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This post is a deep dive into anxiety, describing both well-known and lesser known symptoms and consequences of experiencing anxiety. While the focus on this blog centers on fostering calmness and inner peace, I think it’s crucial to acknowledge the flip side – stress and anxiety – and understand their manifestations.
As someone who has grappled with anxiety, I recognize its debilitating effects firsthand. Therefore, I want to shed light on some common symptoms and consequences, hoping to provide comfort to those navigating anxiety right now. So let’s dive in:
Avoidance
One way we tend to deal with anxiety is by avoiding things that may trigger anxiety We do this in the hopes of feeling less anxiety, and it tends to be a good strategy here and now. However, in the long run, avoidance makes anxiety worse. This is because avoidance confirms to our brains that the thing we’re avoiding is actually dangerous. I also talk about this in my blog post on 3 effective strategies to manage anxiety.
Brain zaps
When I first started experiencing anxiety, these two symptoms were absolutely dreadful. Luckily, I don’t get these anymore.
Brain zaps are described as electrical shock sensations in the brain. For me, they usually occurred when I was trying to fall asleep. It felt like a strong flash of light occurring inside my head, and it jolted me right awake. This symptom of anxiety is actually somewhat common, but it’s not mentioned in the literature very often.
Body zaps are even more common, and most people have experienced these at some point. Just like brain zaps, these also usually occurs when we’re trying to fall asleep. Then suddenly, our body makes a sudden movement that jolts us awake in the same way brain zaps do.
Catastrophizing
People with anxiety have a tendency to catastrophize. It’s not uncommon to go down a rabbit hole of horrible thoughts about imagined scenarios. These kinds of thoughts have an impact on our minds and our bodies, even if we don’t consciously notice it. Over time, when catastrophizing, we’re training our minds and bodies for alertness and for automatizing these thoughts. This ultimately maintains or even worsens anxiety.
Dissociation
Again, this one isn’t always mentioned in the literature on anxiety. But I’ve had multiple clients describing this symptom to me, just as I personally experienced dissociation when I had bad anxiety.
Dissociation is a state of feeling disconnected from yourself or from reality. It can feel like an out-of-body experience, or it can feel like a disconnect between mind and body. It can also feel like the world suddenly seems unreal. Dissociation is incredibly uncomfortable, but it will pass. It’s just your brain’s way of signaling that you’re feeling pressured right now.
Exhaustion
Exhaustion, or fatigue, are also closely connected with anxiety. When our sympathetic nervous system (or “fight or flight”-response) is activated – as it is when we’re experiencing anxiety – we’re taking in more stimuli than normally. Our brains are then working harder than usual and using a lot of energy, which can make us feel exhausted or fatigued all the time.
If you struggle with exhaustion, I have a post on common psychological reasons behind chronic tiredness. This post includes a free worksheet to help you regain your energy.
Fasciculations
Muscle fasciculations, or muscle twitching, often occur in people with anxiety. For some, these fasciculations can be more or less constant, and they can occur in any muscle in the body.
A lot of people with anxiety begin to worry that the fasciculations is a symptom of sclerosis. Now, obviously it’s always a good idea to check in with your doctor if you have any health concerns. But please know that it’s pretty common to experience fasciculations if you have anxiety as well. Again, when your fight-or-flight response is activated for a long period of time, you can start experiencing all kinds of strange and scary physical symptoms.
Globus sensation
“Globus sensation” refers to the feeling of having something stuck in, or having a lump, in your throat. Like most anxiety-related bodily symptoms, it can be very unpleasant and even feel painful. It can also lead to worries of having cancer. But again, please know that both globus sensation and fears of cancer are closely related to anxiety and not necessarily a sign of anything dangerous. However, you should definitely consult your doctor if you’re worried about any symptom you’re experiencing.
Heart palpitations
The feeling of your heart taking an extra beat, or skipping a beat, is also common when experiencing anxiety or stress. It can feel scary and the anxiety we experience as a result of worrying about the palpitations can worsen them. However, heart palpitations due to anxiety or stress are not associated with any physical danger.
Irritable bowel syndrome
IBS is also common in people with anxiety. You may experience stomach pains, diarrhea, constipation, cramps, bloating, and other symptoms from your bowels. This is most likely because your nervous system and your gut work closely together. So, when your nervous system is out of balance (which it usually is with prolonged anxiety or stress) your gut will start to follow suit.
