Have you ever experienced palpitations, chest tightness, shortness of breath, or sweating profusely but you do not have a heart disease? Or muscle tensions, teeth clenching, or upset stomach? These physical symptoms might be related to anxiety.

Most of the people I know think anxiety affects only their thoughts and emotions. But, that is not quite true. It can also affect your body. Anxiety-inducing situations trigger your body’s fight-or-flight response. Let's explore 20 common physical symptoms of anxiety. If you understand these symptoms, you are at your first step toward managing them effectively.

1. Racing Heartbeat: Most people get nervous when they face certain situations like public speaking. And that’s normal. However, for people with anxiety, the experience is more intense. It would feel like their heart is pounding, fluttering, racing, or skipping a beat. They experience palpitations often in many other stressful situations. This can affect their daily lives and impede their potential.

2. Shortness of Breath: Have you ever felt like you're gasping for air, even in a place where there is adequate oxygen supply? When anxiety attacks, your heart rate changes, which causes shortness of breath. You can beat it through breathing techniques and mindfulness practices. Medication can also help.

3. Chest Tightness: Chest tightness is often caused by heart attack and stroke. It can be frightening as it might be mistaken for such heart conditions. But, it is also a common symptom of anxiety. People who experienced this described it as a feeling of pressure or discomfort in the chest. This symptom often comes hand-in-hand with palpitations, making it very alarming for sufferers.

4. Sweating profusely

If you find yourself sweating excessively, even when you're not doing any intense labor or exercising, it can be a sign of anxiety. Like palpitations,your body’s reaction to stress is an increase in blood flow and respiration, which causes you to sweat profusely.

5. Shaking or trembling

Were you ever in a situation where you just started to shake or tremble suddenly without any obvious cause? This can be another sign of anxiety.

6. Muscle tension

If you have frequent headaches, neck pain, or back pain, it might be that your muscles are always tense. When your body is under stress, it automatically tenses up, leading to muscle tension.

7. Teeth clenching

Do you suddenly realize your gums are aching because you have been clenching your teeth? You might have (or might not have) noticed that you often respond to stress by clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth. Teeth clenching or grinding is a common symptom of anxiety. This symptom can cause damage to your teeth and their surrounding muscles, or headaches.

8. Dizziness

You might have also experienced dizziness or feeling of lightheadedness. This often happens because of hyperventilation, a common symptom of anxiety. When you hyperventilate, your body may take in too much oxygen and let out too much carbon dioxide. This can cause an imbalance in the body's oxygen levels, leading to dizziness.

9. Upset stomach

If you have anxiety, you might also frequently have an upset stomach, including nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. With anxiety, your body redirects blood flow away from the digestive system to the muscles and lungs. This causes digestive issues.

10. Fatigue

Feeling exhausted is a common symptom of anxiety. As your body struggles to cope with stress, you will feel exhausted even if you have not engaged in any physical activity.

11. Insomnia

Do you dread the coming of the night because it is difficult for you to fall and stay asleep? Insomnia can also be caused by anxiety. When the body is under stress, it releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, making it difficult to relax and fall asleep.

12. Headaches

If your headache is chronic or recurring, it can be a sign of muscle tension or stress, both of which are associated with anxiety. As your muscle in the neck and shoulders tenses, you will possibly experience tension headaches.

Fortunately, the power to manage these symptoms is given to you as experts came up with several ways to manage anxiety:

1. Get enough sleep: If insomnia is not one of your symptoms, try to get your much needed sleep. Sleep is essential for your mental and physical health. Doing this will help reduce your feelings of fatigue and irritability.

2. Exercise: If you are physically active, you can expect that tension and stress in your body can be reduced.

3. Eat a healthy diet: Try changing your diet if you think it is not healthy. Eating healthy food can help reduce inflammation in your body and improve your overall health.

4. Practice mindfulness: Try mindfulness techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and yoga.

5. Seek support: Talking to your therapist or counselor can help manage symptoms of anxiety and improve overall mental health. You can find them online if you do not know any yet.

If you are too busy to notice, you may have overlooked or ignored these physical symptoms of anxiety. It will help to seek medical attention and professional help so you can manage this condition effectively. Healthy lifestyle habits and seeking support can help immensely for your anxiety to be managed effectively, leading to a happier and more fulfilling life.