Your autonomic nervous system controls processes in the body that you don\u2019t have a conscious influence over, and this is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic arms. The sympathetic nervous system is the \u201cfight or flight\u201d half, and the parasympathetic nervous system is known as the \u201crest and digest\u201d nervous system.<\/p>\n
For many people, in cases of stress or anxiety, the \u201cfight or flight\u201d half is overactive. You may not feel like it, but this system has evolved to protect you<\/em> from dangers such as a predator or impending natural disaster. What we don\u2019t want, however, is for this to get activated even during minor stressful situations \u2013 and yet this happens to many of us.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at 10 of the physical side effects of stress and anxiety, which you may experience even if you aren\u2019t aware that you have an anxiety disorder<\/a>. These physical side effects of stress and anxiety are primarily caused by the two major stress hormones released when you\u2019re tense or anxious: adrenaline and cortisol. Below are 10 physical side effects of stress and anxiety that although are normal, will naturally feel uncomfortable:<\/p>\n Adrenaline\u2019s effects on the heart and lungs are all about helping you run away as fast and as far as you can, or fight to the best of your ability. However, this can be disrupted in cases of extreme stress or anxiety, making it difficult for you to breathe as your body tries to force oxygen into your lungs. The initial rise in your blood levels of oxygen, and fall in carbon dioxide<\/a>, can cause airway constriction during an anxiety attack.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re feeling anxious, your heart beats faster as part of the fight-or-flight response. Adrenaline surges and gets you ready to run away from danger, sending more blood flow and oxygen to your muscles so you can escape. It\u2019s not a heart attack, you\u2019re not dying \u2013 this is all part of your body trying to keep you safe.<\/p>\n Why do some people have shaky hands when they\u2019re stressed or anxious? Rapid breathing, especially when it\u2019s not helping you run away, can throw out the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide. This then disrupts the mineral balance in your muscle and nerve cells, which they use to communicate. Sometimes, this can manifest as shaking because your neurons aren\u2019t sending coherent signals.<\/p>\n Tense shoulders or a sore and tight neck are common physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. Just as you can shake or tremble with anxiety, sometimes everything in your body seems to tense up. This could be from both a disruption in nerve cell communication and in electrolyte balance. If you\u2019ve ever been involved in endurance sports, you know that you need more than just water. You need the right balance of sodium and potassium to keep your fluid balance within a safe, healthy range. When you\u2019re out of balance, muscle cramps are often your first warning sign before things start getting out of hand.<\/p>\n High cortisol depletes our bodies of potassium<\/a>, a relaxing electrolyte, and retains sodium, which promotes tension. Its diuretic effect may also lead to faster magnesium<\/a> loss, another relaxant electrolyte that\u2019s great for muscle cramps when you\u2019re deficient. This is also why one of the physical side effects of anxiety is high blood pressure, as the muscles in your arteries tense up as well.<\/p>\n Cortisol, another key stress hormone that may be higher in cases of anxiety, affects your body\u2019s fluid balance. At high levels, it increases sweating<\/a>, also known as hyperhidrosis. It\u2019s possible that this is related to what may have been the hormone\u2019s original purpose, to help fish control the level of sodium in their bodies (we all evolved from fish!).<\/p>\n Maybe you need to run to the bathroom every time you\u2019re anxious for another reason. Cortisol also acts as a diuretic hormone, increasing urination in the most inconvenient of situations. During the worst of the pandemic in 2020, I would wake up every night, desperate to use the bathroom, because of stress. Avoiding coffee and every type of tea that could possibly be diuretic didn\u2019t help, it was only when life began returning to normal that I could sleep without interruption.<\/p>\n One of the physical side effects of stress or anxiety that many people experience is in the bowel or stomach, such as diarrhoea. Do you have a \u201cnervous stomach\u201d,<\/a> always running to the bathroom just before you have to get involved in a stressful situation? Your brain and digestive system are constantly communicating through the rest-and-digest part of the autonomic nervous system we mentioned earlier. This goes both ways, with the intestinal microbiome \u201cspeaking\u201d to the brain by neurotransmitter production.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the inflammation caused by chronic anxiety can, unfortunately, disrupt the intestinal microbiome. It shifts the population balance away from helpful, neurotransmitter-regulating species and towards harmful inflammatory bacteria. This is partly because cortisol reduces your levels of IgA antibodies, which protect your intestinal lining against infection and other damaging factors.<\/p>\n Both diarrhoea and constipation can be the main symptom of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a functional disorder often worsened by stress and anxiety. Chronic anxiety could reduce the parasympathetic nervous system\u2019s activity, so your digestive tract isn\u2019t getting the input it needs. Impaired muscle contraction can then lead to constipation.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re always sick, always catching the latest cold or flu to go around, stress may be affecting your immune system. Not everyone who is exposed to an infection gets sick; it\u2019s about whether the balance is tipped in your immune system\u2019s favour and not the microbe. An analysis of 25 studies<\/a> has found that stress increases both the risk of infections diagnosed by symptoms and lab-confirmed infection. It didn\u2019t matter whether they were exposed in everyday life or in a lab setting, either.<\/p>\n Cortisol, the stress hormone also responsible for waking us up in the morning, causes the breakdown of tissue proteins. Collagen is no exception, and your skin\u2019s collagen may even be lost to chronically high cortisol levels at a much faster rate than anywhere else. A decline in collagen is part of skin aging<\/a>, weakening your skin and leading to wrinkles.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember that collagen is in all of your connective tissues<\/em>. My own CircleDNA test results show that I am predisposed to younger-looking skin, but I also have a higher vulnerability to soft tissue injuries and am likely to benefit from collagen supplementation. Stress-induced collagen loss and poor diet could be some of the sneakier physical side effects of anxiety, if you\u2019re the same.<\/p>\n Since stress and anxiety can make you eat poorly, overeat or undereat, it makes sense that other physical symptoms that go with a poor diet would occur.<\/p>\n If you have any of the above physical side effects of stress and anxiety, it\u2019s time to look at how well you manage stress and if you need any extra support. We\u2019re often taught to ignore our bodies\u2019 warning signs in the name of an image, or because we don\u2019t feel we have the time for self-care. To get an even better idea of what your individual needs are, a DNA test from CircleDNA<\/a> can show you where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and what you can do about them.<\/p>\nShallow Breathing or Shortness of Breath<\/h2>\n
Racing Heartbeat<\/h2>\n
![\"circlemagazine-circledna-physical-side-effects-of-stress\"](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1477408326134-9b64b5934e46?ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8Mnx8dHJlbWJsaW5nJTIwaGFuZHN8ZW58MHx8MHx8&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&w=1000&q=80\")
Trembling Hands or Muscle Shakes<\/h2>\n
Tense or Tight Muscles<\/h2>\n
Sweating<\/h2>\n
Frequent Urination<\/h2>\n
Diarrhea<\/h2>\n
![\"circlemagazine-circledna-physical-side-effects-of-stress\"](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1612878010854-1250dfc5000a?ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8MXx8ZGlzY29tZm9ydHxlbnwwfHwwfHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&w=1000&q=80\")
Constipation<\/h2>\n
Frequent Infections<\/h2>\n
Faster Skin Aging<\/h2>\n