Side Effects of Anxiety: The Truths Behind Physical and Mental Anguish
Floridians are no strangers to mental health conditions, with many experiencing the plethora of side effects associated with it. In 2023, over 12,000 hospitalizations occurred from mental disorders here in Florida. It makes you wonder, were all of these mental health-related, or were there physical health problems related to the condition?
Clean Recovery Centers provides education about topics surrounding substance use disorders and mental health conditions. If a loved one told you the side effects of anxiety were becoming debilitating, would you know why? Would you understand why they seem to have chest pains all the time? Would you be able to provide advice or offer help that they would find useful? Let’s talk about this further.
The Side Effects of Anxiety on the Body
Anxiety affects millions of people each year – some experience generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) while others experience panic disorders or phobias. While the mental side effects are typically well-known, anxiety also causes side effects within the body. Oftentimes, these effects are blamed on other conditions, such as eating bad food or just being prone to sickness. Let’s look at how the side effects of anxiety cause harm to the body.
Respiratory and Cardiovascular System Complications
The respiratory system and cardiovascular system are two separate entities, but both need the other to function properly. When feelings of anxiety occur, the brain reads the situation as life or death. This triggers the fight or flight response, sending fear throughout the body. Heart rate will increase as sweat production also increases. Due to the heart speeding up (cardiovascular system), breathing becomes short and fast (respiratory system). Feelings of not being able to catch your breath become overwhelming and make it difficult for the heart to keep up. Chest pain ensues as both systems attempt to keep regulation during the fear response.
How Digestive Symptoms Relate to Anxiety
Stress plays a large role in anxiety as well as digestive health. Even those with a functional bowel can have digestion discomfort when faced with a stressful situation, such as an interview for a new job or public speaking. This discomfort can increase anxiety symptoms and in turn, worsen digestive problems.
Those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can also develop anxiety from the signals within their digestive tract. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a two-layer tract of nerves within the entire digestive system. When they are irritated from IBS inflammation, they send signals to the brain that can trigger anxiety and other mood changes. Therefore, anxiety can cause digestive discomfort, while digestion issues can cause anxiety.
Poor Immune System Response
The immune system is responsible for keeping you healthy by fighting off foreign bacteria, viruses, and infections. Eating healthy foods rich in vitamins and minerals as well as having normal stress levels helps keep this system functioning properly. Anxiety disrupts the immune system by constantly releasing the stress hormone cortisol. At normal levels, cortisol boosts the immune system and fights inflammation. At chronic high levels of anxiety, cortisol actually weakens the immune response and increases the amount of inflammation in the body. This makes it more likely for you to be sick more often, even when eating a healthy diet.
How Anxiety Side Effects Interfere with the Mind
As we mentioned above, having fears and worries plague you day in and day out is exhausting for the body. But what about what is going on emotionally and mentally? Let’s dive into how anxiety side effects interfere with the mind.
Constant Feelings of Stress
Having stress is beneficial and helps protect you during fearful situations. Constant feelings of stress caused by anxiety, however, will cause more harm. Muscle tension is a normal stress response, but anxiety can keep muscles in a locked tension. Going through each day like this will lead to pain and fatigue.
The downfall with chronic stress is that sleep will be fleeting even though you feel fatigued and your muscles ache. Stress causes racing thoughts, often about previous events and future responsibilities simultaneously. This makes it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up the next morning. Anxiety treatments often involve addressing insomnia for this reason, allowing you to relax your body and mind.
Fears Altering Daily Routine
Anxiety disorders can cause fears associated with certain places or people. The fear response can be so intense that it causes you to avoid these at all costs, even if it is inconvenient to your daily routine. For some, this may involve taking the long way to work, risking them being late. Others may skip the coffee shop even though it was their favorite. These events end up worsening mental health as anxiety seems to be in control of your life.
How Can You Help a Loved One Manage Side Effects of Anxiety?
If you have a loved one trying to manage the side effects of anxiety, there are ways you can be helpful during an attack as well as ways to help them manage outside of symptoms. Some techniques for when an anxiety attack strikes include:
- Grounding techniques: Your loved one is in a state of fear despite there being no rational cause. A common grounding technique is the 3-3-3 method. Ask your loved one to name 3 things they can see, 3 things they can hear, and 3 parts of their body. This brings them back to the reality of the situation, helping calm anxious feelings.
- Remove them from the situation: Managing anxiety is not an exact science, and if techniques are not helping, move them to a calm, quiet place away from distractions. Speak in a peaceful, non-threatening tone while helping them slow their breathing.
- Have them go to their happy place: as cliche as it sounds, having a happy place can be very soothing for your loved one. Encourage them to close their eyes and think of a place where they feel at ease. This place should bring thoughts of joy and be stress-free, encouraging them to relax.
Techniques for managing anxiety before an attack happens include:
- Practice yoga: Yoga is not only a great way to exercise and burn excess anxious energy, but it is also a way to practice breathing techniques. Be your loved one’s workout partner, grab a mat, and spend some time together learning something new.
- Learn about their anxiety: Talk to your loved one about their anxiety. Get to know their triggers to give you a better understanding of what they are going through. When an anxiety attack occurs, you will be more prepared to help in the situation.
- Be yourself: Don’t try to change who you are to try to be better for your loved one. They appreciate you for you and the efforts you put forward. Changing yourself may only worsen their anxiety as they know you are acting differently than normal.
Getting Help for Anxiety in Hillsborough County, FL
Side effects of anxiety can be crippling to the mind and body, but this doesn’t have to lead to permanent damage. Anxiety therapy treatments are available to help you not only manage the side effects of anxiety but to thrive keeping them at bay. You will build on your coping skill techniques and add healthy options that fit your needs. Anxiety has no hold on you – you are strong and deserve to heal from within.
If you or someone you love is trying to manage the side effects of anxiety, help is available today. Clean Recovery Centers offers a full-spectrum, three-phase approach to anxiety treatment that encompasses everything you will need to begin healing. Daily individual and group therapies paired with coping skill classes will play a major role in your program. Our care team can advise on medications if necessary and will listen to your goals and concerns. We can also treat co-occurring substance use disorders along with anxiety. Call us today at (888) 330-2532 to learn more about our program offerings.
Get clean. Live clean. Stay clean.
FAQs
How can I treat the side effects of anxiety?
The side effects of anxiety can be treated through therapies, coping techniques, and medications.
Can anxiety lead to diseases long-term?
Yes, unmanaged anxiety can lead to long-term diseases such as heart disease, bowel complications, and diabetes.
