Medications, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are effective in managing dizziness in people with or without significant anxiety.
Some medications that I've seen people successfully use for vertigo and anxiety include Valium or Xanax in the short term, and anti-anxiety medications such as Lexapro for more long term use.
Dizziness Can Be a Symptom of an Anxiety Disorder
Your breathing changes – when you feel anxious, you typically start to take in quick, deep breaths. This reduces the levels of carbon dioxide in your blood, which can cause dizziness as well as light-headedness, nausea and tingling in your hands and/or feet.
Chronic anxiety, or anxiety that occurs over an extended period of time, can cause a wide range of symptoms – but can anxiety make you dizzy? Surprisingly, yes. In fact, dizziness is a common symptom associated with both acute and chronic anxiety.
Dizziness due to an episode of anxiety generally doesn't last all day. It can last a little longer than the anxiety episode itself. Dizziness due to chronic worry or stress (hyperstimulation) can last all day or longer. This type of anxiety dizziness can last as long as the body is chronically stressed.
Anxiety can cause a wide range of physical symptoms, including dizziness and lightheadedness. Dizziness is a common physical symptom of several anxiety disorders. Anxiety-related dizziness may be severe enough to cause fainting.
Some ways to manage anxiety disorders include learning about anxiety, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, correct breathing techniques, dietary adjustments, exercise, learning to be assertive, building self-esteem, cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, structured problem solving, medication and support groups.
Stress, worry, or anxiety may cause other kinds of dizziness. It might feel more like lightheadedness than spinning. One form of this is chronic subjective dizziness — a vague feeling of imbalance. It happens more often in people with anxiety and in places where your senses have to take in a lot of information.
Anxiety is all in the head. Here's why: We all experience some anxiety at different periods in time. It's the brain's way of getting us ready to face or escape danger, or deal with stressful situations.
Yes, anxiety can cause nausea and other gastrointestinal problems. Outside of your brain, your digestive system contains the second largest number of nerves in your body. Some scientists even call your gut your "second brain."
If you have severe anxiety that's interfering with your ability to function, medication may be helpful—especially as a short-term treatment. However, many people use anti-anxiety medication when therapy, exercise, or other self-help strategies would work just as well or better, minus the drawbacks.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective form of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. Generally a short-term treatment, CBT focuses on teaching you specific skills to improve your symptoms and gradually return to the activities you've avoided because of anxiety.
First-line drugs are the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Benzodiazepines are not recommended for routine use. Other treatment options include pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, buspirone, moclobemide, and others.
Typical anxiety can last for days, or at least until you've dealt with whatever is making you anxious, but anxiety disorders can persist for months or years without relief. Often, the only way to control anxiety is through professional treatment.
Anxiety is not curable, but there are ways to keep it from being a big problem. Getting the right treatment for anxiety helps you lessen out-of-control worries so that you can get on with life.
Sit or lie down immediately when you feel dizzy. Lie still with your eyes closed in a darkened room if you're experiencing a severe episode of vertigo. Avoid driving a car or operating heavy machinery if you experience frequent dizziness without warning. Avoid using caffeine, alcohol, salt and tobacco.
Dizziness has many possible causes, including inner ear disturbance, motion sickness and medication effects. Sometimes it's caused by an underlying health condition, such as poor circulation, infection or injury. The way dizziness makes you feel and your triggers provide clues for possible causes.
When we are severely stressed and anxious, high levels of adrenaline in the body can cause pressure on the eyes, resulting in blurred vision. People with long-term anxiety can suffer from eye strain throughout the day on a regular basis.
If you are dizzy right now and have any of the following neurological symptoms along with your dizziness or vertigo, call 911 immediately: New confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech. New slurred speech or hoarseness of voice. New numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg.