Guide · anxiety · 3 min read
Why anxiety shows up in your body first — the essentials, when you are on your own
Racing heart, tight chest, churning stomach. Understanding the mechanism makes the symptoms less frightening.
Start here
The order matters less than doing the first one tonight. Start there and come back to the rest.
Being on your own is not required, but it does make this simpler.
If you only do one thing from this page, do the first point below. It is first because it removes the most friction for the least effort.
What helps
The physical symptoms come from the same system that gets you out of the way of a car. It is fast, physical and not very smart.
Your heart rate rises, breathing speeds up and blood moves to your muscles. That is why your hands go cold and your chest feels tight.
Because the system is physical, physical things work on it: slow exhales, cold water, walking, moving your shoulders.
What to do when it does not work
The symptoms usually peak within ten minutes and then fall, even if nothing is done. Knowing that the peak is short helps more than it sounds.
The symptoms are uncomfortable but not dangerous. Chest tightness from anxiety does not damage the heart.
Checking your body for symptoms increases your sensitivity to them. This is why health anxiety tends to escalate.
Questions people ask
How do I know it is anxiety and not my heart?
That is a question for a doctor, and one worth asking once. After it has been checked, treating new sensations as anxiety is usually correct.
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