Anxiety Darting Eyes; Involuntary Eye Movements
Darting eyes, such as eye movements that suddenly and unexpectedly jump back and forth for a moment, where they seem to act erratically and temporarily involuntarily, or that they might suddenly cross or go out of focus, are common anxiety disorder symptom, including anxiety and panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, and others.
This article explains the relationship between darting eyes symptoms and anxiety.
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Common Darting Eyes Anxiety Symptom Descriptions
- You notice your eyes behave erratically, such as involuntarily jumping or moving for a few moments when trying to focus on or follow something.
- While reading or watching something, your eyes involuntarily dart or jump to a different location and then “dart” back.
- You notice your eyes suddenly and unexpectedly jump back and forth from the location you were reading or watching to the left or right and then back again.
- For no reason, your eyes involuntarily move back and forth. This eye-darting, jerking, or jumping movement occurs suddenly and without warning.
- You might also notice your eyes cross for a moment, stay out of focus for a minute or so, then return to normal focus for seemingly no reason.
- You notice that this “darting” symptom occurs more frequently when your stress is elevated and subsides when your stress is in the normal range.
- Darting eyes can also occur more often when you are overly tired, sleep-deprived, or physically exhausted.
- While these types of eye jerks generally occur quickly and disappear, sometimes they can persist, causing great difficulty reading or concentrating until you give your eyes sufficient rest.
This symptom can:
- Affect one eye, both eyes, or each eye at different times.
- Occur occasionally, frequently, or persistently.
- Precede, accompany, or follow an escalation of other anxiety symptoms or occur by itself.
- Precede, accompany, or follow a period of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and stress, or occur "out of the blue" and for no reason.
- Range in intensity from slight, to moderate, to severe.
- Come in waves where it’s strong one moment and eases off the next.
- Change from day to day, moment to moment, or remain as a constant background during your struggle with anxiety disorder.
All combinations and variations of the above are common.
This symptom can seem more noticeable when undistracted, resting, trying to sleep, or when waking up.
In some cases, this symptom can be attributed to Saccadic Eye Movements (voluntary or reflexive eye movements when reading or gazing at an object at a distance).
To see if anxiety might be playing a role in your symptoms, rate your level of anxiety using our free one-minute instant results Anxiety Test, Anxiety Disorder Test, or Hyperstimulation Test.
The higher the rating, the more likely anxiety could be contributing to or causing your anxiety symptoms, including feeling like impending doom symptoms.
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Causes
Medical Advisory
Talk to your doctor about all new, changing, persistent, and returning symptoms as some medical conditions and medications can cause anxiety-like symptoms.
The eye is a complex organ that, in conjunction with the nervous system (which includes the brain), contains a vast number of nerve cells. These nerve cells receive and send information back and forth to and from the brain.
For example, optical information is received in the eye and transmitted through the optic nerve to the brain. The brain interprets this information and forms a visual image that we “see” in our minds.[1]
Similarly, when we want to look at something, our thoughts cause nerve impulses that control muscle groups attached to the eyes. These nerve impulses cause the appropriate eye muscles to contract, causing the eyes to move in the direction we want to look.
When the body and nervous system function normally, eye movements are normal. However, that can change when we’re anxious.
1. The Stress Response
Anxious behavior, such as worry, activates the stress response, causing the immediate secretion of stress hormones into the bloodstream. These stress hormones prepare the body for immediate action – to either fight or flee.
This survival reaction is often referred to as the stress response, fight or flight response, fight, flight, or freeze response (since some people freeze, like a deer caught in headlines when they are afraid), or the fight, flight, freeze, or faint response (since some people faint when they are afraid).[2][3]
The stress response causes many body-wide changes, such as:
- Quickly converts the body’s energy reserves into “fuel” (blood sugar) to have an instant boost of energy.
- Stimulates the body, especially the nervous system (which includes the brain) to detect and react to danger more quickly.
- Heightens most of the body’s senses to be keenly aware of and reactive to danger, including sight.
- Tightens the body’s muscles so that they are more resilient to damage.
- Heightens nervous system activity so it’s more sensitive and reactive to danger.
