How Anxiety Shows Up in Your Body (Not Just Your Mind)

Anxiety isn't just in your head—it's a physical experience happening throughout your body, communicating through your vagus nerve and nervous system. By understanding how anxiety manifests physically, we can respond with effective tools that calm the body and, in turn, soothe the anxious mind.

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Episode Transcript

Emily Feist (00:00):
What if I told you that your anxiety isn't all in
your head.
It's actually living in yourbody, speaking through your
nerves, your muscles, yourheartbeat.
And that changes everything,doesn't it?
Because instead of fightingyour thoughts, you can start
listening to what your body hasbeen trying to say all along.
Welcome back to 'It Starts atVagus' Vegas.

(00:20):
The podcast where we stopchasing calm and start creating
it, one small shift at a time.
I'm your host, Emily emily, andI'm your guide to rewiring
stress, restoring peace andgiving your nervous system the
attention it deserves.
Today, we're going to talkabout how anxiety shows up in
the body.
We'll look at the real physicalsigns, like your racing

(00:42):
heartbeat, your tight shouldersor that sudden stomach flip, and
how they're connected to thevagus nerve.
We'll also explore why yourbody is doing this and, most
importantly, I'll guide youthrough a short practice to help
calm those anxious signals.
By the end of this episode,you'll walk away knowing anxiety
isn't your mind betraying you.
It's your body trying toprotect you.

(01:04):
Let's start with this.
You're not broken.
If you've ever thought whycan't I just stop overthinking?
Why do I get so worked up whennothing is wrong?
I want you to know that that isa common thought.
But you also need to know thatanxiety is not a character flaw.
It's your nervous system doingits best to keep you safe.
Your vagus nerve, the body'sinformation superhighway,

(01:26):
carries signals between yourbrain and your body.
But here's the kicker Most ofthe traffic goes one way, from
your body to your brain, whichmeans your thoughts often
reflect what your body isalready experiencing.
If your heart is racing, yourbrain thinks something must be
wrong, and if your gut is upset,your brain says Danger ahead,

(01:48):
pay attention.
The vagus nerve is like yourbody's built-in security system.
When it's calm, it tells yourbody All is well, carry on.
When it's dysregulated, it keepstripping the alarm, even if
you're just standing in line atthe grocery store.
Think about it this way yourbody is the orchestra and your

(02:08):
vagus nerve is the conductor.
When the conductor is calm andsteady, the music flows
beautifully.
When the conductor is panicked,the violins screech, the drums
pound and suddenly you've gotchaos.
That chaos is what we feel asanxiety.
So let's talk about the waysthat you can recognize if
anxiety is staying within yourbody and how it shows up.

(02:31):
Let's start with the heartbeat,that racing pulse, the tight
chest it's like your car alarmkeeps going off even though no
one's near the car.
Another one to look at is yourbreathing.
Is it shallow or are youholding your breath?
When breath gets short, yourbrain interprets it as danger
because you don't have the timeto take a good, deep breath in.

(02:55):
Let's look at digestion.
Next, it's the nausea, thebloating or the sudden urgency.
Your gut is your second brainand anxiety can flip your
stomach faster than a rollercoaster.
It's your gut sending the redalert email straight to
headquarters.
Next up are your muscles.
They have the tension, theclenching, the tightness, and
muscles are all over your bodyand they can get tense anywhere.

(03:18):
So that jaw that you clench atnight, those stiff shoulders
that's your body putting onarmor, preparing for battle that
you never asked for it to fight.
Last but not least, your sleep,those restless nights, the
wired but tired.
Your body thinks it needs topay attention and be on guard.
It's sending out those let'sstay awake alert signals, even

(03:42):
when all you want is your pillow.
Here's the hopeful part when youcalm your vagus nerve, you calm
these body signals and you cancalm them all at once, not
individually, which is soamazing.
The body is so cool.
Instead of trying to force yourthoughts to stop racing.
You can give your body safetycues and your body listens and

(04:06):
then tells your brain hey, we'reokay now.
So let's take a little practiceand do this together.
We're going to do a sillylittle one and that is to hum
the happy birthday song, becausehumming is an easy way to calm
the vagus nerve and it can liftup our spirits.
So let's do it together, shallwe?

(04:26):
Noticehow your mood shifts and your
thoughts change direction?
Easy peasy,.

(04:47):
See, You you don't have tothink your way out of anxiety.
You just shift your body.
And your body told your brainwe're safe.
Sothe next time anxiety shows up,
don't beat yourself up for notcontrolling your thoughts.
Instead, get curious when is itshowing up in my body and how
can I use the tools to calm themdown?

(05:09):
Because once you notice it, youcan respond with tools like
breath work or humming orgrounding that can give your
nervous system the calm it'scraving.
Today we explored how anxietyisn't just in your mind, it's in
your body.
We talked about how it shows upas a racing heartbeat, the
shallow breath, upset digestion,those tense muscles and the

(05:31):
restless sleep.
We learned that these signalsall trace back to the vagus
nerve and that, by calming thebody, you can send a message of
safety back to the mind.
All right, friends, thanks forhanging out with me today.
Remember to soothe your nervoussystem and reclaim who you are.
If this episode helped youtoday, share it with a friend or
leave a quick review.
I'll be back next Tuesday foranother episode of it Starts at

(05:54):
Vagus.
Until next time, remember,wellness starts at Vagus.