7 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Worry Too Much
Worrying is a normal part of life. Everyone experiences anxiety and stress from time to time. However, if you find yourself worrying excessively, it can take a toll on your physical and mental health. Here are seven things that can happen to your body when you worry too much.
1. You may have trouble sleeping
If you’re like most people, you probably have the occasional night where you can’t seem to fall asleep. But if you’re an excessive worrier, you may find that sleepless nights are the norm rather than the exception. When you’re constantly worried, your brain doesn’t have a chance to relax. As a result, you may lie in bed for hours each night, tossing and turning, trying unsuccessfully to quiet your mind and get some rest.
2. You may experience anxiety or panic attacks
Excessive worry can lead to anxiety, which is characterized by symptoms like difficulty breathing, sweating, heart palpitations, and dizziness. In severe cases, anxiety can even trigger a full-blown panic attack. If you find that your worry is accompanied by any of these symptoms, it’s important to see a doctor or mental health professional as soon as possible so that you can get treatment.
3. You may suffer from headaches or migraines
Chronic worry can cause tension headaches or even migraines in some people. If you find that you’re getting headaches more often than usual, it may be due to the fact that your worry is causing your muscles to tense up, leading to pain and inflammation in your head and neck area.
4. You may have digestive problems
Worry can also wreak havoc on your digestive system, causing symptoms like stomach pain, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, and diarrhea. This is because worry activates the stress response in your body, which diverts blood away from your digestive system and puts strain on your internal organs.
5. Chronic stress can make it difficult to lose weight
When you’re stressed out, your body starts to crave unhealthy foods that are high in sugar and fat. These comfort foods give you a temporary sense of relief from stress, but they can lead to weight gain over time. In addition, chronic stress can increase the level of the hormone Cortisol in your body. Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone” because it regulates the body’s response to stress.
High levels of cortisol have been linked to increased appetite and cravings for sugary and fatty foods. If you’re trying to lose weight, managing stress should be a top priority.
6. Your immune system may be weakened
Chronic stress can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to infection and illness. This is because stress impairs the function of the immune system by affecting the production of white blood cells and antibodies (which protect against infection). As a result, people who worry excessively are more likely to get sick than those who don’t experience chronic stress.
7. You may have difficulty concentrating or making decisions.
When we worry excessively, we become so focused on our anxieties that we have trouble thinking about anything else—which can make it hard to concentrate at work or school or make decisions about everyday tasks like what to make for dinner. If you find yourself having trouble completing simple tasks or remembering things that you normally wouldn’t forget, it could be due to chronic worrying.
Final thoughts
Everyone experiences anxious feelings from time to time; it’s perfectly normal! But when anxious thoughts become all-consuming and start interfering with your day-to-day life, that’s when it’s time to seek help from a professional mental health provider before things spiral out of control.”
