7 Physical Symptoms of Anxiety (and How to Handle Them)
Transcript:
Hi guys, I’m Zainab from KMA therapy and I'm here with you all today to talk to you about what anxiety is, how to recognize its symptoms, and how to manage it effectively.
Now, most people do not recognize anxiety for what it is. Some of us think that there's something wrong with us, and there are some who tend to get very preoccupied with the physical symptoms of anxiety, whether that is heart palpitations or stomach upset. And there are yet others who tend to think that they're going crazy, feeling weird, feeling moving.
Unfortunately, many of these thought processes don't help lessen the burden of anxiety. Therefore, we become even more self-conscious. So the first step is to successfully manage anxiety – we want to be able to recognize it and understand it.
4 Facts About Anxiety
So let's quickly get into some facts about anxiety.
1. Anxiety is Normal
One, anxiety is normal. We all experience anxiety. Whether you are on a roller coaster or before a job interview, you are bound to feel nauseous.
2. Anxiety is Adaptive
Second, anxiety is adaptive. Now anxiety is a system in our body that helps us prepare for danger. For example, it allows us to jump out of the way of a speeding car or perform our best. That is to motivate us to prepare for a big presentation.
Now when we experience anxiety there is a particular response in our body which is called the fight, flight, or freeze response that gets triggered. And that is something that prepares our body to defend itself.
So I would love to talk to you about how anxiety can be your friend and it can be a bully
So, say when anxiety is your friend, it helps you deal with real danger. But when it becomes a bully it will overwhelm you and not put certain things into action when it is required to do so.
3. Anxiety is Not Dangerous
Third, anxiety is not dangerous. Yes, the symptoms that you feel can make you feel uncomfortable, but that is very temporary, and will not last forever.
4. Anxiety is Mostly Anonymous
And last, anxiety is mostly anonymous. People can't tell that you're feeling anxious unless they're close to you or you've spoken about it.
Let's get into what happens in your body when you feel anxious.
The Fight, Flight, and Freeze Response Symptoms
So remember I mentioned to you all there is the fight, flight, and freeze response that gets triggered in your body. And when that response gets triggered it activates certain physical sensations in our bodies.
1. Rapid Heartbeat and Breathing
Now, the first physical symptom or sensation that you experience is a rapid heartbeat or rapid breathing.
Now when a person is anxious, your body is preparing you for danger. And that is the time that there is a lot of blood and oxygen that is being circulated in your body – to prepare you to either move away from that situation or fight.
So in that process, everything is very rapid which will lead to making your heart race or breathe very rapidly.
2. Sweating
The second is sweating. Now, sweating helps in cooling your body down. It makes your skin slippery to make it difficult for an attacking animal or someone to grab hold of you.
3. Nausea
Third is nausea and stomach upset. Now when your body is experiencing panic your body will shut down certain systems and processes which are not required at this point. And digestion is one of them – it is not needed for survival.
So anxiety will make you feel nauseous. There will be stomach upset and you may experience diarrhea.
4. Dizziness
Next is feeling dizzy or lightheaded. Now, when you are experiencing anxiety and as I mentioned blood and oxygen are being circulated and everything is happening quick to help you act then.
And that can lead to hyperventilation – that is when you're taking in a lot more oxygen really quickly which leads to feeling dizzy or slightly lightheaded.
5. Muscle Tension
The next one is muscle tension. Now, when you are anxious, your body tenses up a lot. And imagine then when you're breathing heavily your chest is going to feel tight.
6. Choking Sensations
The other symptom is choking sensations. Now, when your muscles tighten during anxiety it creates a lot of tension around the neck. And when you're breathing rapidly it also dries out your throat, so it almost feels like someone is choking you.
7. Numbness or Tingling
And the last symptom is numbness and tingling sensations. Now, hyperventilation – that is taking in a lot of acts of oxygen during that time can lead to hyperventilation, which leads to feeling that tingling and numbing sensation.
Also because the oxygen and the blood are moving away from your toes and fingers you will find your fingers and toes feeling a lot more numb and tingly.
Physical symptoms are just one aspect of feeling anxious. The other two aspects of anxiety are your thoughts and your behaviour.
So these are all three components of when you are experiencing anxiety.
The Fight or Flight Response in Action
Now, let me give you a quick example. Now, imagine the situation in which I have to give a presentation and my thought is, “What if I forget what I need to say during the presentation?”
Now immediately, this thought is giving a signal to my brain where the fight, flight, and freeze response is getting activated. I'm telling my brain that I am in danger and the minute your brain knows or gets a signal that you are feeling that you're in danger it will activate the physical symptoms which I spoke about.
And the physical symptoms could include heart racing, stomach upset, or cold sweats. Now obviously, this is not a very comfortable situation to be in. It feels very scary to make sure that you want to move away from these physical symptoms immediately.
Your mind will get into a behaviour. And that behaviour could be that I do not want to do the presentation altogether. So basically you choose to escape – that is run away from the situation.
But unfortunately, the more you run away from the situation you feel the relief of anxiety for a few moments, but it is very difficult to not go in front and present.
Therefore this cycle will increase anxiety even more – and that cycle of anxiety will keep growing.
So anxiety becomes a problem when it becomes a bully – when the physical symptoms or a negative behaviour reinforces the negative or unhelpful thinking style.
I always like to say anxiety is like a smoke alarm system. Like, what happens when there is smoke in the house? Immediately the fire alarm goes off. But imagine if you are just toasting your toast, and even then the fire alarm goes off, it can be rather annoying and exhausting.
Anxiety is just like that. If anxiety goes off at moments when it is not dangerous it can get extremely annoying, and that's the time anxiety becomes a bully.
Now, we do not want to get rid of anxiety. Anxiety is a very normal reaction. We just don't want it to become a bully, we want it to be your best friend. So if you do find your anxiety being a bully it will be time to reach out for help.
Here at KMA, we have therapists who will help you recognize the symptoms and help you effectively manage those symptoms as well.
We have five different locations that we operate from – Yonge and Eglinton, King West, Liberty Village, Yorkville, and Yonge and Sheppard. We also have online therapy.
I hope this video on what anxiety is has been helpful and I will see you next week with another mental health video. Take care, bye-bye for now!
Next Steps for Dealing with Anxiety
After watching this video, you now know the symptoms of anxiety and understand what happens when you experience the fight or flight response.
If you need anxiety support, our KMA Therapy team is here to support you. For over 14 years, we’ve helped our clients manage their anxiety to live their most fulfilling lives.
Book an appointment today or connect with our team to learn more about how to stop anxiety from holding you back.
If you’re not yet ready to book an appointment, check out these resources to learn more:
