How Anxiety Affects Your Physical Health

It’s normal to feel nervous or restless before a big test or when dealing with a difficult problem at work. Your anxiety is how your body reacts to this stress, increasing your heart rate, tensing your muscles, and making you more alert.

In short bursts, anxiety is good. However, ongoing anxiety may cause a chronic stress reaction that affects your body and your health.

At Capital City Primary Care and Immediate Care in Silver Springs, Maryland, and Washington, DC, we understand how anxiety affects your physical and emotional well-being. Life in the Capital is hectic and stressful. We do our best to provide flexible primary care services so we can give the care you need when you need it, including 24/7 telemedicine appointments.

Anxiety may feel like the norm when working and living near Washington, DC, but it takes its toll. Here, we want to share how anxiety impacts your physical health.

Physical symptoms of anxiety

Heart palpitations, sweaty palms, and shortness of breath are some of the physical symptoms you may experience when feeling anxious.

If you have an anxiety disorder, which causes excessive feelings of fear and unease about everyday things, then you may experience even more extreme symptoms. Your anxiety may cause chest pain, dizziness, and paralyzing fear. If you have these symptoms, you’re having a panic attack.

Your anxiety may also be the underlying cause of some of your other ailments, such as your:

• Stomach pain
• Heartburn
• Headaches
• Chronic fatigue
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Insomnia

Anxiety also affects your emotional well-being, causing you to feel restless and irritable.

Chronic anxiety and physical health

When dealing with stressful situations, your body releases hormones that trigger all the physical symptoms you feel when you’re anxious. These hormones trigger what’s known as the “fight or flight” response.

When you have chronic anxiety and stress, your stress hormones are always elevated. Over time, your ongoing anxiety, stress, and elevated hormone levels damage the body, putting you at risk of developing health problems like:

High blood pressure

The stress hormones also cause an increase in blood pressure. If you always feel anxious and stressed, your blood pressure remains elevated, leading to high blood pressure.

Gastrointestinal problems

There’s a strong connection between the brain and the gut. Anxiety triggers the release of hormones and chemicals that affect digestion and the balance of microorganisms that live in your gut, leading to digestive problems such as heartburn, diarrhea, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Weight challenges

Anxiety may increase or decrease your appetite, affecting your ability to maintain a healthy weight. Weight challenges may affect your energy levels, affect your ability to fight off infections, or put you at risk of developing chronic health issues.

Taking care of your anxiety

Ongoing anxiety is bad for your health. But there are steps you can take to improve your anxiety and your overall sense of well-being.

For our patients, we may recommend finding healthy outlets for your stress such as exercise or journaling. We may also provide medications to reduce your ongoing anxiety and make a referral to psychotherapy.

Making time for self-care is one of the best ways to improve anxiety and your health.

With our flexible schedule, we can help you get the medical care and support you need when you need it. Call our office to schedule an appointment today.