How does anxiety cause dizziness?

[helenclaire]

Hi,

Dizziness is my main symptom, this is causing me so much distress as I worry about it 24/7.

It makes everyday life so difficult and I find it hard to function.

It does come and go through out the day but I am constantly waiting for the next wave.

I get it in various forms, on a couple of occasions I have had more of a spinning feeling but mainly its an off balance/falling feeling and I get a sinking feeling with it.

I have tried all things recommended such as breathing exercises but it hasn't helped.
I have a lot of tension in the back of my head and neck so don't know if that is what is causing it but its really getting me down, and the more it happens the more I worry that its something serious.
I am sat here at the moment and I feel like I am in a moving car, funny enough I actually feel better when I am in the car.

I know dizziness does seem to be a common problem with anxiety, but nobody has really come up with a reason for it and how to make it stop.

I live in hope of a cure.:shrug:

[Gary A]

There are a few ways in which anxiety causes dizziness. The most common cause is chronic or acute hyperventilation. When you take in more oxygen than your body requires, it messes up the bodies own CO2 balance. This in turn will cause a confusion in the brain as it tries to readdress the problem.

There's actually pretty strong evidence to suggest that anxiety creates chemical imbalances in the same area of the brain that controls balance and co-ordination.

There's also evidence to suggest that when anxious, people become too reliant on eyesight, which, believe it or not, plays a rather small role in balance. Your other senses become dulled and your reliance on your eyesight increases, which is why a lot of people feel dizzy in crowded or visually stimulating environments, like supermarkets.

[helenclaire]

Thank you for your reply, its nice to have an explanation.

I knew that hyperventilating can cause it but didn't know about the other things.

All I need to do now is to find a way of addressing the anxiety, and hopefully the dizziness will get better, but we all know how hard it is to reduce anxiety.
I feel like I am in a constant state of anxiety from the moment I wake to the time I go to bed. So its going to be very hard!!.

:shrug:

[Gary A]

You're in a vicious circle. You're anxious, which makes you dizzy, which makes you more anxious, which makes you more dizzy, and so on...

The best thing to do is tell yourself that your dizziness is simply a symptom of a harmless condition. It's akin to having a runny nose when you have a cold or pain when you pull a muscle. Tell yourself it's a nuisance but nothing more.

[helenclaire]

Thank you,

What you are saying makes so much sense.

I do try and tell myself that if it was something serious I would be a lot worse by now as I have been suffering with it on and off for months.

Its just very frustrating.

I know I am making it worse by letting it take over and stopping me from doing things and going places but its really hard when you feel dizzy.

It really is a vicious circle.

[Gary A]

If it were something serious it wouldn't come and go, it would be there constantly and would, of course, get progressively worse over that period of time.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Very interesting about the eyesight in supermarkets issue, Gary. I found senses are greatly heightened at higher stages of anxiety and as you recover, they return to natural levels so such things are less "in HD".

[Gary A]

Very interesting about the eyesight in supermarkets issue, Gary. I found senses are greatly heightened at higher stages of anxiety and as you recover, they return to natural levels so such things are less "in HD".

Apparently eyesight becomes your "go to guy" in times of anxiety. Spatial awareness, of course, has a lot of contributing factors, with the ears, neck, head and spine all playing a role. When anxiety becomes heightened the eyes become your main focus and spatial awareness depends too much on it. Your brain is receiving too much info from one focal point and the other senses become sort of background noise. As the brain is used to processing spatial awareness from so many other areas, it becomes less efficient. It's pretty fascinating stuff.

[ToughLuck]

Apparently eyesight becomes your "go to guy" in times of anxiety. Spatial awareness, of course, has a lot of contributing factors, with the ears, neck, head and spine all playing a role. When anxiety becomes heightened the eyes become your main focus and spatial awareness depends too much on it. Your brain is receiving too much info from one focal point and the other senses become sort of background noise. As the brain is used to processing spatial awareness from so many other areas, it becomes less efficient. It's pretty fascinating stuff.

Many times I've come across this forum online but I've never actually registered and contributed. Today, during quite a nasty episode, I decided I'd check out the forum for a little support and the very first thread I saw was this one. It was as if I had wrote this thread myself!

I too have been suffering with this dizziness issue, and the toughest part for me is actually saying "yes, this is anxiety" and ignoring the fact that it could be something else. I am a very logical person and the symptoms are so powerful that I struggle to accept that I could be suffering from a psychosomatic symptom.

Anyway, the part you mentioned about the supermarket was very interesting to me. I seem to struggle most in places like super markets where there are a lot of things to focus on and a lot to take in. I too had thought that my dizziness was more closely related to my vision.

I'd be interested to hear OP's occupation. I spend a lot of my day (9 hours usually) working on the PC and it seems to take it's toll on my eyes. I wonder if this strain along with anxiety is a recipe for panic!

Anyway, it is a relief to see other people are struggling on with the same symptoms. I hope together we can share some useful tips.

:)

[Gary A]

It's very counter intitutive for the layperson to think that mental issues cause physical reactions, but they certainly do. If you're ever finding it hard to accept, just think of all the physical reactions your body has to what you are thinking on a daily basis. Think of a food you love. Notice how you salivate. Think of something that scares you, notice how you become clammy and your stomach gets that weird achey feeling.

