Anxiety is a mental illness that comes in a wide variety of forms. It is much more common than most people think and about 40 million adults in the US alone are affected at any given moment.

Anxiety disorders can be found in both adults and children of all ages and are easily the most common mental illness. While highly treatable, it is estimated that only about 40 percent of those affected actually receive treatment. Anxiety is not simple and while it is a mental illness, it comes with a lot of physical symptoms that people don’t usually talk about.

Some of those physical symptoms are going to be gone over below. If you’ve been experiencing these kinds of problems then what you’re going through could be something entirely different than you might have assumed. We all react to anxiety in our own ways and no two cases are exactly the same, but I hope this helps you better understand anxiety in general.

9 Physical Symptoms That Anxiety Comes With:

1. Increased heart rate

When facing an anxious situation or something that makes you tense up, you might notice an increase in your heart rate. This could be a mild increase or a drastic increase depending on the situation. For most, it feels like their heart is going to bounce out of their chest.

2. Trouble sleeping

Because anxiety tends to show itself in a way that makes you worry, it can cause you to struggle with sleeping. It tends to go hand in hand with insomnia and will really keep you up at night. Many people with anxiety struggle to sleep at night.

3. Sweating

When having an anxiety attack or getting worked up over something, a person might become quite sweaty. When I am dealing with things like this, my palms tend to clam up. While it might not be a big deal to most, those with anxiety feel like you can see their sweat from a mile away even when you cannot.

4. Rapid breathing

People with anxiety tend to deal with breathing issues when worked up. While not everyone faces this symptom, many people do. This is something you may have noticed if you have panic attacks.

5. Trembling

Shaking is something that a person with anxiety cannot help. It is their body’s way of trying to get things situated even though it doesn’t help. If you notice someone trembling, they might be dealing with some kind of anxiety disorder that you are unaware of.

6. Chest pain

While not as common as some of the others on this list, anxiety also comes with chest pain sometimes. It all depends on how the person responds to their anxiety and when it comes to the body, we are usually not able to control the ways in which we react.

7. Restlessness

People with anxiety disorders tend to struggle with restlessness. The more present their anxiety is the more restless they are. It’s like they just cannot calm themselves.

8. Nausea

People with anxiety disorders sometimes become quite nauseous depending on the situation. I have in my experience even vomited as a result of anxiety. It is a very frustrating symptom to have, and if you are struggling with it, just know that you are not alone!

9. Digestive issues

As I have said several times throughout this article, everyone reacts differently. Sometimes people end up with digestive issues as a result of their anxiety. While it is pretty shitty, it is a very real symptom.