What to do to prevent anxiety dizziness?

Dizziness is among the common symptoms of anxiety-related problems. Although it is true that many people tend to feel anxious and do not get dizzy when suffering from this form of discomfort, in psychotherapy consultations it is not uncommon to meet patients for whom one thing is linked to the other in many cases.

In this article we will see a series of guidelines and habits to apply every day to prevent dizziness caused by excessive anxiety.

• Related article: "6 exercises to stop somatizing, explained"

Why does anxiety dizziness appear?

The exact mechanism by which anxiety leads to dizziness is not fully understood; There are hypotheses to understand the relationship between both phenomena, but it must be taken into account that in the two involve a large number of psychological and physiological processes, in addition to differences individual.

On the one hand, it is known that anxiety goes hand in hand with relatively rapid changes in blood pressure (which is logical, because it is an emotion that guides us to adapt quickly to possible dangers or windows of opportunity that we should not miss, reacting shortly before); These changes can affect the organs responsible for the sense of balance, located in the vestibule of the ear, and also in the parts of the brain that work in coordination with the former.

On the other hand, sudden changes in the energy demand of the nervous system in situations of stress or anxiety can lead to the occurrence of a gap between the resources that the body sends to the brain and those it needs to function.

In addition, it is known that excess stress makes our neurons lose the ability to adapt to the demands of the environment modifying their interconnection patterns with the rest of nerve cells, both in the brain and in the area of ​​the lobby; This can also lead to decompensation in times of anxiety, leading to dizziness.

As we have seen, the chain of events that leads anxiety to produce the symptom of dizziness is not very clear, but that does not mean that it cannot be done. nothing to treat this problem when it significantly damages people's quality of life, or even apply measures to prevent its appearance.

How to prevent these problems?

Many people feel scared whenever anxiety is coupled with dizziness.; however, it must be borne in mind that this phenomenon does not constitute a significant health hazard. In any case, measures can be taken to prevent it from wearing down your quality of life.

This is a summary of several psychological keys that you can apply to your life to prevent anxiety dizziness. However, do not forget that the most effective measure of all is to go to therapy, since in this way you will have personalized attention adapted to your case.

1. Eat well

The appearance of dizziness is facilitated by the lack of nutrients available in the blood. To lower your chances of suffering from this form of discomfort, start by eating right.

That doesn't just mean not starving.Instead, incorporate into your diet foods in which you have all the necessary vitamins, macronutrients and minerals.

2. Get used to tolerating anxiety

A certain level of stress or anxiety is normal, and in many cases, it is even beneficial. Remember that the problem is excess anxiety and intense symptoms that appear when it accumulates and is not manages well, not the anxiety itself, which helps us to adapt to the challenges of the day to day and facilitates that let's learn.

So, When you start to notice anxious or anxious, do not try to block that emotion; That will only give it more strength and make it grow, because you are paying too much attention to it. Just accept and tolerate their presence, and that will open the door for your attention to be directed to other, more satisfying or stimulating sensations.

• You may be interested in: "The 7 types of anxiety (characteristics, causes and symptoms)"

3. Learn relaxation techniques

There is an important variety of relaxation techniques that are easy to learn.; some of them are designed for specific moments and last a few minutes, and others last a little longer (about 20 or 25 minutes) and can be incorporated into your schedule to help you regulate anxiety periodically. Mindfulness exercises, for example, are very useful in this regard, as well as Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation (the latter is part of the long ones).

Are you looking for psychotherapeutic help?

If you are interested in attending psychotherapy to overcome problems related to anxiety, please contact me.

My name is Fernando Azor, and I have been treating patients for more than 20 years with all kinds of emotional, behavioral and cognitive problems. In addition, my work is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, very effective against anxiety disorders and problems related to stress. Currently I attend both in person in Madrid and Tres Cantos, and online through video call sessions. On this page my contact details are available.

Bibliographic references:

• Brandt, T. & Dieterich, M. (2020). Excess anxiety 'and' less anxiety ': both depend on vestibular function. Current Opinion in Neurology, 33 (1): PP. 136 - 141.
• Furman, J.M.; Balaban C.D. & Jacob, R.G. (2001). Interface between vestibular dysfunction and anxiety: More than just psychogenicity. Otol Neurotol., 22 (3): p. 426 - 427.
• Saman, Y.; Bamiou, D.E.; Gleeson, M.; Dutia, M.B. (2012). Interactions between Stress and Vestibular Compensation - A Review. Frontiers in Neurology, 3: 116.