How to Stop Shaking From Anxiety: Tips from a Therapist

Why Does Your Body Shake From Anxiety?

Body shakes from anxiety occur due to our physiological “stress response”. This response is our body’s central nervous system reaction toward trauma and/or stress-inducing situations. More specifically, the sympathetic system operates our fight or flight response to perceived danger. When the sympathetic system is activated, we can shake or tremble.¹ This is a natural response to a perceived threat.

Other physical symptoms of anxiety include:

• Rapid heart rate
• Increased body temperature
• Labored breathing
• Sweating
• Sensation of throat closing
• Dry mouth
• Dilated pupils

Is Anxiety Shaking Dangerous?

Anxiety shaking is not dangerous. Anxiety shakes can actually be a beneficial response to fear-inducing stimuli. Shaking is a means of releasing the tension in our muscles when in a fight-flight-fright-freeze.² The adage “shake it off” accurately describes how shaking can benefit our central nervous system and bring us back to homeostasis.

Does Anxiety Shaking Go Away?

Anxiety shaking does go away over time and will not occur every time a person comes across the same trigger. Our bodies are incredibly adaptive. At times, we may respond to something fear-provoking in one way and then the next time responds relatively differently. That being said, every person is different and adapts to situations at their own pace.

How to Stop Shaking From Anxiety

While allowing ourselves to shake is helpful, there are strategies that can help the body shift out of fight or flight mode quicker and thereby stop the shaking. Most of these strategies engage the body and focus on calming the nervous central system, letting the brain know that there is no actual threat.

Here are five strategies to help you stop shaking from anxiety:

1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a body-focused relaxation exercise. This exercise supports mindfulness around our body’s muscle tension. We start by scanning our body in a methodical manner from the top of our head to the tips of our toes. At each area of the body, the specific body part(s) are tensed for roughly 5 seconds and then released. This helps to mitigate anxiety shaking by engaging muscles in a different way.

2. Yoga

Yoga has been shown to improve both physical and psychological well-being. The connection of breath with movement is what makes yoga unique. You can start with a simple and user-friendly chair yoga practice. Start by sitting in your chair and inhaling while tilting your head to the right, then exhaling and tilting your head to the left. These movements, paired with the yogic breath, help to stop anxiety shakes by intentionally putting attention toward our breath and movement rather than focusing on distress.

3. Boxed Breathing

Boxed or squared breathing is a breathwork exercise that systematically guides one’s breath. The benefit of this type of breathing exercise is the mindfulness aspect with which it associates. You start by bringing attention to your breath and exhaling it all out. Then you inhale on a four-count, hold your breath on a four-count, exhale on a four-count, and hold your breath on a four-count. Repeat this cycle until you feel more at ease, or less shaky.

4. Change Your Temperature

When our sympathetic system is activated, our body temperature rises, and we feel hot.³ An effective way to “cool” our sympathetic response is to literally “cool down”. For example, standing in front of a fan or air conditioner, taking a cold shower, drinking a glass of cold water, or splashing your face with cold water. These cooling strategies can stop shaking in its tracks.

5. Grounding With 5 Senses

Grounding skills are effective mind-body mindfulness techniques that can foster tolerance of frustration and improved regulation of emotions. The 54321 method engages one’s five senses, which refocuses you away from the anxiety and brings you back to the present moment. For example, identify one thing you touch and describe it to yourself. Is it soft to the touch, or rough? Cool to touch, room temperature, or warm? These skills are helpful in taking the focus away from the distressing content and putting us back into ourselves and our surroundings.

When Is Anxiety Shaking Problematic?

Anxiety shaking is not inherently problematic. However, underlying disorders to which shaking from anxiety is related may need to be treated. This is because repeated perceived threat and fear when there is no actual threat is detrimental to our body over time. As found in the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) study, a long-term stress response can lead to physiological complications such as diabetes and heart disease.⁴

Underlying anxiety disorders that may need to be treated include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): GAD is an anxiety disorder where nervousness and worries are generalized across one’s life.
• Panic disorder: Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person experiences panic attacks and fear of ongoing panic attacks.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a natural response following a traumatic event to where a person’s threat perception becomes skewed.

Treatment Options for Anxiety

Anxiety treatments can help reduce the intensity and impact anxiety may have on a person’s daily life. Anxiety is often a response to a perceived threat where there is no real threat and thought processes that are irrational or unhelpful. Treatments for anxiety work to mitigate thoughts and fears that have no true basis in reality.

Treatment options for anxiety include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT for anxiety is an evidenced-based treatment model. CBT primarily works to challenge irrational thought patterns and unhelpful behaviors.
• Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy is a method where a person is literally exposed to fear-provoking stimuli. Over time and with ongoing exposure, the fear response becomes less prevalent as a person builds up their ability to withstand discomfort.
• Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is a body-focused treatment method. This method works by eliciting anxiety-provoking stimuli and simultaneously having a person engage in bilateral stimulation (alternating eye movements, tapping, or alternating audio sounds). The bilateral stimulation works to reprocess the triggering material toward a more positive end.
• Medication: Medications for anxiety may be beneficial for some people experiencing chronic anxiousness. Medications often prescribed are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). SSRIs work to increase serotonin. SNRIs produce both serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. These are helpful to ensure an adequate amount of these “happy” neurotransmitters are present.
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): IPT is a time-limited therapeutic model. It works to take the blame associated with a person’s symptoms of anxiety and places the blame onto the symptoms themselves and/or the circumstances surrounding them.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT is a value-focused therapeutic model. This model works to identify a person’s value system and emphasizes interacting with the world primarily based on those values.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is a form of CBT. DBT supports persons in being able to identify the middle ground between two opposing thoughts. For example, “Anxiety is in control” and “Anxiety is not in control”. The middle ground being “At times, it feels that anxiety is in control, and I have shown myself I have more power than I give myself credit for”.

When to Seek Professional Support

While the shakes of anxiety may not be detrimental, underlying conditions often are. If you find it hard to function in day-to-day life due to anxiety’s influence, it may be best to seek professional support. There are great online therapy for anxiety platforms and online psychiatrist options if you are looking for care that can best fit your schedule. However, if avoiding difficult circumstances is a key aspect of anxiety in your life, it may be best to seek care in person. There are online therapy directories that can help you to find a therapist in your local area.

In My Experience

Overall, shaking from anxiety, while potentially uncomfortable, is temporarily physically adaptive in that it actively releases tension from one’s muscles. In my experience, anxiety shakes are a common phenomenon among people experiencing symptoms across the spectrum of trauma and stress-related disorders. I highly recommend seeking support as I have found most of my clientele experiencing anxiety shakes also are managing an underlying diagnosis.

The outlook on shaking from anxiety is positive, especially when receiving professional support paired with body-focused treatments and coping skills. Developing the skills to manage anxiety shakes does take time. Allow yourself patience and grace as you embark on your healing journey.