When Anxiety Hurts

My back hurts. My face hurts. My jaw is sore. My neck is stiff. 

Anxiety is a condition that not only affects you in a cognitive sense but also affects you physically. I suffer from chronic aches and pains on an almost daily basis. I frequently get headaches, muscle spasms, jaw pain, neck pain, and the list goes on all from having ANXIETY! CRAZY! I have to get pretty frequent massages to help with my neck and back pain because I get deep knots if I don’t. I take long showers every night to help combat muscle fatigue and prevent aches and pains while I sleep.

The scariest of all the symptoms of my anxiety is a racing heart. I got an Apple Watch a few years ago and started noticing a very scary trend. My heart rate was often tachycardic from the 120s and up. I often felt like my heart was racing but didn’t think much of it because that is how I felt ALL THE TIME! It was normal for me. I decided to bring it up to my doctor because it was starting to get worrisome and I was starting to get chest pain also. My doctor ran all kinds of tests and found nothing. What a surprise, anxiety does not show up in lab tests. He suggested I start a beta blocker to slow my heart rate and since there I have felt better.

My advice to you is that if you are having symptoms of your anxiety, talk to your doctor. If you are not ready to talk to your doctor or you are not able to see a doctor at this time, I would practice self care (relaxation techniques, having a partner give you a massage, long baths/showers, essential oils, writing down your worries, etc.)

Thanks for reading!

Heather