Dizziness/Unsteadiness

Nothing can make you feel more vulnerable and powerless than dizziness. This was one of the scariest symptoms that I had to endure. Not only the fear that comes with the symptom is disabling, but the physical aspect of it is much worse.

We can work through our headaches, our indigestion or tiredness. But it is almost impossible to work while feeling dizzy. Dizziness interferes with almost everything we do, from standing, walking, driving, writing, reading, eating and much more. Such impact makes dizziness one the most talked about symptoms in the anxiety and panic attacks community.

Among anxiety sufferers, this is known to be a symptom that people dread the most, including myself. I remember having dizzy spells out of the blue and almost every single one of them game me a panic attack. There were times I made pleas to my anxiety to give me any symptom it wants except for dizziness.

During my anxiety days, I would concentrate on every single step I take to see if dizziness is there. I felt unstable all the time. The floor felt like it is not even and flat. My awareness was so high if I stepped on even a smallest object on the floor, it would trigger dizziness, followed by a full-blown panic attack. This even happened when I walk from one surface to a different surface like from a hardwood floor onto carpet.

My chiropractor once explained to me that the overall tightness of our muscular system (which is very common with anxiety, our body is always tensing up and staying tense throughout the day) can contribute to the overall feeling of unsteadiness and off-balance feeling. Our brain is not used to the restricted movement of our muscles. Let’s say you want to move your head and look over your shoulder, normally your brain would command the motion and your neck would rotate to a certain range that the brain expects. But your neck stops short due to the new and excessive tightness. The discrepancy between how your brain expects your neck to move and how your neck actually moves can set off an alarm and your mind now perceives this discrepancy as a threat. Adrenaline starts to pump into your system and down the spiral you go. This scenario can play out when you walk as well.

Dizziness by itself is a symptom of anxiety. But on top of that, it is triggered by other symptoms. For example: tight neck muscles can cause dizziness. Nausea leads to not eating enough which leads to extreme hunger which leads to dizziness. Rapid breathing (hyperventilation) is very common with anxiety especially during a panic attack, it is also a popular cause for lightheadedness and dizziness. Lack of sleep can cause dizziness. Vision issues from anxiety can trigger dizziness and the list goes on.

This symptom sends a lot of anxiety sufferers to their doctor office demanding for all kind of tests and exams, because Dr. Google is always ready to provide you a list of life-threatening diseases associated with dizziness. I myself ended up in the ER just out of fear. I had dizziness so much and so badly I was convinced by the internet that I might have had heart disease, stroke, MS, autoimmune illnesses, brain tumors, cancers you name it.

Accepting dizziness as a symptom of anxiety is the most powerful way to counter it. Use A.C.E.R. as much as you can, remove the fear from the equation. Your dizziness will get less intense and less frequent. I don’t remember the last time I had a spell. And I had many in my anxiety days. So, trust me, it does get better. When you have a dizzy spell. Just take it easy, don’t fight it. If you have to sit down, then sit down. If you need to pull over then pull over. Give it time to subside and carry on with your life. DON’T add FEAR. Fear is like gasoline when dealing with dizziness as a fire.

Symptoms are like battles. You can win one here and there, but attacking your anxiety helps you win the war.