If you search “anxiety symptoms” online you will usually be presented with a list of around 6-12 core symptoms. These are the most common and are used to diagnose anxiety disorder.
What you may not find are the many others that can also be caused by anxiety.
If you have an anxiety disorder and your doctor is happy that you are otherwise healthy, but you also have any of the symptoms below, then it’s most likely anxiety is the culprit.
Anxiety’s job is to get your attention and it has many ways of doing so. Here are some, but by no means all, of the ways in which anxiety can affect you:
- Feeling nervous, uneasy
- Constant sense that something is wrong
- Headache / migraine
- Sweating
- Increased heart rate
- Irregular heart rate
- Low heart rate variation
- Palpitations
- Increased blood pressure
- Blood sugar variations (high or low)
- Breathing difficulties (tight chest, air hunger)
- Aches and pains
- Inflammation
- Trembling / vibrating
- Twitches and spasms
- Tinnitus
- Eyesight problems
- Hearing problems
- Tingling in arms and legs
- Pressure in chest
- Chest pain
- Loss of appetite
- Constant hunger
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- Feeling faint
- Difficulty swallowing
- Speech problems
- Persistent cough
- Flu symptoms
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Allergies
- Food intolerances
- Sudden pains throughout body
- Hallucinations (auditory and visual)
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Ulcers
- Hernia
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory loss
- Paranoia
- Feeling trapped
- Fever
- Chills
- Lethargy
- Depression
- Feeling isolated
Remember, the first step towards overcoming anxiety is acceptance, so if you experience these symptoms and your doctor has told you you’re healthy, then trust your body and accept that it’s just anxiety and it will pass.
Chances are you’ve had this before and it passed, it will do so this time too – and much sooner once you accept it.
Don’t feed it by responding with fear, just accept the feeling and let it pass – it always does.