Can anxiety/stress kill you?

[Bexx1]

Hello
I have had anxiety for nearly a year now and every day I am constantly anxious and feel a lot of tension. I also am stressed from exams so all in all not doing well. I was doing some revision and come across a section about someone who is reported to have died from stress. I googled (stupid!) and there are lots of articles saying that anxiety/stress can kill you. This has just made me more anxious because now Im scared of being anxious and killing myself from my anxiety. I also tend to think daily about death and I am just so scared that my anxiety is going to kill me or shorten my life span.

[StrayWookie]

Short answer - No.

Foregoing any pre existing medical conditions, anxiety and stress will NOT kill you. If uncertain, do get a medical checkup but if the results come back all clear, believe that you are.

[Bexx1]

I went to the doctor a while ago and she listened to heart and checked my blood pressure and that and said I was all perfectly healthy.

[ankietyjoe]

The short answer is actually yes.

The caveat here though is that It won't kill you if you're young enough to be doing exams. It takes years of prolonged stress and really affects those in middle age or later. There will usually be contributing factors in these individuals such as smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet and lack of exercise etc.

As long as you're aware you are suffering from stress there are lots of things you can do about it too such as exercise, meditation and guided relaxation techniques.

[HalfJack]

I'd say technically it's yes, stress can wear you down, but so can exercise, or lack of exercise, so can a lot of things.

I went to the Drs the other day for a check up (ive had anxiety for like 9 odd years now) and my heart is in perfect condition despite palpitations all that time etc, and my lungs are also the peak of health. I was expecting stress to have left its mark but it hasn't. I'm as physically healthy as I would otherwise be.

[Fishmanpa]

There are dozens and dozens of things that can kill you in this world. Some faster than others.

Long term stress/anxiety can lead to physical issues that may become detrimental over time.

Positive thoughts

[RVP]

I would say, directly no, but indirectly yes. Over a long-term period it will have an effect on your whole body, whether it's your heart or immune system, these could lead to other implications.
Our stress levels as anxiety sufferers are higher than the average person, which is why it's important to de-load.
Stress from exams ect IMO is short-term I am going through the exact same as you, just finished my University exam and the wait for results is killing me.

I also read an article that a guy who was working, literally 12-14 hours a day, everyday died from stress overload. He may not have known he was stressed, but clearly his body couldn't cope any more due to the lack of sleep and most likely a whole load of other stuff related.

[AnxiousPansa]

I am pretty sure you can only die from stress/anxiety if you have something wrong with you to contribute to it. I know people who have led very anxious lives for very long periods of time and been fine!