Anxiety and Nerve Problems

It shouldn’t be a surprise that physical and emotional symptoms are intertwined, making them hard to separate. You can easily sit and think stressful thoughts until your body feels the effects. Conversely, your body can have stress responses unrelated to an emotional state, which can cause anxiety. This article will take a look at how anxiety can influence nerves and other nervous system disorders. It will also provide you with practical tools and ways to distinguish what types of therapy will be beneficial based on what is causing the anxiety.

Understanding the Link Between Anxiety and Nerve Problems

Anxiety is traditionally classified as a psychological condition or state associated with worry, fear, and a sense of imminent danger. It can range from mild discomfort to a full-blown panic attack. If left unchecked, anxiety can manifest as a variety of physical symptoms. It can happen in the short term, like changes in heart rate and breathing pattern, or over a more extended period.

Short Term Effects

Anxiety triggers a response in the autonomic nervous system to release stress hormones associated with the “fight or flight” system. These stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine, cause immediate, short-term physiologic responses such as:

– Tingling in the Hands and Feet.

– Numbness in the Hands and Feet

– Heart palpitations or Irregularities

– Dizziness and Lightheadedness

– Increased muscle tension in the TMJ

-Rapid, Shallow Breathing

-Tunnel Vision & Other Visual Symptoms

-Increase in Pain Perception

Long Term Effects

Unchecked stress over the years will activate a different stress pathway. The long-term stress pathway has an effect on other systems than the short-term pathway and results in symptoms like:

-Immune Suppression

-Digestive Issues/Irritable Bowel Syndrome

-Emotional Regulation Issues

-Elevated Blood Pressure

-Sleep Issues

-Headache Disorders

-Exacerbation of Neuropathy Symptoms

Nerve Symptoms

Nerves respond to the chemical environment around them, meaning the chemistry of the fluid nerves bathes in can dramatically affect their function. For example, when a nerve runs out of potassium, it doesn’t communicate with the muscles as well and, as a result, cramps up. Another example is a nerve that sends pain signals that fire faster in the presence of epinephrine or cortisol. This can lead to chronic pain and other central sensitization issues. Some neural manifestations related to anxiety are:

-Migraine

-Restless Legs

-Amplified Pain

-Decreased Autonomic Tone

-Decrease in Enteric Nervous System Function (digestion)

-Down-regulation of the Hypothalamic-Adrenal-Pituitary Axis (HPA)

-Changes in global Ph due to breathing changes

-Exacerbation of Neuropathy

Diagnosing Anxiety-Related Nerve Problems

Diagnosing these conditions is challenging because anxiety is a 2-way street, meaning it can have both physical and emotional causes. For example, concussion issues can cause a cascade of physical stress that creates new anxiety that never existed before. Conversely, emotional anxiety can and frequently does create adverse physical symptoms listed above.

The point is that in order to treat anxiety and nerve problems, you need to determine which one is driving the other. Is it a physical problem making an emotional problem worse, or the other way around? This is the question at the root of a thorough diagnostic process. Below are some assessment tools that can help get things pointed in the right direction.

Physical Assessments for Anxiety

-Quantitative Encephalography

(QEEG or “brain scan”) This is the process of measuring brain activity and turning it into a “brain map.” This allows you to see where in the brain is producing frequencies that correlate with anxiety and trains them to produce more appropriate activity. Some refer to this as “biofeedback.”

-Dutch Testing

This is a form of testing that assesses the HPA axis, which is responsible for regulating stress metabolism and sex hormone production. Suppose you have underlying dysfunction in this system. In that case, it can present as anxiety, temperature regulation issues, sleep problems, and many other anxiety-related symptoms.

-Video Nystagography (VNG)

The vestibular and concussion worlds use this assessment. It identifies dysfunction in the vestibular organ and eye tracking centers that can be affected by brain injuries. Dizziness and eye-tracking issues can quickly compound into significant stress responses if left unchecked for too long.

