100+ Symptoms of Anxiety: Physical, Mental, and Emotional

Feeling alone in your struggle with anxiety? Wondering if what you’re experiencing is normal?

I know you may be frantically searching Google for some relief right now.

In this blog post, I’ve compiled over 100 anxiety symptoms you may have experienced or are dealing with.

Anxiety affects us all differently, whether it’s a heavy chest, a cloud of thoughts, or even a feeling like you’re not real! By understanding these symptoms, you’ll realize you’re not alone. Let’s dive in and discover the connections we share. You’re not alone on this journey!

To make it easier to understand the symptoms you’re struggling with, I’ve spoken about three “categories” of symptoms in this blog – physical, mental, and emotional anxiety.

Use the table below to quickly jump between each category to learn more about how they may affect you differently, and then scroll through the A to Z list of 100+ anxiety symptoms.

Physical anxiety symptoms 

These are the symptoms that affect your body and may be the ones you obsess over the most, as I did. When I started to delve deeper into anxiety and learn everything I could about my disorder, I learned that physical symptoms, even the really weird ones, were very common.

I developed severe health anxiety due to chronic symptoms, which drove me to the brink of insanity a few times, no exaggeration. I would obsess and analyze to the point where it was basically a full-time job. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I felt sick and worried all the time. I thought something was very wrong with me. 

If an advert on TV came on about a disease and I saw a symptom I was dealing with, I spiraled into full-blown panic. It was a very dark time. 

When something doesn’t make sense to you, it’s natural to immediately jump to the worst conclusion, so it helps to learn everything you can about your disorder. I felt more at ease when I realized that my symptoms were common with an anxiety disorder. 

Mental anxiety symptoms

It’s so hard when you appear healthy and okay on the outside, yet you’re having an internal battle with your mind every day. I know the agony of this, and I don’t think it’s dramatic to use that word. 

I was hardly present for many years because I lived in my head. So focussed on those thoughts and how they made me feel that I would spend my hours, my days obsessing and worrying to the point where I struggled to do much else. 

So when you tell me that you feel like you are currently in a nightmare, struggling with any or all of these symptoms, believe me when I say I get you. I know exactly how you feel. 

I hope just knowing that someone gets it will already provide some comfort.

Emotional anxiety symptoms

Emotional symptoms are the kind that affect your relationships not only with those around you, but also with your internal self. In many ways, even though these symptoms aren’t all that talked about, they may end up being the most damaging. 

Our emotions and the way we feel have a big impact on the way we interact with the world. You may, like me, purposely find ways to avoid going out or being around people because you just don’t know how you may end up feeling or acting. 

I went years not doing anything and not making any new friends because I was worried all the time about what anxiety had in store for me. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to go out or meet new people, I really did! It was because of the uncertainty and not knowing what could happen.

I will say here that feeling and expressing your emotions are good for you. It’s just that with anxiety, we tend to get stuck in them and go down paths that don’t end up doing us any good.

That’s been my experience anyway!

103 Symptoms of Anxiety

1. Analyze and obsess over everything 
2. Anxiety cough from nervousness
3. Anger
4. Appetite loss
5. Biting your nails or cuticles 
6. Brain fog
7. Brain zaps
8. Burning in throat 
9. Blushing 
10. Blurry vision
11. Burping due to acid reflux 
12. Buzzing feeling in random areas of the body 
13. Changes in sex drive 
14. Chest tightness and pain
15. Claustrophobic 
16. Constipation 
17. Cravings for certain foods, usually sugar 
18. Déjà-vu 
19. Depersonalization 
20. Derealization
21. Difficulty swallowing
22. Dizziness
23. Don’t like being touched
24. Dramatic mood swings 
25. Ear popping 
26. Easily startled
27. Extreme exhaustion
28. Eyes feels dry/itchy
29. Fear of losing control
30. Feel like you’re falling as you fall asleep (hypnic jerk)
31. Feel like something is stuck in your throat
32. Feeling overwhelmed
33. Fear of dying
34. Feeling of impending doom
35. Feeling on edge
36. Feeling spaced out
37. Feel awkward in social situations
38. Feel guilty when unproductive
39. Feeling like you’re moving in slow motion
40. Flashbacks
41. Flu-like symptoms
42. Floaters in vision
43. Frequent need to urinate
44. Giddiness 
45. Hair loss 
46. Headaches
47. Heart flutters
48. Heart that beats too hard or fast
49. Heavy limbs 
50. Hot/cold flashes
51. IBS
52. Insomnia
53. Intrusive thoughts 
54. Irritability
55. Jelly legs 
56. Joint pain 
57. Muscle pain 
58. Moodiness
59. Muscle weakness
60. Need to clear throat 
61. Numbness 
62. Vibrating
63. Nausea
64. Nightmares 
65. Need to always be near exits 
66. OCD tendencies
67. Passing gas 
68. Pressure and tightness in the head
69. Pins and needles over scalp
70. Panic attacks 
71. Perfectionism 
72. Pressure in the ears 
73. Popping joints 
74. Restlessness 
75. Restless leg syndrome 
76. Ringing in ears 
77. Sleeping too much
78. Skin flare ups and hives
79. Stress pimples 
80. Sensitive to light
81. Sensitive to loud noises 
82. Shoulder tension and stiffness 
83. Struggle to ask for help
84. Shortness of breath, gasping for air or yawning to get air 
85. Sweating
86. Swollen lympnodes
87. Stuttering and stumbling over your words
88. Shooting pains anywhere in the body
89. Tickling feeling in ear 
90. Tight throat
91. Tingling
92. Tightness in jaw 
93. Twitching
94. Tongue feels weird or swollen 
95. Tunnel vision 
96. Trembling or shaking
97. TMJ
98. Unable to make eye contact 
99. Unsettled tummy 
100. Uncontrollable crying
101. Weight loss/gain
102. Waking up into a panic attack 
103. Zoning out during conversations

Is it normal to experience anxiety 24/7?

Yes! I know this is a massive question for many! You may wonder if your symptoms are hanging around 24/7 and if it really is *just* anxiety.

When your nervous system is permanently stimulated, your body is pretty much on the verge of fight or flight all day long. Because of this, you are going to experience chronic anxiety symptoms.

Inflammation plays a huge role too in anxiety symptoms sticking around for longer.

Can you ever be free from symptoms?

Anxiety symptoms do not have to rule your life. A life where they don’t rule you is 100% possible. I am proof of this. And I will share proof from our community below as well.

I know it feels impossible while you’re in the midst of it, but this is why it is so important to learn as much as you can about anxiety – as you have been doing by reading this article! Doing this helps you find things that will help you in your journey. 

Try not to place heavy expectations on yourself while learning about anxiety. Nor try to tell yourself you must be “free from anxiety” to feel like you’ve got a grip on it. After all, anxiety is a natural human response, and it does serve it’s purpose to protect us. 

But you ARE allowed to want a life where your anxiety does not dictate how you live your life, and I for one am rooting for you. 

What’s next for you?

I’d love if you left me a comment to let me know how you liked this blog post, or, tell me which of these symptoms you can relate to the most!

And, to help you along your journey, I’d be honoured if you:

• browsed around my blog some more
• join my free weekly newsletter (and get this blog post list as a handy PDF)
• follow my Instagram where I post daily