Dizziness and Anxiety: How your anxiety can contribute to chronic hyperventilation and dizziness
November 14th, 2010
Matt Collins asked:
Dizziness and Anxiety: How your anxiety can contribute to chronic hyperventilation and dizziness.
Although my initial symptoms of anxiety were nausea and upset stomach, I later began to exhibit the dreadful symptom known as dizziness. Dizziness is a generic term used to describe the symptoms of vertigo. Vertigo is the illusion of motion, or an experienced spinning sensation.
Non-anxiety causes of dizziness include (among other things I won’t go into as they may scare one prone to cyberchondria) inner ear infection and aging.
But if you in fact, have a history or both dizziness and anxiety, then let me assure you: your symptoms are most likely the cause of a psychological condition, or a pattern of thinking. More than likely, there is not anything physically wrong with you! But consult your family physician before trying to treat yourself, just in case.
The truth about dizziness and anxiety:
In reality, your dizziness is caused by chronic hyperventilation. This means that your body is constantly breathing quicker and shallower than it should be. How does this happen in a person? There are a few ways chronic hyperventilation can occur:
One way is that the sufferer has spent their entire life trying to keep their stomach ****** in, to try to look thinner than they really are. What happens is when the stomach is held in, the diaphragm is restricted in its movement, preventing deep inhalation and consequently preventing deep exhalation. This results in shallow breathing. If you find yourself in this predicament, you need to stop “sucking it in” immediately!
Another way is that the sufferer has spent their entire life in constant fear, and is subsequently holding their breath for longer than normal periods of time. To compensate, the sufferer will quickly exhale and begin a series of shallow breaths. Holding the breathing in this manner is a trait that evolved in our species to “quiet the scene” if they felt a predator was near. Next time you feel anxious, check to see if you are holding your breath.
Both are the result of anxiety.
The way to quickly combat this dizziness caused by hyperventilation, you must immediately time your breath so the exhalation lasts longer than the inhalation. To cope with anxiety symptoms, as with symptoms of hypochondria, it is oftentimes important to understand your fight or flight system, as understanding is an important preventative measure. Seeing the big picture is important for your long term recovery.
KATHY
Dizziness and Anxiety: How your anxiety can contribute to chronic hyperventilation and dizziness.
Although my initial symptoms of anxiety were nausea and upset stomach, I later began to exhibit the dreadful symptom known as dizziness. Dizziness is a generic term used to describe the symptoms of vertigo. Vertigo is the illusion of motion, or an experienced spinning sensation.
Non-anxiety causes of dizziness include (among other things I won’t go into as they may scare one prone to cyberchondria) inner ear infection and aging.
But if you in fact, have a history or both dizziness and anxiety, then let me assure you: your symptoms are most likely the cause of a psychological condition, or a pattern of thinking. More than likely, there is not anything physically wrong with you! But consult your family physician before trying to treat yourself, just in case.
The truth about dizziness and anxiety:
In reality, your dizziness is caused by chronic hyperventilation. This means that your body is constantly breathing quicker and shallower than it should be. How does this happen in a person? There are a few ways chronic hyperventilation can occur:
One way is that the sufferer has spent their entire life trying to keep their stomach ****** in, to try to look thinner than they really are. What happens is when the stomach is held in, the diaphragm is restricted in its movement, preventing deep inhalation and consequently preventing deep exhalation. This results in shallow breathing. If you find yourself in this predicament, you need to stop “sucking it in” immediately!
Another way is that the sufferer has spent their entire life in constant fear, and is subsequently holding their breath for longer than normal periods of time. To compensate, the sufferer will quickly exhale and begin a series of shallow breaths. Holding the breathing in this manner is a trait that evolved in our species to “quiet the scene” if they felt a predator was near. Next time you feel anxious, check to see if you are holding your breath.
Both are the result of anxiety.
The way to quickly combat this dizziness caused by hyperventilation, you must immediately time your breath so the exhalation lasts longer than the inhalation. To cope with anxiety symptoms, as with symptoms of hypochondria, it is oftentimes important to understand your fight or flight system, as understanding is an important preventative measure. Seeing the big picture is important for your long term recovery.
KATHY
Categories: Anxiety Panic Attack | Tags: Diaphragm, Generic Term, Upset Stomach | No Comments
