Why does anxiety disorder cause dizziness

When you become dizzy, your level of anxiety increases. Over time, this cycle can become debilitating and increases your risk for developing new psychiatric disorders and worsen existing ones, so it is important to learn how to manage anxiety and dizziness. People who experience recurrent or chronic anxiety may have an anxiety disorder.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including:. All of these anxiety disorders can cause people to feel dizzy or lightheaded, and in some cases anxiety-related dizziness can become a chronic, debilitating condition. The most common cause of dizziness is dysfunction in a part of the inner ear called the peripheral vestibular system.

This system is responsible for monitoring your position and movement and relaying that information to the brain, where it is integrated with information from the visual, sensory, and motor systems.

This can lead to anxiety about moving and may cause people to avoid doing the things they love. The second most common cause of dizziness may be psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety disorders. There are likely several factors that contribute to the development of anxiety-induced dizziness, including genetics and environment, but regardless of the cause, most people can learn how to manage their anxiety and minimize dizziness.

Physical therapy and mindfulness-based techniques are very effective strategies to get anxiety and dizziness under control. The observation that dizziness is linked to anxiety leads to the question of which comes first, dizziness or anxiety? The answer seems to be, it depends. These categories have some overlap, and they may co-exist with each other and with other disorders.

After vestibular inner ear disorders, psychiatric disorders are the second most common cause of dizziness. There is some evidence that the connectivity between brain regions can be changed by behavior.

For example, people who learn techniques to manage anxiety have decreased connectivity between the parts of the brain that cause anxiety and dizziness, and increased connectivity between the parts of our brain that control executive function and anxiety. On the other hand, when people cannot manage their symptoms and are overwhelmed by anxiety and dizziness, the anxiety-dizziness connection in the brain is strengthened while the connection between executive function and anxiety is weakened.

Presyncope is the sensation of feeling faint without fainting. Although it's often a benign event, it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious health…. There are many reasons you could feel dizzy before your period, and many of them have to do with the hormonal changes that take place during this time. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Can Anxiety Make You Dizzy? The connection Causes Other anxiety symptoms Treatments Lifestyle changes When to talk with a pro Takeaway Chronic anxiety can cause a wide range of symptoms, including headaches and dizziness.

Link between anxiety and dizziness. Other symptoms. Lifestyle changes. When to talk with a professional. The bottom line. Read this next. Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders. Medically reviewed by Kendra Kubala, PsyD. What Can Cause Dizziness and Sweating? Assistive listening devices Amplified phones Captioned phones Hearing aid compatible phones TV hearing aid and listening devices FM systems Alerting devices.

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Inner ear disorders and anxiety often co-occur Chronic vertigo, dizziness , and disequilibrium are often caused by inner ear problems and tend to go hand in hand with anxiety, making an already challenging health problem much more difficult to endure. Vertigo sufferers predisposed to anxiety Unfortunately, almost everything about the experience of vertigo, dizziness, or general disequilibrium predisposes a sufferer to also experience intense anxiety and panic.

Vertigo can be terrifying the first time you experience it, predisposing you to anxiety. Subsequent dizziness episodes unleash vicious cycle Once is scary enough, but for many vestibular patients it starts to happen more and more frequently, and it often strikes at random. The equilibrium—anxiety connection Fear may be the primary driver of anxiety and panic for most vestibular patients, but there are also other factors at play, which can be even harder to control.

Anxiety and panic are the emotional outcomes of this type of uncertainty as well. The best strategy is to immediately start taking steps to reduce your anxiety. Utilize better strategy for planning activities When you live with a vestibular disorder, there is so much health-related uncertainty surrounding every one of your decisions.

Anxiety medication In certain situations, your doctor may decide to prescribe one of many possible medications to help reduce either acute or chronic anxiety. Yoga is often recommended for people with anxiety disorders. Improve sleep A good night of sleep can go a long way toward reducing overall anxiety levels.

Brainwave entrainment Brainwave entrainment is a powerful audio technology that can cause very specific changes in your mental state using nothing but sound. More: Hearing loss and anxiety Final thoughts Managing anxiety in the face of a difficult diagnosis that causes vertigo or dizziness is never easy. Nov 8. Nov 4. Nov 2. You may also find going to work difficult and stressful, and may take time off sick.

These actions can make you worry even more about yourself and increase your lack of self-esteem. If you're anxious because of a specific phobia or because of panic disorder , you'll usually know what the cause is. For example, if you have claustrophobia fear of confined spaces , you know that being confined in a small space will trigger your anxiety.