Why do I feel dizzy when I am anxious?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
Anxiety changes breathing first: subtle overbreathing blows off carbon dioxide, narrowing brain blood vessels and producing lightheadedness, tingling and unreality. Tense neck muscles and a vigilance-hijacked balance system add their share.
It feels dangerous and is not, which is exactly the loop anxiety exploits.
Slowing the breath, especially long exhales, reverses it within minutes. Dizziness that spins the room, comes with hearing changes, or drops you deserves its own medical look; the swimmy lightheaded kind that tracks stressful moments is usually this mechanism.
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