Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress: a built-in alarm that helps you prepare or protect yourself. But when worry and fear stick around, ramp up, or start to shape your daily life, that can point to an anxiety disorder. Women experience anxiety disorders at higher rates than men, and the body often carries much of the load. Here we explain what anxiety can feel like in your body, how to tell when anxiety is excessive, and how you can seek help.
At Women’s Recovery in Colorado, we treat anxiety that coincides with a drug or alcohol addiction. We meet a lot of people who have tried to push through on their own for a long time. If that is you, you are not weak or behind; you are human. Support can help you sort what is anxiety and what might be another health issue, then build a treatment plan that fits your pace.
How anxiety symptoms show up in the body
When your brain senses a threat, the body releases stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These stress hormones speed up heart rate, tense muscles, and sharpen attention. That response is a normal reaction in short bursts. With chronic anxiety, the alarm stays on longer than it needs to, and physical symptoms can pile up. People with anxiety disorders often describe feeling “revved,” worn out, and on guard at the same time.
5 physical symptoms of anxiety in women
Women tend to report more physical symptoms of anxiety than men. Here are five common patterns, and why they happen.
1. Rapid heart rate and palpitations
Anxiety can cause a racing or pounding heartbeat. You might notice skipped beats or fluttering. This happens when the body releases stress hormones that push the heart to work harder. Rapid pulse can feel like danger, which can make anxiety worse in the moment.
2. Shortness of breath
During panic attacks or spikes of fear, breathing can get fast and shallow. Hyperventilation changes carbon dioxide levels, which can lead to tingling in your fingers or around your mouth, and a sense that you cannot catch your breath. Slowing the exhale often helps.
3. Gastrointestinal issues
The brain and gut constantly talk to each other, so symptoms of anxiety often show up in digestion. Nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome can flare when stress is high. Some people notice that certain foods or caffeine make IBS and other digestive system symptoms worse. Changes in appetite and weight gain or weight loss are common with anxiety, as well.
4. Muscle tension and pain
Muscle tension is one of the clearest body signals of anxiety. Shoulders creep up, the jaw clamps, and the back aches. Over time, chronic anxiety can connect with headaches and chronic pain conditions. Gentle movement, heat, and scheduled relaxation can help your muscles remember how to let go.
5. Fatigue and insomnia
Constant worry keeps the nervous system on high alert. Falling asleep can be tough, and staying asleep can be even tougher. People describe trouble sleeping, frequent waking, vivid dreams, and morning exhaustion. Fatigue can also show up after a wave of fear, like a crash after a surge of energy.
These are just some ways anxiety manifests, and every person is different.
Why do anxiety disorders happen more often in women?
There is no single reason. Anxiety disorders have many causes that stack, including:
- Family history and genetics, including close relatives with anxiety disorders or other mental disorders
- Hormone shifts across the lifespan, including premenstrual changes, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause
- Traumatic events, such as accidents, assault, or sudden loss
- Health conditions, like thyroid problems, chronic pain, or sleep apnea
- Medications and substances such as stimulants, some decongestants, and high caffeine intake
- Ongoing stress at work or at home
If you feel seen in any of this, it does not mean you will develop anxiety disorders. It only means your system is primed to react, and that care should consider these layers.
Types of anxiety disorders
A trained mental health professional uses your story, medical history, and symptom pattern to pinpoint the type of anxiety and to rule out physical conditions. The most common mental health conditions in this group include:
- Generalized anxiety disorder features persistent worry, muscle tension, and difficulty relaxing most days for months, often with trouble sleeping and fatigue.
- Panic disorder includes sudden feelings of intense fear, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and a surge of dread. These panic attacks usually peak within minutes.
- Social anxiety disorder shows up as strong fear of being judged or embarrassed in social settings.
- Specific phobias such as driving, flying, needles, or animals, are designated an anxiety issue when the fear is out of proportion to the actual risk.
- Separation anxiety disorder can affect adults as well as children and leads to intense distress when away from attachment figures.
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma-related condition that can overlap with anxiety symptoms.
The National Institute of Mental Health offers more information on anxiety disorders.
When does normal worry become an anxiety disorder?
Everyone worries. Anxiety becomes a concern when excessive worry sticks around, you start avoiding parts of daily life, or your body is on edge most of the time. Anxiety disorders are diagnosed based on how often symptoms happen, how intense they are, and how much they affect everyday life. There is no single lab test. A mental health provider or primary care doctor may use screening tools, such as the GAD-7 for generalized anxiety disorder, a panic disorder scale, or a social anxiety questionnaire, along with a physical exam to rule out other health conditions.
Panic attack or anxiety attack?
People use the term “anxiety attack” to describe a spike in fear or stress. Clinicians use “panic attack” for a discrete burst of intense fear with clear symptoms, such as racing heart, chest pain, shaking, and a feeling of losing control. Panic attacks reach a peak within minutes. Anxiety can feel more like a steady, constant worry with muscle tension, restlessness, and trouble concentrating.
If you are not sure which one you are having, consider timing and intensity. A panic attack is fast and intense; ongoing anxiety feels more like a background alarm.
Everyday steps that reduce anxiety symptoms
Here are some simple things you can do now to start addressing anxiety:
- Move your body most days, even 10 to 20 minutes counts.
- Keep a steady sleep window, rise time, and wind down time.
- Eat regular meals, and notice foods that seem to worsen anxiety.
- Limit alcohol, which may calm in the moment but can make anxiety worse the next day.
- Practice short stress management techniques you will actually use, like a two-minute breathing break between meetings or while parked in your car.
- Try writing down constant worry before bed, then set it aside until morning.
- Consider support groups to share what works in real life.
Many substances besides alcohol can make anxiety worse overall, including drugs you may use to cope with anxiety in the moment. Sleep medicines can also become a problem over time, which is why care plans consider both sleep and safety. Read about our approach to sleeping pill concerns at Women’s Recovery.
Evidence-based treatment options to treat anxiety
The goal is to manage anxiety disorders so they affect you less and less. Professional help for anxiety might include:
- Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you spot patterns and practice new responses. Exposure-based work, for panic disorder and specific phobias, teaches your body that feared sensations can be tolerated. Mindfulness practices can help you notice the subtler physical signs of anxiety starting to rise and buy you some time to address them.
- Medications. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often first line for generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Other options may include SNRIs or, for short-term situations, certain beta blockers. Some anti-anxiety medications can be helpful in specific cases; long term use of sedatives is carefully weighed because tolerance and dependence can develop. Decisions are best made with a mental health professional who knows your health conditions and preferences.
- Combined care. Many people with anxiety disorders also live with other mental illnesses, depression, or substance use disorders. Combined therapy and medication can reduce anxiety symptoms and improve function for many, especially when excessive anxiety interferes with relationships, school, or work.
If the anxiety symptoms discussed earlier feel familiar, you are not broken. Many people with anxiety disorders find a mix of talk therapy, healthy habits, and, when appropriate, medication, helps them get back to the parts of life that matter.
Help for addiction and anxiety in Denver and Dillon, CO
If substances are part of how you cope with severe anxiety, that is common, and help is available at Women’s Recovery in Colorado. Our team will listen first, then help you consider treatment options that fit your goals and your reality. Contact Women’s Recovery at 833.977.3289 to discuss outpatient options for treating anxiety and addiction that work with your life.