Jaw tension
Muscle tension is one of the most common physical symptoms of anxiety and it can affect any muscle in the body. Oftentimes, people with anxiety will experience muscle tension in the jaws. This, in turn, can lead to feeling sore in the jaws, to your jaws getting stuck, clenching your jaws in your sleep, and to headaches.

Knots in the stomach
This one kind of goes along with irritable bowel syndrome. But anxiety can create a feeling of having a knot on your stomach, and this sensation can be very uncomfortable. When I personally started experiencing symptoms of anxiety (without even knowing it at the time), I had this terrible feeling of a big, persistent knot in my stomach for three days straight, and it made it hard to focus on anything I was doing.
Loss of appetite
For some people, anxiety can result in a loss of appetite, or the feeling that you can’t stomach food. Eating food and keeping it down can be difficult when we’re feeling anxious and tense. Also, it can feel unnatural for the body to eat and process food if our fight-or-flight response is activated. Eating in a calm setting, taking your time, and doing breathing exercises before a meal might help you.
Muscle weakness
Just like anxiety can result in muscle fasciculations and muscle tension, it can also make you experience muscle weakness. When I had bad anxiety, I felt like my legs were weak and like my head was almost too heavy to uphold. In extreme cases, anxiety can even cause a person to feel paralyzed with no physical explanation.
The explanation for these sensations seems to be that our minds and bodies are deeply connected. When one is suffering, it’s going to affect the other.
Nervousness
When experiencing anxiety, you may feel nervous a lot more than you did before. Simple things like heading out the door, or meeting with a friend can suddenly feel nerve wrecking. You may also be more sensitive to loud noises and generally feel more jittery than usual.
Obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors
Anxiety can also lead to obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors. You may develop rituals of things you must think or do to avoid a certain (imagined) consequence. Or you may think that there are certain things you mustn’t think or do, because a certain (imagined) consequence will occur.
These kinds of thoughts can happen with anxiety, but they can also be symptoms of or develop into OCD, which is a different kind of mental illness.
In any case, a problem here is that you’re giving your thoughts way too much power. This is a common trap that most people fall into, so try to remind yourself that everyone has a crazy amount of thoughts every day. – And that most of these are completely random and nothing but thoughts.
Panic attacks
Panic attacks feel horrible but please know that they’re common and that you’ll get through it. During a panic attack you may feel like you can’t breathe. You may hyperventilate, you may feel really warm or really cold, and you may feel dizzy. You may also experience your heart racing, and you may feel certain you’re going to die. Try to do something soothing for yourself while this wave of panic comes over you and then, eventually, leaves again.
Becoming quieter
You may have noticed – or the people around you may have commented – that you’re more quiet than usual.
When experiencing anxiety, all our efforts usually go towards managing our emotions. A lot of your focus may be directed at scanning your body for physical symptoms as well. This requires a lot of energy and focus, so engaging with other people on top of that can feel downright impossible. We may don’t feel like we have the capacity to do anything else than managing and scanning.
Restless legs
Before I got diagnosed with anxiety, I got diagnosed with restless leg syndrome. I learned later that the anxiety was causing the symptoms in my legs. I also learned that it’s not uncommon for people with anxiety to experience the sensations of restless legs. For me, the restless legs felt like a constant bubbling sensation deep inside my legs, and I felt a need to move my legs to make the sensations stop.
Sleep anxiety
For some, anxiety is experienced more intensely at night. This can cause people with anxiety to become anxious about going to sleep. For people with health anxiety especially, it can be terrifying to go to sleep because of concerns that they will die in their sleep. These concerns are normal for some people with anxiety and they will get better, even though it’s terrifying when you’re in it.
Tingling sensations
As mentioned, anxiety can cause all kinds of strange and worrying symptoms because of how it affects the nervous system. One of these symptoms is tingling sensations. Again, this can lead people to fear conditions such as sclerosis, but it’s very likely that what you’re experiencing is just symptoms of an overloaded nervous system. – Just as with the other symptoms mentioned in this post, you should always consult your doctor if you have worries about your symptoms.
Vertigo
Anxiety can also cause major vertigo or dizziness. This is one of the most common consequences of experiencing anxiety and it can feel debilitating. For some, the dizziness can be more or less constant and worrying about it can exaggerate it even further. Please know that it’s normal, it’s okay, and it can get better.
I hope this anxiety-ABC helps you if you’re in the process of trying to figure out what you’re experiencing right now. Or, if you’re trying to figure out what a loved one is going through.
Let me know in the comments if this was helpful, or if you’d like similar posts in the future. Also, please share this post with a loved one, if you think it could help them!
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