Dry, Itchy, Red, Burning, Watery, Tearing, Inflamed Eyes and Anxiety

Treatment

When this symptom is caused or aggravated by other factors, addressing those factors can reduce and eliminate dry eye symptoms.

When this symptom is caused by an anxiety-triggered stress response, containing your anxiety and calming yourself will end the active stress response and its changes. Dry eye symptoms will subside as your body recovers from the active stress response.

Keep in mind that 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, eliminating hyperstimulation will end this anxiety symptom.

You can reduce and eliminate hyperstimulation by:

• Containing anxious behavior.
• Reducing stress.
• Regular deep relaxation.
• Relaxed diaphragmatic breathing.
• Regular light to moderate exercise.
• Getting regular good sleep.
• Eating a healthy diet of whole and natural foods.
• Avoiding stimulants.
• 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.

Recovery Support members can read chapters 5,6, 7, and 14 for more ways to reduce stress.

As the body recovers from hyperstimulation, it stops sending symptoms of hyperstimulation, including dry, itchy, red, burning, watery, tearing, and inflamed eyes.

Since worrying and becoming upset about anxiety symptoms stress the body, these behaviors can interfere with and stall 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.

Eliminating hyperstimulation will bring results in time!

Short-term remedies:

Even though eliminating hyperstimulation will eliminate chronic anxiety symptoms, including dry 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.

Reduce stress – Since stress, including anxiety-caused stress, is a common cause of this anxiety symptom, 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.

Recovery Support members can read chapters 4 and 14 for many natural ways to reduce stress and anxiety.

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 dry, itchy, red, burning, watery, tearing, and inflamed 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, stimulate the body by increasing the circulation of 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 dry, itchy, red, burning, watery, tearing, and inflamed 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, including this one.

Eye drops – Regularly using over-the-counter or prescription eye drops can help alleviate this symptom. Many ophthalmologists recommend using eye drops daily to prevent dry and irritated eyes.

Limit screen time – Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Practice blinking exercises to keep your eyes lubricated, especially when using digital devices.

Gentle eye massage – Perform gentle eye massages to improve blood flow and potentially encourage tear production.

Avoid alcohol – Alcohol can have a dehydrating effect, which can affect the eyes.

Warm compress – Apply warm compresses to your eyes for at least one minute to help unclog oil glands and stimulate tear production.

Tea Tree Oil Eyelid Wipes – Tea Tree Oil Eyelid Wipes can remove debris and bacteria from the eyelids, which can prevent eye irritations and styes.

Therapy

Unidentified and unaddressed underlying factors cause issues with anxiety. As such, they are the primary reason why anxiety symptoms persist.

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 give 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.[7][8][9]

In many cases, working with an experienced therapist is the only way to overcome stubborn anxiety.

Research has shown that therapy is the most effective treatment for anxiety disorder, and distance therapy (via phone or the Internet) is equally, if not more effective, than face-to-face in-person therapy.[10][11][12]