Many people are often unaware that physical symptoms of anxiety do exist. They think of anxiety as a wholly emotional reaction, but in reality this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many people who suffer from anxiety often recount how the physical symptoms of anxiety become prominent first and then trigger an increased emotional reaction.

Anxiety can have physical symptoms which generally fall into one of two categories. these are symptoms that occur in a physical manner before they occur mentally (or instead of any mental symptoms at all), or physical symptoms that arise after a person has become emotionally anxious.

Emotional anxiety is often followed by physical symptoms of anxiety, which can be identified by most people as reactions they have felt in the past. A common situation that causes anxiety is the fear of speaking in public. Strong physical symptoms of anxiety are felt in response to this, even in those who are accustomed to speaking in public on a regular basis.

People can be taught to recognize the physical symptoms of anxiety by thinking of the example of the anxiety they may feel when speaking to an audience. Anxiety will follow a predictable pattern of nervousness, which increases in intensity as the stressful situation is encountered.

Physical symptoms of anxiety can occur without emotional reactions. For example, in a stressful situation a person suffering an anxiety attack might have chest pains. The emergency room staff may not be able to diagnose the source of the chest pains if anxiety is the only cause, which can increase the stress and worsen the physical symptoms of anxiety as the patient is still very worried about having chest pain at all. The emergency room doctor conducts a full examination and rule out cardiovascular or other physical problems as the cause of the chest pain. Upon interviewing the patient, it is determined that the patient is working a high-stress job and experiencing personal difficulties that contributed the anxiety attack.

Even though the patient does not feel that the challenges he is currently facing in his life are causing him to feel anxious, his body is exhibiting a physical symptom of anxiety instead of an emotional one. The chest pains are his body’s direct reaction to the stress that he is experiencing. Tightness in the chest or chest pain, shortness of breath, shakiness and unsteadiness in the legs, increased heart rate, and digestive distress like vomiting or nausea are some of the physical symptoms of anxiety.

You do not have to fear that anxiety will take control of your life. There a several effective ways to control anxiety and lead a normal life. Indeed, medication is not the only option to alleviate the physical symptoms of anxiety. There are techniques that can be learned and even natural remedies to dealing with anxiety attacks. Talk to your doctor about your options so that you can choose what is right for you.