Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Anxiety?What Is a Panic Attack?How to Get Help for AnxietyCoping With an Anxiety DisorderHow to Help Someone With Anxiety
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Anxiety?
What Is a Panic Attack?
How to Get Help for Anxiety
Coping With an Anxiety Disorder
How to Help Someone With Anxiety
Close
Anxiety can be incredibly distressing. Sometimes, such as when you are having apanic attack, it might even feel like death is imminent. After such episodes, you might find yourself wondering, can anxiety kill you?
The good news is that while anxiety is stressful and sometimes scary, it won’t kill you. It’s the effects of long-term, untreated anxiety that put your life at risk. Anxiety can increase your blood pressure, worsen cardiovascular health, weaken your immune system, and increase the risk of suicide.
Everyone experiences anxiety, but if it gets to the point where you’restruggling with its side effects, it may be time to get some help.
At a GlanceWhile anxiety itself will not kill you, it has been linked to heart disease, as well as several other symptoms that can pose severe threats to your health.Below, we’ve outlined exactly what anxiety is, as well as its physical symptoms and long-term impacts. We also go over panic attacks and anxiety disorders so that you can better understand what causes them. Finally, we talk about how to support someone in your life who has severe anxiety and how to get help if you’re living with anxiety.
At a Glance
While anxiety itself will not kill you, it has been linked to heart disease, as well as several other symptoms that can pose severe threats to your health.Below, we’ve outlined exactly what anxiety is, as well as its physical symptoms and long-term impacts. We also go over panic attacks and anxiety disorders so that you can better understand what causes them. Finally, we talk about how to support someone in your life who has severe anxiety and how to get help if you’re living with anxiety.
While anxiety itself will not kill you, it has been linked to heart disease, as well as several other symptoms that can pose severe threats to your health.
Below, we’ve outlined exactly what anxiety is, as well as its physical symptoms and long-term impacts. We also go over panic attacks and anxiety disorders so that you can better understand what causes them. Finally, we talk about how to support someone in your life who has severe anxiety and how to get help if you’re living with anxiety.
That said, anxiety can manifest itself differently for everyone, but it often feels like a constant, nagging worry that just won’t go away.
While sometimes worrying can be warranted (in some cases it may be your brain’s way of protecting you from real danger), anxiety leans more to unfounded worries that won’t go away.
Things to pay attention to if you thinkyou’re experiencing an abnormal amount of anxietyare the length of time that your feelings persist, the intensity of the feelings of nerves, and the inability to focus on an exact cause.
Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety may be taking place in your mind, but the side effects can certainly manifest in a physical way. While there are lots of physical side effects that can pop up, these are the most common.
General anxiety may include one or more of these symptoms,however, panic attacks often include many of them at once:
Long-Term Affects of Anxiety
Researchers at theAnxiety Disorders Programat Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center believe thatthere are ties between long-term anxiety and the development of heart disease.
Perhaps what’s most interesting about this research is that it determined that anxiety can not only lead to a higher risk of developing heart disease, but it can also act as an obstacle for those recovering from heart disease.
One of the reasons why this is thought to impact the heartis that it interferes with lots of things, like regular exercise and eating well, that can stave off the occurrence of heart disease.
In addition to making ithard to stick to schedulesor do daily tasks, anxiety can lead to rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and decreased heart rate variability—all of which put you at a higher risk for developing heart disease.
Research has also shown that anxiety canactually damage the brainand increase the risk of developing dementia later in life. It can also put people at a higher risk of developing depression.This is because it was found to lead to structural degeneration of the prefrontal cortex andhippocampus.
Getting to Know The Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
Panic attacks can definitely make people think that they’re dying, and this is primarily because they share so many symptoms in common with heart attacks.
Panic attack and heart attack victims both typically experience sudden chest pains, heavy heart palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, and a number of other symptoms.
The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5-TR) defines panic attacks as “asudden sense of fear and dread.”
Types of Panic AttacksIt’s also important to note that there are two main types of panic attacks:ExpectedUnexpectedAn example of an expected panic attack would be if a person with aknown phobia(think small spaces or spiders) knows that they’re going to be exposed to that fear. Unexpected panic attacks come out of nowhere and aren’t a result of any mental or external triggers.
