Can anxiety lead me to have 160/90 blood pressure?
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This article will center on discussing if anxiety may lead you to experience 160/90 blood pressure. It will show how anxiety can impact your blood pressure, the problems this can bring, and how you can cope.
Can anxiety lead me to have 160/90 blood pressure?
Yes, anxiety can lead you to experience high blood pressure that can get to the point in which you will have a blood pressure of 160/90. But it is also possible that a high blood pressure of 160/90 can lead you to feel anxious. Let’s understand the relationship between the two.
Anxiety that leads to high blood pressure
Anxiety is something that will come from a worry the person is experiencing. It can be a worry based on something real, or in the sense of impending doom. When you are anxious, your body will be flushed with the stress hormone, which is called cortisol.
This will lead to many effects on your body. It is the cortisol that will activate the fight or flight response, and that will make your heart rate increase. When that happens, there will be a narrowing of your blood vessels, and this will ultimately lead to your blood pressure rising.
That is why people that have anxiety will have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. But it is important to know that when related to anxiety, high blood pressure tends to subside once the person’s anxiety lessens.
And even though it will get better, you should know that it is still important that you care for your anxiety since experiencing it frequently can lead to problems in your heart, kidney, and blood vessels in the same way that it would to someone that has hypertension.
Anxiety can also affect your blood pressure in other ways. When some people are anxious, they can turn to stress eating, and not eating healthy can often lead to high blood pressure.
It is also known that some medications that are used to treat anxiety, such as serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can also lead to high blood pressure.
High blood pressure that leads to anxiety
But it is not only anxiety that can lead to high blood pressure. It is also possible to experience contrary movement, and high blood pressure can lead people to feel anxious.
That is because being diagnosed with hypertension, which means you will chronically experience high blood pressure, will lead you to worry more about your health.
This constant concern can easily turn into anxiety. It is something that can often be observed when a person with hypertension goes to a doctor and is about to have their blood pressure measured. At that moment, they will often become anxious.
People can also feel their anxiety rising when they experience some symptoms of high blood pressure such as changes in their vision, headaches, irregular heartbeat, or even buzzing in their ears. Those can have such a negative impact on the person’s quality of life, that it can often make them anxious.
How can I cope with high blood pressure when I have anxiety?
To deal with the connection between high blood pressure and anxiety, the person may need to work on both fronts. They will need to care for their high blood pressure, and anxiety. So here is what you can do for each of them.
How to cope with anxiety
There are several ways one can cope with anxiety. It can surely help to look for professional help. You can go to a therapist that will often help you understand your emotions better, and even get a grip on what has been triggering your anxiety, and how to react to it more positively.
Medication may also be necessary sometimes, and for that, you may want to look for a psychiatrist. Aside from that, there are changes you can make in your everyday life that may help you cope with anxiety.
Caring for what you eat and drink, and preventing yourself from having too much sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can help your anxiety levels go low.
Exercising can also be a way to reduce the level of the stress hormone, cortisol. You can also start to practice meditation, or breathing exercises that will often help your stress levels to go low, and help you center yourself on the moment and not the racing thoughts that anxiety brings.
Taking some time to do things you love, can also help your stress levels, and will ultimately improve your overall sense of well-being.
How to cope with high blood pressure
High blood pressure can often be related to lifestyle or a genetic factor. To care for it is important that you are in constant contact with your doctor, and some people may take medication throughout their lives. But there are also ways to care for it in your everyday life.
To deal with high blood pressure you should also limit your alcohol intake, as well as the amount of salt you put into your food. Having a healthy and balanced diet can be important, and exercising is a must when you are dealing with high blood pressure.
If the person is a smoker, it is often recommended that they quit smoking, since it can be detrimental to your heart, and blood vessels. Caring for your weight, and your levels of stress is also important, in the same way as having a healthy sleep routine.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Can anxiety lead me to have 160/90 blood pressure?
What are the forms of anxiety?
Anxiety disorders can happen in many forms, depending on what triggers the person’s anxiety. When a person suffers from a type of anxiety that makes them anxious about even the most routine things in their everyday life, it is said that the person has a generalized anxiety disorder.
Agoraphobia, another form of anxiety, causes the person to avoid being in places in which they would feel trapped, or even helpless. Panic disorder is one type of anxiety that will often lead the person to develop panic attacks. Those are brief, but intense moments in which the person will be overcome with anxiety.
Separation anxiety is a form of anxiety that is common in children. It is what causes them to fear they will be abandoned if their loved ones aren’t always close.
Phobias are another type of anxiety that causes the person to worry or fear a determined thing, or even a determined situation. For example, people can fear heights or snakes, so whenever they are exposed to either, they are overcome with intense anxiety.
Anxiety can also happen as a consequence of other matters, such as dealing with a health condition, or even because you have abused the use of alcohol, or drugs.
Finally, there is an unspecified anxiety disorder that causes the person to experience anxiety symptoms, but when analyzing how it happens, it is seen that it is not related to any of the other types of disorders.
What is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety?
The 3 3 3 rule for anxiety is an exercise that will often help people deal with anxiety, and calm themselves down. It can be used any time, as many times as the person wishes it. So whenever you feel anxiety is crippling you, you should take a deep breath and try to name three things you hear at the moment.
After that, you should focus on naming three things you see around you, and finally, three of your body parts. By doing so, you will be able to remove your mind from the anxiety of the worrying thoughts brought and center yourself slowly.
Does anxiety have a cure?
No, there is no cure for anxiety. That is because you won’t be able to say you will never again experience an anxiety disorder in your lifetime, and that is especially because there is a genetic factor to the condition.
But, with that said, it is important to know that there is a treatment for anxiety, and through that, you will be able to live a normal life. At first, anxiety will surely ask you to make some adjustments.
You may need to have a calmer life, but as you understand more and more about the roots of it, and what triggers it, they become more manageable and have less impact on your quality of life.
What is important to keep in mind is that, even once you begin to feel better, it is still important to focus on caring for your mental health. This will be the easiest way for you to prevent a relapse in the future.
What is health anxiety?
Health anxiety is a condition that will cause you to be constantly worried about your health, sometimes even in an irrational manner.
When you have health anxiety, you can focus on specific things concerning your health, it can be, for example, your blood pressure, and at any small sign that something is happening, you will focus on it, and look for more information around it.
When this happens, people with health anxiety will often look online, or quickly make a doctor’s appointment to look at the issue further. And they may not base their concern only on what they observe in their body, it can also be related to family history of past conditions.
Health anxiety can be caused by previous health concerns, traumatic childhood experiences involving illnesses, or because you have a poor understanding of your body, which causes you to misinterpret its actions.
Health anxiety is often treated through therapy, and in some cases, people may need medication to deal with how it impacts them.
Is anxiety all in my head?
No, anxiety is not all in your head. Although anxiety is often leading you to worry about things more than it would be necessary to, it doesn’t mean that anxiety is simple, or doesn’t have a deep impact on your life.
Anxiety will instantly affect your whole body, as it is felt all through it. The fact that your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing change whenever you have anxiety is a clear sign that it is not something that is just in your head, but something that is bringing you intense suffering.
Conclusion
This article showed how anxiety can lead you to experience a blood pressure of 160/90. It explained the implications of the high blood pressure caused by anxiety, and how you can cope with it.
If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write them in the section below.
References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327212#anxiety-causing-high-blood-pressure
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