When we experience anxiety, we may sweat, our breathing may accelerate, hair may stand up on our arms or the back of our head, our hands may tremble, and our pupils may dilate. All these signs allow the acute observer to see that we are indeed reacting anxiously. Out of view, our heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow to the muscles, and other cardiovascular functions rev up during anxiety.
The physiological signs of anxiety are associated with the increased secretion of adrenaline from the adrenal glands into the bloodstream. The heart beats faster, and respirations become more rapid. The mouth gets dry. Blood pressure may go up. Some people breathe so fast they blow off too much carbon dioxide and become dizzy or faint from hyperventilation.
During anxiety, people may experience distortions in relationship to their body or the world around them, which can make them feel remote from themselves (depersonalization) or remote from others and reality (derealization).
To a person lying in bed, alone and anxious, at night, hands and feet can seem small and far away, or the walls can seem to be receding or moving.
Culled from Guilt, Anxiety and Shame by Peter R. Breggin
Abdulkareem,Taoheedah Kehinde
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