Can Worry Cause High Blood Pressure?

Worry And Physical Effects

If you are worried about a large presentation for which you are not prepared or a difficult conversation with someone, you probably notice some changes in your body. Your heart may be beating faster, your breaths may be more frequent but shorter, you may feel warm, you may notice butterflies in your stomach, and your muscles may ache. Worrying absolutely does cause a spike in your blood pressure, at least acutely (there seems to be disagreement about whether chronic worry directly increases blood pressure, but as will be discussed later, it can easily contribute to long-term elevated blood pressure in other ways).

Worry And Maladaptive Coping Strategies

Those who worry frequently may engage in behaviors that harm their health, specifically, raise their blood pressure. For example, those who feel anxious often may smoke cigarettes, which can quickly cause elevated blood pressure. While binge drinking may temporarily lower blood pressure, chronic alcohol use can certainly increase it. Additionally, a person who worries excessively may reduce that anxiety by consuming unhealthy food or overeating. Finally, due to worry, the individual may fail to get sufficient sleep, which is also a risk factor in becoming an unhealthy weight, which can affect blood pressure.

Healthy Coping Strategies

Becoming aware of your physical sensations and body cues (as well as your cognition and underlying feelings) when you experience worry can be extremely helpful. We could be irritable or avoidant when we worry but do not recognize that our discomfort is associated with worry. By noticing these cues, we can take appropriate action.

Just as you can quickly notice when you are feeling worried, you can also self-regulate quickly. A fast method for reducing the blood pressure that you can do anywhere is to take long, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Exhale for two seconds longer than you inhale. As you increase the oxygen to your brain, your blood pressure can decrease, and your heart rate can also decrease. There are several other strategies, such as pleasant imagery, counting backward, meditation, grounding techniques, etc., that can be useful to take your focus away from what is causing the worry. Therapy can help a person to recognize their warning signs for worry and practice coping skills effectively.