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Anxiety is the body’s built-in response system for dealing with potential danger. While it can feel uncomfortable or inconvenient, each symptom actually serves a purpose meant to protect us.

 

When anxiety hits, your heart rate increases, which can feel like chest pounding or a racing heart. This helps pump more oxygen-rich blood to your muscles and brain so you can react quickly. Your breathing rate also speeds up, often leading to shallow or rapid breathing, and sometimes even hyperventilation. This is your body trying to increase the amount of oxygen available, especially to your brain, so it can function at high speed.

 

Muscles tense up, which you might notice as soreness or tightness, especially if it lasts for a while. This gives your body extra strength to run or defend itself. You may start to sweat, feeling warm or clammy—this helps cool the body down in case you need to exert yourself. At the same time, your pupils dilate, which can cause light sensitivity, but it also helps you take in more detail and scan for danger more efficiently.

 

Your mind may race, jumping quickly from thought to thought, making it hard to concentrate. This mental speed helps you assess threats rapidly. You might notice focused attention, where certain things feel super important and others fade into the background. This helps you zero in on potential dangers.

 

Shaking or trembling, especially in the hands, is a common response to the rush of adrenaline. Similarly, goose bumps—the feeling of raised hairs or bumpy skin—are a response to muscle tension and part of your body’s ancient readiness system.

 

During anxiety, your immune system may slow down, which can mean getting sick more easily or taking longer to recover. That’s because your body is shifting its energy away from long-term healing to immediate protection. Likewise, your digestive system slows, which can cause loss of appetite, nausea, or even cravings for high-fat or sugary foods. This happens because the body diverts energy from digestion to focus on staying safe in the moment.

 

All of these responses are part of a normal, protective system that has evolved to help you survive perceived danger. Even though they feel intense, they are your body’s way of saying, “I’ve got you. I’m ready.”