Types of Panic Attacks
It’s also important to note that there are two main types of panic attacks:ExpectedUnexpectedAn example of an expected panic attack would be if a person with aknown phobia(think small spaces or spiders) knows that they’re going to be exposed to that fear. Unexpected panic attacks come out of nowhere and aren’t a result of any mental or external triggers.
It’s also important to note that there are two main types of panic attacks:
An example of an expected panic attack would be if a person with aknown phobia(think small spaces or spiders) knows that they’re going to be exposed to that fear. Unexpected panic attacks come out of nowhere and aren’t a result of any mental or external triggers.
Can You Die From a Panic Attack?
While terrifying, panic attacks are not fatal. The symptoms you experience during a panic attack may make it feel that you are dying and may even be mistaken for a life-threatening condition such as a stroke or heart attack.
Panic attacks are usually brief, lasting around five to 20 minutes. If your symptoms don’t resolve within this time, contact your doctor to rule out a more serious medical condition.
Treatment for anxiety typically focuses on the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy involves identifying negative thought patterns that play a role in causing anxiety and then replacing those thoughts with more positive ones.
Othertypes of therapy that may be helpful for anxiety(depending on the specifictype of anxietythat is being treated) include:
There are plenty of mental health professionals whospecialize in the treatmentof anxiety disorders. If you’re experiencing anxiety that just won’t go away, you need to talk with your doctor or with acognitive-behavioral therapistto determine if you have one of the following anxiety disorders:
After providing you with a diagnosis, your therapist will have an idea of how to treat your specific anxiety disorder.
While considering therapy is a great option if you’re not already going, here are some in-the-moment tips for managing your anxiety:
Utilize Mindfulness Practices
Whether you like to meditate,practice yogaor simply take a walk, taking a moment to remove the focus from the subject that you’re anxious about is beneficial.
Limit Alcohol and Caffeine
Alcohol and caffeine can affect how you experience anxiety. These substances can make you more anxious, especially when consumed in excess. Limiting your intake, particularly in the afternoon and evening, may help you better manage feelings of anxiety.
Get Regular Physical Exercise
You will feel much better once you get the endorphins pumping. This doesn’t have to be extensive, but enough to increase your heart rate. Research has found that exercise can be an effective treatment for anxiety.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep plays an important role in mental health, and it can even affect anxiety levels. Anxiety can make it more difficult to get a good night’s sleep, but poor sleep can also contribute to worsened anxiety.
When you’re experiencing higher levels of stress,your body needs more rest. Listen to it.
12 Tips for Better Sleep With Anxiety
Take Deep Breaths
Breathing exercises have been shown to help reduce anxiety.This is especially relevant to the exact moments when you’re experiencing a spike in your anxiety levels.Deep breathingcan help you control feelings of anxiety in the moment and may help stave off feelings of fear in the future.
Identify Anxiety Triggers
Learn your triggers. Pay attention to the moments when your anxiety really kicks in and make note of what’s happening leading up to those moments.
These 9 Breathing Exercises Can Help Relieve Anxiety
If you’re watching a loved one struggle with severe anxiety, it can take a serious toll on your own mental health. That said, there are some things you can do to offer them effective support.
Here are some ways you can help someone who is experiencing anxiety:
If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Takeaway
If you are experiencing anxiety or know someone who is, it’s can be understandably scary. Make sure that you seek help or encourage your loved one to seek help. Also, make sure you start to pay attention to any triggers that lead to more severe episodes, this way you can helpyour therapistreach a more conclusive diagnosis.
11 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Psychological Association.Anxiety. 2021.
Terlizzi EP, Villarroel MA.Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Adults: United States, 2019.
National Institute of Mental Health.Anxiety disorders.
McCann UD.Anxiety and Heart Disease. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Mah L, Szabuniewicz C, Fiocco AJ.Can anxiety damage the brain?.Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2016;29(1), 56–63.
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.5th edition. 2013.
Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Tips to Manage Anxiety and Stress.
Aylett E, Small N, Bower P.Exercise in the treatment of clinical anxiety in general practice - a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC Health Serv Res. 2018;18(1):559. doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3313-5
Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al.How breath-control can change your life: A systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing.Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:353. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
McGuire J.How to Help Someone with Anxiety. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
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