How Can I Tell If It’s Anxiety or Something Else?

Anxiety can feel like a storm sweeping through your body—sudden, overwhelming, and often confusing. If you’ve ever felt your heart race, your stomach churn, hot and cold sweats, trembling, dizzy, or your hands go clammy, sometimes without a clear reason, you’re not alone. Millions experience these physical signs of anxiety every day, and one often-overlooked cause is hyperstimulation, where your body stays on high alert even when your mind feels calm.

But how do you know if it’s anxiety, hyperstimulation, or something more serious like a medical condition? Let’s break it down with evidence-based insights from anxietycentre.com’s team of licensed therapists so you can understand what’s happening and start finding relief.

What You’ll Learn

• Common physical symptoms of anxiety
• What hyperstimulation is and why it causes symptoms without triggers
• How to distinguish anxiety from medical conditions
• Three expert-backed tools to calm your body fast

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety doesn’t just affect your thoughts, it shows up in your body, too, as your nervous system gears up for a perceived threat, even if none exists. Here are the most common physical symptoms, based on research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and anxietycentre.com’s 38+ years of helping over 1 million people manage anxiety:

• Racing Heart or Palpitations: A pounding or fluttering sensation in your chest, like your heart is “racing out of control,” triggered by stress hormones like adrenaline.

• Shortness of Breath: Feeling like you can’t catch your breath or are breathing too fast, even in calm moments.

• Sweating or Clammy Hands: Excessive sweating, especially in the palms or underarms, often during stress like public speaking.

• Trembling or Shaking: Shaky hands, voice, or body, as anxiety ramps up your nervous system.

• Chest Tightness or Pain: A heavy or tight feeling in your chest that can mimic heart issues.

• Stomach Upset: Nausea, cramps, bloating, or a “knot” in your stomach due to the gut-brain connection.

• Dizziness or Lightheadedness: Feeling unsteady or like you might faint, often during intense anxiety.

• Muscle Tension or Pain: Tight shoulders, neck pain, or jaw clenching, sometimes from teeth grinding.

• Fatigue or Weakness: Feeling drained, even without physical exertion, as anxiety taxes your energy.

• Tingling or Numbness: Sensations in your hands, feet, or face, often from hyperventilation or nerve sensitivity.

• Hyperstimulation Symptoms: When your nervous system is stuck in “overdrive,” you may experience symptoms without feeling anxious or having an obvious trigger. These include:

• Chronic Dizziness: Persistent or intermittent episodes of dizziness or lightheadedness even when you don’t feel anxious or stressed
• Persistent Heart Palpitations: A racing or irregular heartbeat, even during rest or sleep (e.g., waking up with a pounding heart despite feeling calm).
• Chronic Muscle Tension: Ongoing aches or twitches, especially in the neck, shoulders, or back.
• Sensory Overload: Feeling overwhelmed by lights, sounds, or touch, leading to irritability or dizziness.
• Chronic Internal Trembling, Shaking: Ongoing episodes of internal trembling, shaking, and vibrating.
• Unexplained Fatigue: A “wired but tired” sensation, as your body stays on high alert.
• Digestive Issues: Persistent nausea, bloating, or IBS-like symptoms without a clear cause.

You can click on each symptom for more information.

What is Hyperstimulation?

Hyperstimulation happens when prolonged stress or anxiety keeps your sympathetic nervous system overactive, flooding your body with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This can cause physical symptoms that feel random or disconnected from emotional anxiety, making them confusing.

For example, you might feel shaky while watching TV or have a racing heart in the middle of the night. A 2023 study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that 60% of people with chronic anxiety experience hyperstimulation symptoms, often mistaking them for physical illnesses like heart or neurological issues.

Quick Fact: A 2024 study in The Lancet found that 70% of people with anxiety disorders report physical symptoms as their primary concern, often leading to doctor visits before a mental health diagnosis. Hyperstimulation can make this even trickier, as symptoms persist without obvious triggers.

For more information about Hyperstimulation.

Anxiety vs. Hyperstimulation vs. Medical Conditions

When symptoms feel intense or random, it’s natural to worry about serious conditions like heart disease, thyroid issues, cancer, MS, or neurological disorders. Here’s a detailed comparison to help you distinguish:

When to See a Doctor: We recommend discussing all new, changing, persistent, or reoccurring symptoms with your doctor to rule out potential medical conditions that may cause similar symptoms. We also recommend a medical checkup for peace of mind, especially if hyperstimulation symptoms feel persistent or you’re experiencing them for the first time.