If you’re familiar with tremors, then you definitely know that they have countless root causes and reasons. One type of tremor that stands out for most people is anxiety tremors. As the name suggests, it stems from your mental state and how stressed you are, but to ensure a better understanding of this situation, let’s dive a little deeper and talk more in detail about this condition.
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What Causes Anxiety Shivers?
Anxiety shaking is a physical symptom that can occur when a person is going through an immense amount of stress and anxiety, which makes the body respond in a variety of ways, including tremors. This shaking can occur in multiple parts of the body, however, it is most typically apparent in the hands.
Here are some key points that will help you understand the link between anxiety and tremors a bit more.
Physiological Response to Anxiety:
When you feel an immense amount of stress and anxiety, your body automatically enters the fight or flight state, which is your body's natural response to the excess release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones prepare your body to either confront or run away from perceived threats. Your body experiences a variety of physical changes as a result, such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and of course, anxiety tremors, due to the excess amount of adrenaline you get under stressful situations.
Severity of Anxiety Shaking:
The degree of anxiety shakes varies greatly across individuals. Some people experience a slight, barely detectable tremor, whilst others experience more severe shaking of the hands or other areas of the body. It all depends on your current medical condition.
Duration of Anxiety shivers:
Most of the time, these tremors are only temporary and tend to fade away the minute your stress hormone levels get back to normal. However, for some, these tremors may last longer than they'd like, which could be an indication of something more serious they should look into.
How to Distinguish Anxiety Tremors from the More Serious Types?
While anxiety shivers aren’t as serious as other types of tremors, they do share some similarities in nature. So, to avoid any confusion, let’s go through some of the factors that could help you distinguish which type of tremors you’re experiencing.
Anxiety Tremors:
- Occurrences: They happen frequently at times of high stress, nervousness, or anxiety.
- Location: Anxiety-induced tremors tend to affect the hands, arms, legs, and voice.
- Triggers: Anything that could increase an individual’s anxiety levels is considered a triggering factor.
- Duration: These tremors are often temporary and disappear once the stressful situation is over.
- Consistency: Tremors resulting from stressful situations are often inconsistent and they tend to come and go.
- Response to Relaxation Techniques: These tremors may improve by practicing any relaxing activity, like yoga or deep breathing.
Other Types:
- Consistency: Serious tremors that are usually associated with neurological conditions are more consistent and can worsen over time.
- Location: Much like anxiety shivers, other types of tremors tend to affect the hands, arms, legs, and voice, as well as the head.
- Age of Onset: Some types of tremors, such as Parkinson's disease, usually appear after the age of 60, but they are also known to appear earlier in life. As we've discussed in previous blogs, the more serious types of tremors like Parkinsonian tremors and essential tremors can occur at any age, it all depends on the genetic factors at play and the individual's unique health conditions.
- Other Symptoms: Individuals who have a more severe type of tremor can experience other accompanied symptoms like muscle rigidity, sluggish movements, balance issues, and difficulties coordinating their bodies. These symptoms could be very helpful in distinguishing the exact type of tremors you're experiencing.
- Progression: While anxiety shivers disappear once your stress hormone levels go back to normal, serious types of tremors are here to stay and they slowly get worse over time.
- Response to Medication: Tremors associated with neurological problems may respond differently to medicine than those associated with anxiety levels.
When to See a Doctor:
If you’ve noticed that you’ve managed to successfully control your anxiety levels and bring them back to normal again but still experiencing tremors, that means it’s time to go speak with your doctor, especially if you’ve noticed other symptoms accompanying the tremors.
Learn more about the Steadi-Two- a revolutionary glove designed to reduce hand tremors.
How to Stop Shaking from Anxiety:
Anxiety shivers can be distressing and obstructive, but worry not, because there are a variety of treatment options for you to choose from. You should leave the treatment process entirely to your doctor to ensure positive effects and avoid making any mistakes that could make your situation worse. Here are some of the currently available treatment options for this condition.
