Anxiety as a Symptom of Medical Illness

"Anxiety can also be a symptom of a general medical disorder or a side effect of medication. In those cases, a primary care doctor or a psychiatrist should be consulted."

"A patient in my family medicine office came to see me for severe anxiety. She told me that it came "out of the blue" a few weeks ago. She felt like "jumping out of her skin." She had trouble sleeping, her hands were trembling, and she was sweating despite the office air conditioning."

"I told her that her severe anxiety was probably due to an overactive thyroid gland called hyperthyroidism. I placed her on medication (a beta-blocker) to slow her heart rate and lower her blood pressure. Her thyroid tests indicated hyperthyroidism."

Anxiety is a normal response to potential danger, but when it occurs without genuine threat and causes significant distress or functional impairment, it may indicate an anxiety disorder like generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder. However, anxiety can also stem from underlying medical conditions or medication side effects rather than psychiatric disorders. A case example demonstrates how severe anxiety appearing suddenly in a patient with no life stressors was traced to hyperthyroidism through physical examination findings including tremor, elevated reflexes, enlarged thyroid gland, and elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Proper medical evaluation is crucial to distinguish between anxiety disorders and medical causes requiring different treatment approaches.

Read at Psychology Today