Physical Symptoms of Mild Anxiety

2 mins to read

When anxious feelings persist, it can make situations feel worse than they really are, which affects our ability to concentrate, sleep and carry out ordinary tasks.

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Anxiety is the way of the body physically responding to danger, a threat or emergency or challenge. We can all experience it from time to time and it gives us the energy boost and alertness to protect ourselves. This can be from a stressful event or emergency. We can also feel this when we worry that something could go wrong. This is normal and mild anxiety.

However, when these anxious feelings persist, it can make us see situations as worse than they really are, and the anxiety affects our ability to concentrate, sleep and carry out ordinary tasks.

According to Darling Downs Health, this is when it becomes severe anxiety, having a fear, when there is nothing to be afraid of.

Mild anxiety can present as physical symptoms due to the role of the autonomic nervous system that kicks in to react, by activating the fight or flight response as a defence mechanism when there is a threat.

The autonomic nervous system is a system that you don't consciously control, but regulates your heart rate, breathing, urination, and sexual function. When faced with stress or anxiety, this system kicks into action. So even though you may have physical symptoms, the cause may not be physical, but mild anxiety. Sometimes it can become a vicious cycle whereby these physical symptoms then produce more anxiety.

Physical symptoms of mild anxiety

The physical symptoms of mild anxiety, whether mild or severe that can appear include:

Headaches, backache or other aches and pains
“Butterflies” or a churning feeling in your stomach
Feeling restless or unable to sit still
Dizziness or light-headedness
Sleep problems
Faster breathing
A fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat
Sweating or hot flushes
Grinding teeth, especially at night
Nausea
Needing the toilet more or less often
Changes in your sex drive
Panic attacks
Pins and needles

Sometimes it might be difficult to work out whether your symptoms are totally related to anxiety or whether they might be related to a different illness.

Taking notice of mild anxiety and physical symptoms

It’s also possible that you may focus so much on the physical pain or symptoms, that you don’t realise that it is due to you being anxious.

Stop and really tune in, to try to take notice of your body and how you are feeling. Physically, notice whether you are tensing your muscles. Emotionally, notice whether you are feeling stressed about something, perhaps writing down your thoughts may help.

If you determine that your physical symptoms may be because you are anxious, try to distract yourself with an activity, even if it’s just household chores, and see whether this reduces any of the symptoms.

You could also try some relaxation techniques, such as meditation, walking, breathing exercises or yoga to induce the relaxation response.

To reduce the risk of further anxiety, it may help to reassure yourself that there is nothing wrong with the physical feelings and that they should subside once the anxiety passes.

When anxiety may not be the cause

There are some physical conditions that may trigger mild anxiety, for example, an asthma attack. In these cases, anxiety is often not the cause of the asthma attack.

Living with a chronic illness and managing the impact on your daily life can also lead to having mild anxiety symptoms.

If you have a physical problem that does not resolve with relaxation or other techniques, contact your doctor to have it checked out. If you're experiencing concerning physical symptoms or if anxiety is impacting your everyday life, it's best to talk to your GP, so they look into the cause, and so you can get the right support and treatment. It might help to write down your symptoms leading up to your appointment, so it's easier to explain to a doctor or mental health professional.