Paresthesia due to anxiety: symptoms, causes and how to manage it

Many people who live with anxiety report that in situations of stress or anguish they experience a strange sensation of tingling in the hands, similar to when an arm or leg falls asleep after being supported on them for a long time weather. This sensation has a name, in the field of neurology it is known as paresthesia.

The term paresthesia is used to refer to an abnormal sensation, in the sense that it does not have a cause. apparent physical sensations, tingling, pricking, chills, burning, numbness, general sensation or senses.

Paresthesia is normally the result of some type of sustained pressure on a nerve, however, sometimes this It can be derived from some type of disorder that affects the central nervous system or associated with stress and anxiety. In this article we will talk about paresthesia due to anxiety, its symptoms, its origin, and strategies to deal with this condition.

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What is paresthesia?

As we have seen, paresthesia refers to a burning or prickling sensation commonly felt in the extremities: hands, arms, legs or feet, but can manifest in any part of the body.

Paresthesia occurs without warning, is not usually accompanied by pain, and is described by people like a tingling or numbness, is sometimes accompanied by a prickling or prickling sensation in the skin. A rare paresthesia is formication, a sensation similar to that of insects crawling on the skin, without the presence of such critters. Paresthesia can be chronic or transient.

Most of us have experienced a type of paresthesia or paresthesias, but without knowing that it was called this way, usually stemming from poor posture. After sitting cross-legged for a while or after falling asleep on our arm, when we get up or wake up we cannot move the limb. When we say "my leg or arm has fallen asleep" what we mean is that we are experiencing paresthesia.

It is a sensation that we could describe as pinpricks that become more intense when trying support the arm, hand or leg on the ground or some surface, extending throughout the tip. After a while, the intensity of the punctures becomes weaker and this is when a tingling or tingling appears and the numbness begins to decrease until we feel that part of our body as always. Sometimes, before disappearing completely, the tingling and numbness are followed by a feeling of cold that runs through the extremity, until body temperature gradually recovers.

The cause of this type of paresthesia is the temporary restriction of nerve impulses in a particular area due to pressure exerted or a lack of blood circulation. And this disappears when the pressure disappears without any consequence.

There are shorter and more common paresthesias, similar to electric shocks, that can be produced by pinching the ulnar nerve near the elbow; This phenomenon is colloquially known as hit the "funny bone".

Other causes of paresthesias can be reactive hyperemia, which occurs when blood flow is restored after a period of ischemia; or a cold sore outside the mouth, which may be preceded by tingling due to the activity of the causative virus. There are a dozen underlying causes for this condition.

There is also chronic paresthesia, or Bernhardt's paresthesia, which is usually a symptom of a underlying neurological disease where there is a problem with the functioning of neurons, or a poor circulation.

Other causes of paresthesia are psychological conditions such as hyperventilation syndrome and panic attacks, is also part of the symptomatology of an anxiety disorder.

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Symptoms

When paresthesia appears repeatedly over time and is accompanied by other symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations, a feeling of loss of control, dizziness... will be part of the symptoms present in an anxiety disorder, where sensations such as depersonalization, derealization or fear of dying may also occur. In this case we will be facing an anxiety paresthesia.

Like other paresthesias, anxiety paresthesia occurs primarily in the extremities. But it can occur in other areas of the body, it can spread to the torso and some people can notice numbness in the area of ​​​​the face and head, this paresthesia would be known as paresthesia facial.

In the case of paresthesia due to anxiety, contrary to other types of paresthesia of physical origin, symptoms manifest on both sides of the body, either with the same intensity or with different intensities.

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What is anxiety paresthesia?

The paresthesias that come from the numbness of the extremities after a bad posture do not usually scare us, since we are used to it and we know that disappear, we also know a little about their causes and we simply understand that due to the pressure exerted, the body needs time to recover.

Nevertheless, when paresthesia appears within a picture of anxiety, it seems inexplicable to us, there is no pressure in any area. Added to the fact that we are in a moment of fear and stress, this gives rise to a series of adverse explanations. We can relate paresthesia to another type of serious condition such as having a stroke, or another type of neurological condition. Paresthesia and our thoughts about it make the anxiety attack worse, increasing other sensations such as fear and mistrust.

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Causes

Symptoms of sensory origin, such as those of paresthesia, They can derive from depressive symptoms or occur within the manifestations of anxiety.; therefore, its most common causes are anxiety disorder or, in some cases, panic attacks. The symptoms that affect the senses are a way to release tensions of emotional origin.

Paresthesia due to anxiety has been related to breathing, this is manifested mainly in patients who usually also having difficulty breathing during anxiety attacks, usually faster and deeper breathing than normal (hyperventilation).

Hyperventilation does not have a psychological origin, it is not caused by the catastrophic idea that we are suffocating and need more air to continue living. Without being aware of it, during the day we can increase our levels of alertness or tension. in response to situations that we experience as normal but the body considers stressful. Our body activates what is known as the survival system. One of the mechanisms of this system is to collect more oxygen than usual, which is why we breathe faster and more deeply. However, since there is no such real threat and there is no running, the O2 is not consumed and a surplus is generated.

This increased amount of oxygen has two main consequences. First, there is an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide. The body will try to maintain balance, for that it will try to reduce the amount of air that enters and will force the respiratory system to take in air more slowly, which causes the choking sensation characteristic of anxiety. The imbalance between the O2 and CO2 that circulate in the blood will cause a change in the pH, this condition is known by the term alkalosis.

On the other hand, believing that we are in a survival situation, our body concentrates the greatest amount of oxygen in the vital organs that are located in the center of the body.

All this will cause less oxygen to reach the extremities. That is why we can feel the tingling and numbness characteristic of paresthesia.

How to combat paresthesia due to anxiety?

One of the first ways to reduce the symptoms associated with paresthesia, and its consequences by aggravating the crisis, is to understand the mechanism of hyperventilation that we have just explained.

To the use a paper bag to breathe we decrease the amount of air and oxygen that enters our lungs, and help restore balance.

Carrying out physical exercise It also has a compensatory effect on the O2 and CO2 balance of our body, since by accelerating the rhythm of the heart and respiration, increases oxygen consumption and helps eliminate carbon dioxide. carbon.

There are techniques for physiological control that are based on controlled exposure to situations that trigger anxiety. The person learns mechanisms to control the way his body reacts to different situations.

On the other hand, as we have said, paresthesia is part of a symptomatology within an anxiety disorder, or it can derive from other situations such as panic attacks. In this case it is treating the underlying disorder It will help combat all your symptoms, including paresthesia.

With the improvement and treatment of the anxiety condition, the paresthesia should also subside or disappear completely. In the event that this does not happen, it is advisable to consult a doctor who can find out or rule out if the paresthesia has a different cause as its origin, not derived from anxiety.