Can Anxiety Cause Dizziness? Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

I work with dozens of people every week with anxiety in Ely, Newmarket and Online. Common symptoms they describe include feeling dizzy, disorientated and light headed. You may worry that something is wrong when you experience these sorts of symptoms because can anxiety cause dizziness?

If you feel dizzy then it can make you feel unsteady and unwell. You may start to worry that there is something seriously wrong with you. Whilst not everyone with anxiety reports it, certainly anxiety can cause dizziness and a sense of being lightheaded and feeling unsteady. Dizziness is one of the more unsettling physical symptoms of anxiety, and it can make you feel even more worried once it starts happening.

Anxiety causes many physical sensation in your body. You can feel tense, hot and restless. You may get a tight chest, have heart palpitations and feel nauseous. You start feeling anxious and then your thoughts and feelings start to feed off each other, ramping it up more and more uncomfortably.

Many people I work with for anxiety describe feeling off balance, spaced out or like things are spinning when they are stressed and anxious. The more anxious you get, the greater you can experience it. You struggle to do things, panic something is seriously wrong with your health and you may feel sick. It can be scary, especially if you are unsure what’s causing it.

Can anxiety cause dizziness? Yes, it certainly can. So what is happening and what can you do about it so that you feel more steady and more calm.

The Connection Between Anxiety and Dizziness

When you feel anxious, your body prepares you to deal with the threat. Your natural fight or flight response is activated. Adrenaline, oxygen and stress hormones flood your system in readiness for quickly responding to the perceived threat and danger. Your breathing becomes faster and shallower, your heart rate increases and blood and energy is sent to your muscles.

If you were faced with an actual, external threat or danger then these responses are helpful. In evolutionary terms, it is how we are all still here today. Yet, in modern times, most threats are in our own thinking and perception, rather than being things that plan to kill or eat us.

All of the physical changes you experience are completely normal and are what your body is designed to do. It’s all about your survival and protection mechanism. However, anxiety can create issues such as dizziness, feeling lightheaded or a a sense of imbalance.

You may experience sensations such as feeling lightheaded or faint, a spinning or swaying feeling or a sense of detachment from your surroundings.

When these symptoms suddenly start happening, or when you are unsure what is happening to you, these feelings can add to your anxiety. That extra worry can, in turn, make your dizziness worse.

Why Anxiety Can Make You Feel Dizzy

In my experience of working with people for anxiety hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket, there are a few key reasons why anxiety can trigger dizziness.

One of the main causes of anxious dizziness is over-breathing or hyperventilating. When you are anxious, you breathe more quickly and shallowly. This increases oxygen levels and reduces carbon dioxide levels in your blood. The result is feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

When you are anxious, your eye pupils dilate to take in more information about your surroundings. Your brain and eyes are scanning for threats and escape routes. With anxiety, you may already be used to looking for exits and ways out when you go into situations. This influx of information can feel overwhelming and disorientating. In addition, when anxious, your brain functions are downgraded in importance. Less blood flow goes there as it is not important to have a good think when faced with danger. Blood and oxygen needs to go to your muscles for you to act. This subtle change can create a sense of dizziness.

It’s also possible that dizziness when anxious could arise form muscle tension. Tension in your neck, shoulders or jaw can create restriction and subtly affect your balance. When you are anxious you are also likely to be hyper-focused upon the sensations you can feel. They frighten you so you pay attention to every feeling in your body. Any small changes in balance or vision can suddenly feel much more intense or alarming.

Of course, if you are concerned about dizziness then you should visit your GP to rule out another other potential cause for your dizziness. If it only happens when you are anxious then that would suggest that anxiety is the cause. However, you want to get the reassurance that it is nothing else (or your anxious mind will create doubt about what if it is something more serious). If it is anxious dizziness then, whilst uncomfortable and unpleasant, you are perfectly medically safe.

How To Calm Dizziness Caused By Anxiety

Once you are aware and understand the natural processes taking place, it is very possible to take effective steps to calm your body and mind.

One strategy is to calm and steady your breathing. By calming your breathing you can stimulate your biological relaxation process (the opposite of the fight or flight responses). You can interrupt your body taking on more oxygen and all the other physical changes and sensations that follow this. The 4-2-6 breathing technique can help. You breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of two and then breathe out for a count of six. The out breath being longer is key. You regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and you feel more calm and balanced.

There is more on this technique for anxiety in this article: Controlled Breathing To Calm Anxious Feelings

Many people find that grounding techniques help them to stay in the present moment. When dizziness strikes, you focus on what is around you. You could use the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety or the 5-4-3-2-1 method for anxiety. These are covered here: The 5-4-3-2-1 Method for Anxiety and The 3-3-3 Rule For Anxiety. This simple strategies can help you to reduce your anxious feelings and so to feel more calm and settled.

It can also be useful to use relaxing techniques to ease muscle tension and you may wish to listen to one of my hypnosis downloads to help you to feel more balanced, calm and steady: Hypnosis Downloads

Yes, anxiety can cause dizziness. It’s a common and completely understandable physical reaction to the body’s stress response. Once you understand what’s happening and learn ways to calm your body, those sensations can become far less frightening and much easier to manage.

If anxiety dizziness or other symptoms are affecting your life, my hypnotherapy can help you to break the cycle. With the right support and tools, you can feel steadier, calmer, and back in control again.

My anxiety hypnotherapy can help you to switch off the constant stress response, calm anxious thoughts and feel more relaxed and comfortable in yourself. As you feel more calm, relaxed and on control, your dizziness, lightheadedness and tension become things of the past. You start feeling more mentally calm, physically relaxed, confident, capable and in control in your thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions.

Book your free consultation to learn more, or find out more about how I help people overcome anxiety here: Anxiety Hypnotherapy

To your health and happiness,

Dan Regan

Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Find out more about anxiety hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket: Anxiety Hypnotherapy

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