-Functional Medicine Testing

This type of metabolic test can help identify more subtle forms of infection not often identified in normal lab testing. Mold, Lyme, thyroid disorders, and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) are all hidden sources of anxiety that go undetected by the normal reference ranges in traditional Western lab testing.

-EKG (heart test)

Issues with the heart or the nervous system’s ability to regulate it may be causing symptoms of anxiety. Rapid increases in heart rate or significant dips into bradycardia (slow heart rate) can cause discomfort and stress responses, especially when you’re unsure why your heart rate is so high.

-Tilt Table Test

This test identifies if your autonomic system can’t properly regulate blood flow into your brain. POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardic syndrome, is a common diagnosis with this test. It presents as a chronically elevated heart rate when you’re upright and moving around, which can lead to anxiety and exacerbate nerve-related symptoms.

Diagnosing anxiety from a purely mental-emotional standpoint is something you can get done by a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist. The more significant challenge is determining what physical symptoms are worsening the nerve issues.

Therapeutic Approaches

Treating anxiety is not a one-size-fits-all thing because of the different variables that go into a specific diagnosis. However, there are some generally accepted best practices for managing anxiety, which are listed below.

-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT):

CBT helps with anxiety because it helps shed light on automatic thoughts that may be driving anxiety symptoms. Developing awareness through journaling and various exercises can help bolster coping skills to manage anxious thoughts as they arise before they have a chance to create a physical response.

-Vagal Nerve Stimulation

Many vagal nerve stimulation exercises are also referred to as “relaxation techniques.” Things like yoga, deep breathing, meditation, external vagal nerve stimulation, and cold exposure all fall into this category. The vagal system is the body’s main way of calming itself down and improving the output of the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” response. All of these activities can jumpstart this system and help anxiety symptoms.

-Nutritional Strategies

Nutrition is one of the easiest ways to ensure anxiety doesn’t get out of control. In general, avoid large amounts of caffeine and nicotine, as they upregulate the production of a chemical called acetylcholine, which is tied to anxiety. Eating foods that stabilize blood glucose is another excellent way to reduce anxiety symptoms. This is because when sugar dips too low, the stress response pulls sugar out of your muscles and liver. Extra stress responses don’t help anxiety, so anything you can do to supply your brain with consistent fuel will help reduce nerve symptoms and anxiety.

-Supplements

Certain supplements can help blunt the production of stress hormones and generally make you feel calmer. Some of the supplements we use clinically are listed below.

-Vitamin D3

-Omega 3 fatty acids

-Ashwagandha

-Valerian Root

-Chamomile

-Magnesium Thronate or Glycinate (great for nerve symptoms, too)

-Kava

-Exercise

Exercise is the most universally helpful strategy for many mood disorders. It helps produce endorphins and other neurotransmitters that help regulate mood and promote healthy nerves. Be cautious, as exercise is inherently stressful for the body if it does not progress correctly.

-Sleep Hygiene

Ensuring you get sound sleep for 6-8 hours is another excellent method for lowering anxiety and nerve-related issues. Sleep is when the brain recovers and integrates new information. Following the 3-2-1 rule is an easy way to improve sleep immediately. Three hours before bed, stop eating food. 2 hours before, dim the lights. One hour before bed, no screen time. Binaural beats in the delta range and body scans can also help induce sleep more quickly.

Conclusion

Understanding the intricate relationship between anxiety and nerve problems is essential for effective management and treatment. It’s not always a straightforward approach, but identifying physical factors that underlie anxiety is a significant first step. With reductions in anxiety come reductions in nerve-related symptoms due to the chemical effect anxiety has on nerve physiology. Many of these issues can be resolved quickly and entirely in weeks/months with the correct diagnosis and treatment.

If you have questions about where to turn, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our doctors. We’ve treated hundreds of complex neurologic cases and can help piece together the missing pieces in your recovery.

*Note: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship. Patients should consult their medical provider or primary care physician before trying any remedies or therapies at home.