1060: Classic ACP What You Need To Know About The Physical Effects Of Anxiety
The Anxiety Coaches Podcast
Gina Ryan
4.6 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 28 August 2024
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In today's episode, Gina discusses the physiological side of anxiety and how to use our knowledge of the body to heal and clear our anxiety. A number of specific suggestions are offered for minimizing the physical effects of anxiety on the body. A number of physical causes of anxiety are identified and suggestions made for avoiding them!
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Quote:
Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.
–Buddha
Chapters
0:00 Introduction to Anxiety Effects
2:46 Impact on Physical Health
5:59 Strategies for Managing Anxiety
10:32 Lifestyle Modifications for Wellness
12:38 Identifying Causes of Anxiety
17:46 Healing Mind and Body Together
Summary
In today's episode of the Anxiety Coaches Podcast, I've delved into the intricate relationship between anxiety and its physical effects on the body. Understanding that anxiety isn't just a mental experience is crucial; it manifests in various bodily changes that can often be overlooked. We often find ourselves grappling with physical complaints—such as gastrointestinal issues, rapid heartbeats, and disturbances in sleep—that we may not realize can be attributed to our anxiety. It’s essential to acknowledge that anxiety can significantly influence bodily functions, and vice versa.
We start by discussing how anxiety can disturb digestive processes, leading to issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This connection between the mind and gut is profound. The body's response during stressful situations—like the fight-or-flight reaction—can temporarily halt digestion, making it clear that when we’re anxious, our digestive health may suffer. Additionally, I touch on how heightened stress levels can affect our reproductive organs and immune function, leaving us vulnerable to various physical ailments. It’s an interconnected web, and I emphasize that whether physical discomfort leads to stress or anxiety causes physiologic issues, addressing both sides is paramount for holistic recovery.
I also highlight the role of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which our bodies release in response to anxiety. These hormones prepare us for immediate threats but can adversely affect our bodily functions when released in excess in our modern, less-threatening lives. It’s crucial to find strategies to manage stress more constructively. I provide practical techniques to help listeners recalibrate their responses to anxiety, starting with something as fundamental as deep breathing.
The power of breath cannot be understated in calming the nervous system. I walk listeners through several popular breathing exercises, including a longer exhale and a double inhalation technique, encouraging everyone to practice these methods to ease anxiety and enhance oxygen flow to the body. Besides breathing techniques, I emphasize the importance of maintaining physical health through regular exercise, proper nutrition, and adequate rest—each vital to both mental clarity and bodily well-being.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Anxiety Coaches |
| 0:09.3 | Coaches podcast, a relaxing and informative show where we explore anxiety, panic and PTSD sharing how you can overcome them for life. |
| 0:22.0 | Aloha, welcome back to the Anxiety Coaches Podcast. I'm your host and coach Gina Ryan, |
| 0:30.4 | and I am so happy to be with you again today as together we can consider the many ways to bring your mind and body back to its natural peace and calm. |
| 0:43.0 | In today's episode, I'm talking about what you need to know about the physical effects of anxiety. |
| 0:52.0 | We all know that anxiety affects your body as well as your mind. We can |
| 0:59.0 | feel it, but we sometimes forget that some of our physical complaints may be related to or caused by our anxiety. |
| 1:10.0 | In addition to worrying and feeling nervous, you may experience changes in many different functions in your body. |
| 1:19.0 | One of the first ones that people notice changes in is their digestion. |
| 1:26.2 | You can either be needing to run for the bathroom, or you could be experiencing some real gut issues all the way up to having IBS and many of these other GI issues are exacerbated by stress. |
| 1:47.2 | Now, it's chicken or the egg at some point |
| 1:50.4 | as to whether the stress caused it or not or whether you are stressed now because |
| 1:57.8 | you have this physical distress and illness right So it doesn't matter because both will inform the other. So as you |
| 2:07.9 | reduce your stress, you will help your digestion. Now why would digestion be one of the first places that we notice it? It's |
| 2:14.6 | because when we are in fight or flight we shut down the processes, not completely of course, |
| 2:22.1 | but we slow down bodily functions that are not |
| 2:26.0 | required of us in that moment and you don't need to digest your lunch if you are running from a tiger. It doesn't matter. Just like it |
| 2:38.2 | shuts down or rather slows down a lot of the reproductive organs when we are highly stressed because we don't |
| 2:49.8 | need to reproduce if we're going to be eaten by a tiger. The main focus there is survival. Use all energy, |
| 2:59.7 | all hands on deck, to get you to safety. |
| 3:05.0 | Other things that are affected are immune function. |
| 3:08.7 | Now we might not even think of that |
... |
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