Here Are Five Physical Health Conditions Caused by Anxiety

While not the direct cause, anxiety can lead to quite a few physical health problems. Here’s a list of some of the ones you should be careful of.

It should come as no surprise that extreme stress levels are not healthy for a person’s mental well-being. However, one thing you might not know is that anxiety can also affect the body physically. While it doesn’t directly cause these issues, anxiety can trigger some physical health conditions. Knowing about them will make them easier to spot if you feel overwhelmed. We’ll go over some of these conditions below.

Heart Conditions

While occasional stress isn’t a bad thing, constant anxiety can lead to heart problems. This is because your body starts pumping blood through your veins faster when you’re stressed. If it continues to operate at an elevated level on a regular basis, your heart will eventually become overworked, making you more susceptible to a heart attack or stroke.

Asthma

Rapid breathing is a common response when experiencing an anxiety attack. Regular anxiety attacks can cause breathing problems down the line, including asthma. Even though asthma isn’t a common problem for adults to develop later in life, constant anxiety will increase the likelihood.

Digestion Problems

Stress and anxiety can affect your digestive system too. Nausea is one of the more common symptoms, but stomach pain and diarrhea can also occur. If these issues persist, you can develop irritable bowel syndrome or even stomach ulcers.

Incontinence

Another system that is affected by stress is your urinary tract. Incontinence occurs when you lose control of your bladder. Under extreme stress, some people experience incontinence. To make matters worse, the psychological impact of urinary incontinence can lead to even more stress, exacerbating the issue. Once this happens, it can be difficult to regain control.

Insomnia

The final notable physical health condition that can occur from anxiety is insomnia. This issue is a bit more well-known, but not everyone knows that extreme stress is one of the biggest triggers for sleeplessness. Chronic anxiety can lead to multiple sleepless nights, which can lower your immune system and cause other health conditions.