Psychotherapy:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This type of therapy helps patients identify and change the negative thought patterns that could be causing their tremors in the first place. You could be causing yourself the tremors without even knowing it, and this is when CBT comes into play.
- Exposure Therapy: This therapy's method involves exposing patients to their triggering factors to help them learn to overcome them on their own, which eventually gets rid of the root cause of the problem.
Medication:
- Antianxiety Medications: Benzodiazepines, for example, are commonly administered to assist control of anxiety and tremor symptoms. However, it's important to note that these drugs could be addictive, so it's best to take them under the supervision of your healthcare provider.
- Beta-blockers: These effects work by blocking the strong effect of the excess amount of adrenaline that your body releases in stressful situations, which causes your body to shake in the first place.
Lifestyle and Self-Care:
- Relaxation Techniques: There are many methods and techniques that you could follow to help your body relax, such as deep breathing, yoga, meditation, and other physical exercises.
- Limit Caffeine and Alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol can worsen anxiety and tremors in some people, therefore it may be beneficial to limit or avoid the excessive consumption of such substances.
- Adequate Sleep: Your body's overall health depends on how many hours of sleep you get. Try to get the amount of sleep you need so you can help your body to stay calm and in control.
Other Therapies:
- Yoga and Thai Chi: These mind-body practices can remarkably help your body reduce its anxiety levels and enhance balance and coordination. They can be much more helpful than one might think, so make sure to give them a try.
- Biofeedback: Biofeedback is a very useful practice for increasing awareness of numerous physiological functions of your own body with the help of electrical or other types of equipment, to be able to modify the body's systems on demand. This technique can help people achieve awareness and control over their physiological functions, including tremors and motor function issues.
FAQs:
Now, it’s time to go through some of the commonly asked questions online about this exact issue.
Can Anxiety Cause Tremors?
As we’ve discovered in this blog post, the answer is yes. Mainly, tremors are caused due to an excess release of adrenaline that causes anxiety shaking. Your job is to simply do whatever you can to calm down, and you’ll notice how your tremors are going to slowly disappear.
How to Stop Psychogenic Tremors?
To stop shaking from anxiety, there are a variety of methods that you can try. You can go to therapy and try to solve the problem from its roots, or try to take some medications that will help alleviate anxiety-induced tremors, or make some adjustments to your lifestyle to keep your environment stress-free. You can also look into adjusting your diet and keep an eye out for what you eat daily because nutritional deficiencies can also play a role in messing with your motor functions.
How Long can Anxiety Tremors Last?
As long as you are anxious or as long as your body is under constant stress, these tremors will remain persistent. Shaking is a frequent sign of both anxiety and chronic stress, therefore it will linger as long as the source of anxiety is not properly addressed.
Can Panic Attacks Cause Body Tremors?
Remember the fight or flight mode we discussed earlier in the blog? Well, it is thought that the shaking experienced during a panic attack is an overreaction of the sympathetic nervous system, which is part of the fight or flight response. The best you can do during panic attacks is to try and relax for as much as you can, and to have someone you hold dear around you for emotional support. In more severe cases, professional intervention could be necessary.
How Steadiwear Offers to Help:
Here at Steadiwear, we're constantly working to provide more help and assistance to patients from all around the globe. Our Steadi-Two glove is the perfect testimony, as it's designed to significantly reduce your hand tremors which allows you to have more control over your symptoms and carry out your day without any obstructions.
The Steadi-Two could be covered by The US Veteran Affairs benefits. Speak to your VA Physician or Therapist about the Steadi-Two glove that is available through Pisces Health Solutions, VA Government Distributor.
In Conclusion:
Anxiety shaking is an inevitable part of our stressful lives, the best you can do is to avoid triggers and to appreciate and prioritize your mental health to keep yourself away from such obstructive symptoms in the long run. There are many methods you can try to keep control of your body’s motor functions and coordination, and you can always consult with your doctor for more personalized advice.
Learn more about the Steadi-Two- a revolutionary glove designed to reduce hand tremors.
