Have you ever happened to have your heart suddenly racing, when you have no obvious cause of it? You may be relaxing and then suddenly your chest pains you breathe at a high rate and you are just slightly panicking wondering whether there is something wrong with your heart. However, before you draw the worst conclusion, just breathe in deeply. More often than not, these are the symptoms that are not concerned with the heart but with the brain. In fact, they can be one of the anxiety manifestations that are capable of impersonating heart problems and leaving you feeling like you are completely out of control.
When the Mind Misleads the Body
The onset can be acute a feeling of restlessness, dizziness, and racing heart. Your thoughts turn into, “Is this a heart attack?” Next, visit your healthcare provider; there’s no issue detected this time around. Then it hits you, it is anxiety.
Anxiety is a natural alarm system that fires when your body thinks there is danger present, even if there is no actual danger. These anxiety symptoms can create physical tension that can manifest into sweating, shaking, tightness in your chest, and heart racing. This is your body trying to prepare you for the danger or run from it but in our day to day lives these alarms sometimes fire even when there is no reason to be an alarm. Be it work-related stress, having emotional stress, or endlessly scrolling social media late at night.
Understanding what’s really happening
If you feel restless, there is a racing heart, and there is the release of stress hormones from the brain. These hormones are meant to get your body ready for action. Nonetheless, if such situations are frequent, it causes the nerves to be overstimulated and consequently, panic-like episodes will be experienced.
It is very helpful to understand the symptoms of anxiety at the very onset so that you can take steps to control them. Start looking for patterns. Is it that these episodes occur only before a stressful event, after taking caffeine, or when you are overthinking? By keeping track of them, you get to know what triggers affect you and you become more emotionally aware.
In fact, the connection between the brain and the gut is very strong as well. The gut and brain are in touch via the gut-brain axis, and hence if the gut is ailing with something like indigestion or inflammation, it can be the reason for anxiety. So, figuring out ways to make the gut healthy is not only the stomach’s business but also the brain’s.
How to Improve Gut Health to Calm the Mind
Your gut indeed influences your mood to an extent that might surprise you. The gut is responsible for producing approximately 90% of serotonin, the so-called happiness hormone. An imbalanced digestive system may, therefore, result in stress and anxiety symptoms being more severe.
Some simple ways to keep the gut healthy are listed below:
- The diet should also have probiotics and foods, which are rich in fiber such as yogurt, fruit and oats since they are the primary nutrients of the good bacteria in our intestines.
- Make sure that you drink plenty of water. Water is vital for effective digestion and also for maintaining energy.
- Limit the intake of caffeine and processed foods, the latter can lead to not only gut issues but also anxiety.
- Give mindfulness to your eating practice. Eat with full awareness, take your time and taste your food, do not do other things at the same time, and be conscious of your hunger signals from your body.
A well-functioning gut brings a sense of calm to the mind and strengthens the nervous system. This reduces sudden panic attacks.
How to Overcome Anxiety Effects
In case you have to face that known influx once more, just tell yourself: it is fine. Your organism is experiencing anxiety but not a heart attack. Center yourself, inhale deeply, do some stretching or just go outside to get fresh air. Physical actions and deep, slow breathing help not only to lower but also to reset your nervous system.
Besides these, writing, soft yoga, and mindfulness practice are also good options to stop the overflowing of thoughts in one’s mind. Chat with a therapist or confidant are also very helpful. Never forget that the whole world, by means of millions, goes through the same anxiety symptoms as you, and through mindful practices you will be able to take back control of the situation.
Ultimately, sudden feelings of inner agitation and a racing heart don’t always indicate dangerous events are occurring. Your body can also be saying, “Whoa. This is a quick little reminder to pause, breathe, and care for myself.” Understanding your personal feelings of anxiety and their link to your gut can help you find inner peace, one calm heartbeat at a time.