Many people think about the emotional effects of anxiety and stress. When exposed to stress, people may feel overwhelmed. Negative thoughts such as “Everything is going wrong” are common when someone feels overwhelmed with stress. Irritability is another common emotional response to anxiety or stress. Cognitive symptoms of stress and anxiety include difficulty concentrating and feeling that the mind is blank. Stress and anxiety cause physical symptoms as well as emotional distress and cognitive symptoms.

Headaches are one of the most common physical symptoms of stress. Sleep disturbances are also very common. The person may have difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or their sleep may be restless.

Other physical symptoms of anxiety and stress include muscle tension, fatigue, sweaty palms, and restlessness. If someone is experiencing extreme anxiety such as during a panic attack, the person may have heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, pounding heart, chills or hot flashes, dizziness, trembling or shakiness, feeling as if they are choking, numbness or tingling sensations, stomach pain or diarrhea, and chest tightness from anxiety.

Stress and anxiety can make a person prone to some health problems or make existing problems more difficult to treat. Diabetes is negatively impacted by anxiety and stress. People with diabetes may need to take more insulin than usual when they are under significant stress. Stress management is often considered part of managing diabetes.

If the person is under considerable stress for an extended period of time, the stress can suppress the immune system. This makes the person more susceptible to colds, viral infections, and bacterial infections.

Many doctors and medical professionals have linked stress to everything from heart disease to abdominal fat which can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The research on how stress affects the development of disease is still scientifically unproven. However, many health organizations warn that there seems to be some link between the risk of some diseases and stress, the exact nature of the link just hasn’t been identified yet. In any case, it doesn’t hurt to get stress and anxiety under control.

Stress management techniques can be used to alleviate the emotional, mental, and physical symptoms of anxiety stress. Stress management can be an exercise like progressive relaxation which is specifically designed to reduce stress or it can be as simple as taking time out for yourself.