And so on.
Visit our “Stress Response” article for information about its many body-wide changes.
Since these survival changes push the body beyond its balance point (equilibrium), stress responses stress the body. As such, anxiety stresses the body.
A body that becomes stressed can exhibit symptoms of stress.
Therefore, anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. They are called anxiety symptoms because anxious behavior is the main source of the stress that stresses the body, causing symptoms.
Regarding the darting eyes anxiety symptom, a sudden burst of stress hormones can cause dramatic muscle reactions, including the muscles that control eye movement. Some anxious people get darting eyes symptoms due to their anxious behavior and resulting stress responses.
The more dramatic the anxiety and stress response, the more likely it is to trigger darting eyes for those people whose eyes are affected by the stress response.
2. Stress-response Hyperstimulation
When stress responses infrequently occur, the body functions normally, causing normal eye movements. However, when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly apprehensive behavior, the body can become hyperstimulated (chronically stressed) since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.
Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[4][5]
Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and how it functions.
Hyperstimulation (chronic stress) can cause all sorts of visual anomalies.[6][7] Visual disturbances and irregularities, such as darting eyes, are an example.[8]
For instance, when the body becomes hyperstimulated, it can send and receive false, inaccurate, hyper-sensitized, or erratic nerve impulse and sensory information.[5] This errant sensory and nerve impulse information can involve any aspect of how the body, brain, and nervous system interact and function, including how they manage optic information and the movement of the eyes. Erratic eye movements, such as darting eyes, are an example of this hyperstimulated, erratic behavior.
When I (Jim Folk) struggled with anxiety disorder, I experienced many eye-related symptoms, including darting eye episodes. Even now, when I let my stress elevate higher than normal, darting eye symptoms return from time to time.
Darting eyes is a common symptom of acute and chronic stress.
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3. Other Factors
Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:
- Medication
- Recreational drugs
- Stimulants
- Sleep deprivation
- Fatigue
- Hyper and hypoventilation
- Low blood sugar
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Dehydration
- Hormone changes
- Pain
Select the relevant link for more information.
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Treatment: How To Get Rid Of Anxiety Darting Eyes
When this symptom is caused or aggravated by other factors, addressing those factors can reduce and eliminate darting eyes.
When this symptom is caused by anxious behavior and an activated stress response, ending the stress response will end its changes. This symptom should subside as your body recovers from the active stress response.
Keep in mind it can take up to 20 minutes or more for the body to recover from a major stress response. But this is normal and shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
When this symptom is caused by hyperstimulation (chronic stress), eliminating hyperstimulation will cause the cessation of anxiety-related darting eyes.
You can eliminate hyperstimulation by:
- Reducing stress.
- Containing anxious behavior (since anxiety creates stress).
- Regular deep relaxation.
- Avoiding stimulants.
- Regular light to moderate exercise.
- Getting regular good sleep.
- Eating a healthy diet of whole and natural foods.
- Passively-accepting your symptoms until they subside.
- Being patient as your body recovers.
Visit our “60 Natural Ways To Reduce Stress” article for more ways to reduce stress.
As the body recovers from hyperstimulation, it stops sending symptoms of hyperstimulation, including episodes of darting eyes.
Hyperstimulation symptoms subside as the body regains its normal, non-hyperstimulated health.
However, eliminating hyperstimulation can take much longer than most people think, causing symptoms to linger longer than expected.
As long as the body is even slightly hyperstimulated, it can present symptoms of any type, number, intensity, duration, frequency, and at any time, including this one.
Even so, since darting eyes is a common symptom of stress, including anxiety-caused stress, it's harmless and needn't be a cause for concern. It will subside when unhealthy stress has been eliminated and the body has had sufficient time to recover and stabilize. Therefore, there is no reason to worry about anxiety-caused darting eyes.
Anxiety symptoms often linger because:
- The body is still being stressed (from stressful circumstances or anxious behavior).
- Your stress hasn't diminished enough or for long enough.
- Your body hasn't completed its recovery work.
Addressing the reason for lingering symptoms will allow the body to recover.
