Anxiety in the Body: When Worry Lives in Your Chest, Stomach and Skin
The Quiet Corner | FS Psychotherapy
When we think about anxiety, we often think about thoughts. Racing thoughts. Worry. Overthinking. The endless cycle of imagining what might go wrong. Yet many people experience anxiety in a very different way.
They notice it in their chest before they notice it in their mind. Or in their stomach. Or in the tension they carry in their shoulders without realising it. They may feel restless, unsettled, nauseous, exhausted, shaky, or unable to fully relax, even when there is no obvious reason why.
Sometimes people seek medical advice because they are convinced something must be physically wrong. They experience palpitations, digestive difficulties, headaches, dizziness, muscle tension, or a persistent sense of discomfort that seems to have no clear explanation. The tests come back normal, yet the symptoms remain.
This can be both reassuring and frustrating. Reassuring because nothing serious has been found, but frustrating because the experience itself is still very real.
Anxiety is not only a thought
Although anxiety affects the way we think, it is also a whole-body experience.
When we perceive a threat, whether that threat is physical, emotional, or psychological, our nervous system responds. Our heart beats faster. Our breathing changes. Muscles tense. Blood flow shifts to prepare the body to respond. This response is remarkably useful when danger is present.
The difficulty is that our bodies do not always distinguish between a genuine threat and an anticipated one. A difficult conversation. An important meeting. Conflict in a relationship. The fear of making a mistake. The possibility of rejection.
The body can react to these experiences as though they require immediate action, even when we are sitting safely at home.
When the body stays on alert
For some people, anxiety feels like a temporary response to a specific situation. For others, it becomes something much more persistent. Over time, living in a state of heightened alertness can be exhausting.
You may feel unable to switch off. Even moments of rest can feel strangely uncomfortable, as though part of you is waiting for the next problem to arrive. Relaxation may feel unfamiliar, or even unsafe.
Many people become so accustomed to carrying tension that they stop noticing it altogether. The clenched jaw becomes normal. The tight shoulders become normal. The knot in the stomach becomes normal.
Only when those sensations begin to ease do they realise how much energy has been spent holding themselves together.
Listening to what the body is saying
We often speak about anxiety as something to get rid of, something to overcome. Something to silence. Yet anxiety is rarely random. However uncomfortable it may feel, anxiety is usually trying to communicate something.
Sometimes it reflects current pressures that have become overwhelming. Sometimes it points towards unmet needs, unresolved experiences, or patterns of self-expectation that have become difficult to sustain. The body can often recognise strain long before the conscious mind does.
A person may tell themselves they are coping perfectly well while their body quietly tells a different story. Paying attention to those signals is not a sign of weakness. It is a way of listening to yourself more carefully.
Beyond managing symptoms
When anxiety becomes physical, it is understandable to want immediate relief. And there is nothing wrong with seeking ways to reduce distress. But lasting change often involves more than learning techniques to manage symptoms. It involves understanding them.
Understanding what is creating the sense of threat. Understanding why certain situations feel so emotionally charged. Understanding the experiences that may have taught the nervous system to remain vigilant long after danger has passed. The goal is not simply to make the feeling disappear, but to develop a different relationship with it.
What Therapy Can Offer
When anxiety is experienced primarily in the body, people can sometimes feel disconnected from what is happening emotionally. They know they are tense, exhausted, restless, or overwhelmed, but they are not always sure why.
Therapy offers space to slow down and explore these experiences with curiosity rather than judgement. Together, we can begin to understand the meaning behind the anxiety, identify patterns that may be contributing to it, and develop a greater sense of awareness and self-compassion.
A person-centred approach is not about fighting against your feelings or forcing yourself to think positively. It is about understanding your experience more fully and creating the conditions in which change can naturally emerge.
Sometimes the body is not working against us. Sometimes it is trying, in the only way it knows how, to tell us that something needs our attention.
Federica Savoré is a BACP Accredited psychotherapist and COSCA Practitioner offering counselling, supervision and training in Aberdeen and online. To get in touch, visit fspsychotherapy.com/contact-me.
