Depression vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com and Inkscape.org
I hate that you can feel anxiety in your stomach and chest.
— cun-t () August 22, 2022
In my last post, I wrote about Anxiety and flashbacks, even though the text was not very specific and did not directly imply flashbacks, there were memory symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that are related to flashbacks. Flashbacks were defined as relived traumatic experiences by mind.org. The symptoms of PTSD were divided into physical symptoms, memory symptoms and symptoms related to thinking. It is important to note that children may also react to traumatic events by reenacting the trauma or having vivid nightmares about the traumatic event.
In this post, even though we already have seen that anxiety can present this way, I would like to examine and find out just how many types of this disorder present with these physical symptoms. I would also like to know if physical symptoms are more common in some than others.
If you are new to this blog, I would like to welcome you, I hope you have a nice time reading, my name is Dr Ebingo Kigigha, and I am a medical doctor and creative. I write here on Medic Vibes. I wrote a month's worth of knowledge on depression last month. This month I will be writing about anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that have fear and worry as their defining symptoms. Anxiety is more common in younger people but it can affect any age group. A few days back we reviewed a study done in a youth camp that had levels as high as 50% prevalence. Anxiety yearly affects 3% of people the world’s population. In Nigeria, 1% of the population is dealing with anxiety.
The anxiety issue is that everyday life experiences cause worry to the person affected by anxiety. Being anxious about exams or school performance is normal. The criteria for anxiety is that it has to present on most days for 6 months.
People who have anxiety have these symptoms:
They could be jittery, feel tense, have abdominal pain, fast breathing, sweating and tiredness, these are physical symptoms.
They could have symptoms of insomnia, difficulty paying attention, having nightmares
They could also have abnormal reactions like being bothered.
According to the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental health diseases, Anxiety has to be about a variety of things and is present most days in 6 months, The worry is uneasy to control, and can move from one thing to the other. The worries are in addition to jitteriness, fatigue, difficulty paying attention, muscle pain, and insomnia, one of which is important for a diagnosis of anxiety in children.
Anxiety causes depression in many people. It is important to be vigilant about these changes to take prompt action. Read my posts from last month to know more about depression and the warning signs.
Physical symptoms of Anxiety
People illustrations by Storyset
Anxiety can have physical symptoms that affect health and daily life.
Specific types of anxiety might have additional physical symptoms.
According to Healthline, in an article titled
They describe some of the physical features you might find in an individual dealing with a panic attack.
The person, first of all, feels like they are about to die. There is difficulty breathing or this painful feeling in the chest. They may complain of tingling feelings on the hand with lightheadedness and the person may even faint. There may be changes in the body's temperature sensation, feeling hot or cold.
The reason for this is that the body during anxiety is preparing the body for fight or flight. It includes an increase in heart rate, preparing the body by sending blood to skeletal muscles, the body also prepares this way by increasing oxygen delivery by increasing the respiratory rate. All these responses further worsen the panic attack. These are mostly a result of adrenalin.
The human body was designed to deal with frightful situations this way, but because we are not under constant threat, we can’t last very long this way before we start feeling the weight of these responses on the body. The results are pains, fatigue, and headaches.
Cortisol, a hormone secreted in times of stress is overly secreted in a panic attack. This hormone can have adverse effects, especially in blood glucose regulation and other chronic changes that can result.
Tips
Those who are dealing with these symptoms will usually need either psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy or a combination of both. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the mainstay of psychotherapy but there are also options for pharmacotherapy. The drugs used for anxiety are called anxiolytics.
Hive Stories
I have written before about how food is a good tool to help deal with anxiety.
Check out her post here
Questions
- What did you learn about physical symptoms of anxiety?
- What did you learn about anxiety?
- How are physical symptoms related to anxiety?
- What methods are used for the treatment of anxiety?
Conclusion
Physical symptoms of anxiety exist and can present like the tweet said, with chest pains and abdominal pain. These symptoms of pain are all due to the preparatory mechanisms that the body uses for fight or flight that sustain over a long period leading to adverse effects