Most often, lingering anxiety symptoms ONLY remain because of the above reasons. They AREN'T a sign of a medical problem. This is especially true if you have had your symptoms evaluated by your doctor and they have been solely attributed to anxiety or stress.
Chronic anxiety symptoms subside when hyperstimulation is eliminated. As the body recovers and stabilizes, all chronic anxiety symptoms will slowly diminish and eventually disappear.
Since worrying and becoming upset about anxiety symptoms stress the body, these behaviors can interfere with recovery.
Passively accepting your symptoms – allowing them to persist without reacting to, resisting, worrying about, or fighting them – while doing your recovery work will cause their cessation in time.
Acceptance, practice, and patience are key to recovery.
Since the body can take a long time to recover from hyperstimulation, it's best to faithfully work at your recovery despite the lack of apparent progress. However, if you persevere with your recovery work, you will succeed.
You also have to do your recovery work FIRST before your body can recover. The cumulative effects of your recovery work will produce results down the road. And the body's stimulation must diminish before symptoms can subside.
Eliminating hyperstimulation will bring results in time!
Remember: Focusing on your sensations and symptoms makes them more pronounced. If you'd like to lessen their impact, learn to focus your attention elsewhere through distraction, enjoying your hobbies, undertaking pleasing and calming activities, regular deep relaxation, and by recalling pleasant memories or experiences.
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Short-term strategies
Even though eliminating hyperstimulation will eliminate chronic anxiety symptoms, including chronic darting eyes, some people have found the following strategies helpful in reducing episodes of this symptom in the short-term.
However, keep in mind that each person can have a unique symptom experience since each person is somewhat physically, chemically, psychologically, and emotionally unique. What might work for one person might not for another.
Rest your eyes – Darting eyes is often triggered by stress, including the stress of eyestrain. Resting your eyes frequently can reduce eyestrain and the stress it causes. A reduction in eyestrain and stress can reduce incidences of darting eyes.
Reduce stress – Since stress, including anxiety-caused stress, is a common cause of darting eyes, reducing stress can reduce episodes of this symptom.
Any stress reduction strategy can help improve this symptom. Visit our article “60 Ways To Reduce Stress And Anxiety” for natural stress reduction strategies.
Regular good sleep – Regular good sleep can reduce stress, cortisol, and the body’s overall level of stimulation. Their reduction can reduce and eliminate anxiety symptoms, including this one.
Regular deep relaxation – Deep relaxation reduces the body’s overall level of stimulation and stress, leading to a reduction in anxiety symptoms, including darting eyes.
Regular light to moderate exercise – Regular light to moderate exercise can reduce stress and use up excess cortisol, which can help reduce anxiety symptoms, including this one.
Avoid stimulants – Stimulants, such as caffeine, bring about their stimulating effect by increasing circulating cortisol, the body’s most powerful stress hormone. To help the body recover from hyperstimulation, we need to reduce the production of stress hormones and stimulation, not increase it. A reduction in stress and stimulation can help reduce symptoms of hyperstimulation, including darting eyes.
Contain your anxiousness – Since anxiety activates the stress response, which causes anxiety and hyperstimulation symptoms, containing your anxiousness about this anxiety symptom can help reduce and eliminate it, even in the short term.
The more successful you are in containing your anxiousness, the more opportunity your body has to reduce stress and stimulation. A reduction in stress and stimulation can reduce episodes of darting eyes.
Keep well hydrated – Dehydration can cause anxiety-like symptoms and aggravate existing anxiety symptoms. Keeping your body well hydrated can reduce and eliminate anxiety symptoms, such as this one.
Therapy
Unidentified and unaddressed underlying factors cause issues with anxiety. As such, they are the primary reason why anxiety symptoms persist.[9][10][11]
Addressing your underlying factors (Level Two recovery) is most important if you want lasting success.
Addressing Level Two recovery can help you:
- Contain anxious behavior.
- Become unafraid of anxiety symptoms and the strong feelings of anxiety.
- End anxiety symptoms.
- Successfully address the underlying factors that so often cause issues with anxiety.
