Can Anxiety Cause Nausea?

The expression "worried sick" caught on for a reason--it is not uncommon for anxiety to produce nausea as a symptom. Severe anxiety or fear cause a variety of physical symptoms that interrupt the normal function of your body, such as a release of adrenaline, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and sweating or chills. With all this going on, it isn't surprising that many people also experience nausea when they are feeling particularly anxious. It can come on as part of a panic attack, during social or performance situations, or just as a result of general feelings of anxiety that are unassociated with a particular incident or event.

For most people, anxiety nausea doesn't actually lead to vomiting, but it certainly can. It is easy to allow symptoms like nausea and vomiting to cause additional worry, thereby making your anxiety and nausea worse, but the good news is that anxiety nausea and vomiting are not dangerous. They are, however, inconvenient and unpleasant symptoms of anxiety.

There are a number of suggestions to be found for relieving anxiety nausea, such as a cold compress and taking deep breaths, but the only fool-proof way to eliminating the nausea is to get your anxiety under control. This can be done with cognitive therapy, medication, relaxation techniques, or a combination of treatments. As you become more effective at controlling your anxiety, you'll find that your nausea symptoms lessen as well.

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