing control or going crazy, or even that they are very ill.


· Globus hystericus

This is a fancy name for the feeling that something is stuck in your throat. It can leave people feeling like they can’t swallow. Some might feel that their throat has tightened up.

· Freezing hands and feet

Stress and anxiety can have a negative impact on your circulation, leaving those with anxiety with freezing cold hands and feet.


As I said, this is just a tiny list of the huge amounts of physical symptoms and sensations that those who live with anxiety experience. Some will experience multiple physical sensations daily; others might only experience them when they are having a particularly difficult bout of anxiety. It is something that changes between each person and only the individual truly knows how they feel and what they are going through.


Experiencing these physical side-effects of anxiety is not easy. It can be hard to know whether some is seriously wrong or if it is just anxiety causing havoc again.



As I have said before, I am not qualified to diagnose anyone with any mental health issues. If you are concerned about your health I would urge you to see a GP.


Sources


bottom of page