- End what can feel like out-of-control worry.
All our recommended anxiety therapists have had anxiety disorder and overcame it. Their personal experience with anxiety disorder and their Master's Degree and above professional training gives them insight other therapists don't have.
If you want to achieve lasting success over anxiety disorder, any one of our recommended therapists would be a good choice.
Working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to treat anxiety disorder, especially if you have persistent symptoms and difficulty containing anxious behavior, such as worry.
In many cases, working with an experienced therapist is the only way to overcome stubborn anxiety.
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FAQ
Can anxiety cause your eyes to suddenly and involuntarily dart back and forth?
Yes, stress can cause your eyes to suddenly and involuntarily dart back and forth. Since anxious behavior stresses the body and stress can cause the eyes to suddenly dart back and forth, yes, anxiety can cause this common anxiety symptom.
Is anxiety darting eyes dangerous?
Anxiety-caused darting eyes isn’t dangerous. Since it is a symptom of stress, reducing anxiety and stress typically eliminates episodes of darting eyes. However, we recommend discussing this symptom with your doctor to ensure there isn’t a medical or medication cause.
Should I be concerned about darting eyes caused by anxiety?
Since anxiety-caused darting eyes is a symptom of stress that will subside when anxiety and stress have been reduced, there isn’t any reason to be concerned about anxiety-caused darting eyes. However, we recommend discussing this symptom with your doctor to ensure there isn’t a medical or medication cause.
Can darting eyes cause anxiety?
Anxiety is caused by anxious behavior. If you are worried about darting eyes, this symptom can create anxiety. However, it doesn’t need to when you understand the connection between anxiety, stress, and darting eyes. This article can help alleviate your concerns and, therefore, your anxiety about it.
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Common Anxiety Symptoms
Additional Resources
- For a comprehensive list of Anxiety Disorders Symptoms Signs, Types, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
- Anxiety and panic attacks symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
- How to stop an anxiety attack and panic.
- Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results. Such as:
- Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to overcome it.
Return to our anxiety disorders signs and symptoms page.
anxietycentre.com: Information, support, and therapy for anxiety disorder and its symptoms, including Darting Eyes, Involuntary Eye Movement anxiety symptoms.
References
1. Bear,Connors, Paradiso (2016). Neuroscience: Exploring the brain - Fourth Edition. In The Eye (pp. 293-328). New York, NY: Wolters Kluwer
2. Berczi, Istvan. “Walter Cannon's ‘Fight or Flight Response’ - ‘Acute Stress Response.’” Walter Cannon's "Fight or Flight Response" - "Acute Stress Response", 2017.
3. Godoy, Livea, et al. "A Comprehensive Overview on Stress Neurobiology: Basic Concepts and Clinical Implications." Frontiers In Behavioral Neuroscience, 3, July 2018.
4. Elbers, Jorina, et al. "Wired for Threat: Clinical Features of Nervous System Dysregulation in 80 Children." Pediatric Neurology, Dec 2018.
5. Teixeira, Renata Roland, et al. “Chronic Stress Induces a Hyporeactivity of the Autonomic Nervous System in Response to Acute Mental Stressor and Impairs Cognitive Performance in Business Executives.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015.
6. Carrasco GA, Van de Kar LD. Neuroendocrine pharmacology of stress. Eur J Pharmacol. 2003;463:235–272. [PubMed]
7. Mariotti, Agnese. “The Effects of Chronic Stress on Health: New Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms of Brain–Body Communication.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2015.
8. “Understanding Nystagmus.” The Royal College of Ophthamologists, Oct. 2017.
9. Hofmann, Stefan G., et al. “The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-Analyses.” Cognitive Therapy and Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Oct. 2012.
10. Leichsenring, Falk. “Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the Gold Standard for Psychotherapy?” JAMA, American Medical Association, 10 Oct. 2017.
11. DISCLAIMER: Because each body is somewhat chemically unique, and because each person will have a unique mix of symptoms and underlying factors, recovery results may vary. Variances can occur for many reasons, including due to the severity of the condition, the ability of the person to apply the recovery concepts, and the commitment to making behavioral change.