Anxiety symptoms: what it feels like in the body
A lot of people arrive at anxiety through the body rather than through worry. Chest tightness, a stomach that will not settle, a heart that speeds up for no visible reason. It gets read as a physical problem first, which is reasonable — it is a physical experience.
Commonly reported physical symptoms
- Racing or pounding heartbeat
- Chest tightness, or breathing that feels shallow and unfinished
- Stomach trouble — nausea, cramping, sudden urgency
- Tension held in the jaw, neck and shoulders
- Sweating, trembling, or hands and feet going cold
- Broken sleep, and waking already alert
- Tiredness that rest does not touch, because the body has been braced all day
Commonly reported mental symptoms
- Worry that runs on regardless of how likely the thing is
- Rehearsing conversations, before and after they happen
- Difficulty concentrating, and rereading the same line
- A background sense that something bad is due
- Avoiding situations, then feeling worse about avoiding them
What can help in the moment
- Make the out-breath longer than the in-breath. Four in, six or seven out, for a minute or two.
- Name five things you can see. It moves attention out of the loop and into the room.
- Put your feet flat and press them into the floor. Physical contact settles the alarm faster than reasoning does.
- Say what it is: "this is anxiety, it peaks and it comes down." Naming it lowers it.
- Write down the specific fear. Vague dread is heavier than a stated one.
When to get it checked
See a doctor if the physical symptoms are new or severe — chest pain in particular should always be examined properly rather than assumed to be anxiety. And if worry has been interfering with work, sleep or relationships for weeks, that is worth raising with a professional. Anxiety responds well to help, and getting it early makes it easier.
If there is something you have been carrying alone, writing it down without your name attached is one way to set it down.
If the heaviness does not lift, please do not carry it by yourself.
US: call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) · Elsewhere: findahelpline.com