Is It Anxiety or Neurological Dysfunction?
- Feb 18
- 3 min read
Many people come to our office saying, “I feel anxious all the time, but I don’t know why”. You can be sipping a cup of tea at lunch with your friends, but still feel like you have enough energy to run a marathon. Have you ever wondered why that might be the case? Sometimes, what feels like anxiety is not coming from worried thoughts. Sometimes it is coming from a nervous system that is stuck in fight or flight.
At Carolina Functional Neurology Center, we help families understand what is really happening inside the brain and body, and how we can help regulate the underlying neurological dysfunction.
What is the Autonomic Nervous System?
In order to do this, we first need to understand what the autonomic nervous system is. Your body has a system called the autonomic nervous system. This system helps your body perform all of the vital functions that we don’t need to consciously control such as breathing, heart rate, digestion, sleeping, stress levels, etc. There are three main divisions of the autonomic nervous system:
Enteric Nervous System: This is considered the gut-brain system. The enteric nervous system resides in the gut and communicates extensively with the brain to regulate intestine motility, secretion, and absorption. When the gut is stressed and patients experience symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, changes in appetite, or difficulty regulating their mood, then this can impact brain function as well.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: This is considered the rest and digest system. This division helps with relaxation, digestion, healing, sleep, lowering heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and slowing breathing. This system helps to counter the sympathetic nervous system.
Sympathetic Nervous System: This is the fight or flight division, and is considered your body’s alarm system. The sympathetic nervous system helps by raising blood sugar, increasing your breathing speed, increasing heart rate, increasing blood pressure, etc. The sympathetic nervous system is helpful in real danger. But sometimes the alarm does not turn off.
Body Anxiety Is Different Than Mental Anxiety
When the nervous system stays stuck in fight or flight, people may feel anxious in their body, even when their mind feels calm.
This is called body anxiety. People may say things like:
“My heart races for no reason.”
“I feel shaky or weak.”
“I can’t relax.”
“I feel on edge all day.”
This is not caused by bad thoughts. It happens because the brain and nervous system are stuck in survival mode.
What Does Cortisol Have to Do With This?
When the body is in fight or flight, it makes a stress hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol’s job is to keep you awake, give you energy, and raise your blood sugar so your body can act fast.
But when cortisol stays high for too long, it can cause problems such as:
Trouble sleeping
Feeling tired but wired
Blood sugar ups and downs
Feeling shaky, dizzy, or weak
More body anxiety
When blood sugar drops too low, the body can feel scared—even when nothing is wrong. The brain may turn the alarm back on to protect you.
How We Help at Carolina Functional Neurology Center
At Carolina Functional Neurology Center, we look at how the nervous system is working, not just how someone feels. We understand that not all anxiety starts in the mind. When the nervous system works better, the body feels safer—and anxiety can finally quiet down.
We use individualized, targeted treatments to help the brain and body feel safe again, such as:
Eye movement and vestibular therapies to calm the nervous system
Balance therapies to help the brain better understand where you are in space
Motor and sensory integration to reduce stress signals
Lifestyle and nutrition guidance to help regulate blood sugar and cortisol
Our goal is to help the nervous system turn the alarm off so the body can rest, heal, and feel calm again.
If you or your child feel stuck in fight or flight, we are here to help. Please feel free to contact us or schedule a consultation to learn about how we can help you reduce your anxiety!