These are all examples of mental stimuli causing physical reactions. The mind and body are very closely interlinked, it's actually amazing just how closely.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi and welcome to the forum, ToughLuck :welcome:

I would say screens can be bad. There is a reason they tell us to not use them within so many hours of bedtime or they can contribute to insomnia. Blue light I think I read in an article causes a chemical change that stimulates.

I think supermarket lighting doesn't help as well as others factors such as crowds, overwhelming stimuli (so much to look at and hear, for instance), large open plan areas, etc. I found this does fade with time and now it doesn't bother me at all.

When in these situations it help to use Grounding techniques or if you learn Mindfulness, like I did, this achieves the same. It will bring you back to the present, reconnect you and get you to properly utilise your senses but also on a smaller number of stimuli in close area you are in.

[ToughLuck]

It's very counter intitutive for the layperson to think that mental issues cause physical reactions, but they certainly do. If you're ever finding it hard to accept, just think of all the physical reactions your body has to what you are thinking on a daily basis. Think of a food you love. Notice how you salivate. Think of something that scares you, notice how you become clammy and your stomach gets that weird achey feeling.

These are all examples of mental stimuli causing physical reactions. The mind and body are very closely interlinked, it's actually amazing just how closely.

That's all very true and very helpful. I am sure that come tomorrow (or even later today!) I will have forgotten this and given into the fear again, but I will try hard to remind and reassure myself of this fact each day.

---------- Post added at 14:21 ---------- Previous post was at 14:18 ----------


Hi and welcome to the forum, ToughLuck :welcome:

I would say screens can be bad. There is a reason they tell us to not use them within so many hours of bedtime or they can contribute to insomnia. Blue light I think I read in an article causes a chemical change that stimulates.

I think supermarket lighting doesn't help as well as others factors such as crowds, overwhelming stimuli (so much to look at and hear, for instance), large open plan areas, etc. I found this does fade with time and now it doesn't bother me at all.

When in these situations it help to use Grounding techniques or if you learn Mindfulness, like I did, this achieves the same. It will bring you back to the present, reconnect you and get you to properly utilise your senses but also on a smaller number of stimuli in close area you are in.

I am very keen to learn some of these techniques, It does often feel like I'm living completely detached from the real world. I will take a look through the post you made on mindfulness and start trying to get a ground of things. :)

[Gary A]

Better yet, forget the whole thing and only break out this reasoning whenever you experience a symptom. You can actually make your symptoms worse by anticipating them. If you expect to feel dizzy in a supermarket, chances are you'll feel dizzy. It's best to just focus on something else, and only begin an argument with yourself in the event of actually feeling dizzy, if that makes any sense.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's very counter intitutive for the layperson to think that mental issues cause physical reactions, but they certainly do. If you're ever finding it hard to accept, just think of all the physical reactions your body has to what you are thinking on a daily basis. Think of a food you love. Notice how you salivate. Think of something that scares you, notice how you become clammy and your stomach gets that weird achey feeling.

These are all examples of mental stimuli causing physical reactions. The mind and body are very closely interlinked, it's actually amazing just how closely.


Better yet, forget the whole thing and only break out this reasoning whenever you experience a symptom. You can actually make your symptoms worse by anticipating them. If you expect to feel dizzy in a supermarket, chances are you'll feel dizzy. It's best to just focus on something else, and only begin an argument with yourself in the event of actually feeling dizzy, if that makes any sense.

Yep, both Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning can account for that.

Pavlov rings his bell and I get a sudden craving for a French Fancy. :yesyes::

[Gary A]

Yep, both Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning can account for that.

Pavlov rings his bell and I get a sudden craving for a French Fancy. :yesyes:

I was going to say "think of how your body reacts when you see someone you find attractive", but that could have gotten a bit...ahem, messy. :unsure:

[MyNameIsTerry]

I was going to say "think of how your body reacts when you see someone you find attractive", but that could have gotten a bit...ahem, messy. :unsure:

If it's gets "messy" just from seeing them, a trip to the doc might be needed. :roflmao:

Sexual response is a messy one since in OCD we can get them to our sexually intrusive thoughts. It scares people until they realise they can't stop it since it's a response to stimuli and the morals/beliefs/schemas are upstream of it. This is another example of why a certain amount of knowledge of the body is crucial in tackling our disorders as you say otherwise we make incorrect assumptions & conclusions that just feed disorders further - something you will definitely know being one of the logical people on the HA board.

[Josh1234]

I suffer from dizziness and it's ruining my life, tbh.

[stars22]

I've been suffering dizziness ever since 2012 when I got diagnosed with anxiety my doctor at the time said it was vertigo but never did tests.. I've now just got a new kind of dizziness it's not like my normal one this is more if I stand I instant want to sit down I thought it was medication effects and due to me only just giving birth but nobody seems to concerned I am as I get major head pains and headaches ! Anyways today I have been diagnosed with anemia so maybe worth having yours checked but I do know even when I wasn't anemic I got dizzy spells ect I do know the dizziness makes me anxious and more dizzy from worrying also lighting does it to me too especially whike shopping also too much loud noise