This is what anxiety looks like on an ECG
I’ve recently decided to tackle my drinking problem head-on. After months of regularly consuming hard alcohol during evenings (0,4L-0,5L 40°), today I experienced a particularly intense anxiety episode. Luckily, I was wearing my Garmin watch and recorded my ECG in real-time.
In the first ECG image taken during calm moments, you can clearly see a stable, normal heart rhythm. In the second image, captured during my anxiety attack, the difference is dramatic. Notice the irregularities, chaotic signals, and high muscle tension interference throughout the ECG reading—these reflect the physiological symptoms of intense anxiety and stress.
I’m sharing this to illustrate that anxiety and withdrawal aren’t just emotional—they manifest physically, affecting our hearts and bodies. It’s a powerful reminder for me why sobriety matters.
Keep strong everyone—our health and peace of mind are worth it.
Glad to hear you’ve decided to tackle your drinking problem and do something about it. Sorry to hear about your recent anxiety episode but I really can relate to struggling with anxiety. For myself though I have learned sometimes my anxiety is trying to tell me something and I have to listen. I really like the acronym halt. Hungry, anxious, lonely, tired. These are some of the things my anxiety is trying to tell me and I have to take a step away to take care of the basic needs sometimes. Sometimes I have anxiety because I need to eat. If I’m feeling Anxious from the anxiety I can go for a walk Or ride my bike or listen to calming music. Sometimes my anxiety or over thinking can be helped by talking to others on this community or in real life and that helps me not be lonely. Or sometimes my anxiety is because I did not get proper sleep and sometimes I just need to take a nap and reset. The halt Thing can be used for anxiety or also if you feel like relapsing. I find it useful for lots of things. Anxiety and the physical symptoms that come along with it are very real. But there is solutions for every problem. You’re not alone with your anxiety and lots of people struggle with this. I hope today is a better day for you anxiety wise. Keep reaching out to the community good or bad. We are here for you. And also thanks for posting that chart that is pretty cool. I didn’t know there was some kind of tool or app that shows you that information. Technology is very cool.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful and supportive reply. I really appreciate you sharing your perspective on anxiety and the HALT acronym — I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it really makes sense. You’re absolutely right that sometimes anxiety is our body’s way of signaling basic needs that we’re overlooking. Reading your comment made me reflect on how often I’ve ignored hunger, exhaustion or just the need for connection during difficult moments. I also find that movement helps, and I’ll try to be more mindful about using those strategies like walking, cycling, or simply pausing to check in with myself.
I’m grateful to be part of this community where we can openly talk about these struggles and support each other. It really helps to know I’m not alone in this.
And yes — the tech is pretty amazing! I’m using a Garmin watch with an ECG function — I thought sharing it might help visualize what anxiety can look like physically. Thanks again for your kindness and for reminding me that solutions are always within reach. Wishing you a peaceful day too
Thank you for sharing…wow
I also have really bad anxiety and alcholism. My anxiety has calmed down since I got sober. I am greatful to be in better health. I had no idea how much my body went through, i could have died and therefore I will never take my health for granted again.. My recovery and mental health are things I have work on daily.
I’d just like to throw in that the jitters and irregularities in the lower three ECGs are not saying anything about the heart function during that anxiety attack.
They are so called “artifacts” caused by other physical symptoms like muscle tremors, unrest, etc. meaning that it is hard to read the actual ECG aka the heart function cause the person’s body is not able to come to rest.
As this is an ECG from a watch the artifacts would be expected to be more pronounced compared to the kind of ECG where they put all kinds of cables on you.
You’re absolutely right that the ECG irregularities in my recording are artifacts caused by muscle activity and not by the heart’s electrical function itself. I really appreciate you pointing that out.
However, I shared it because I believe even these artifact-heavy traces tell a story. They reflect just how much physical unrest and muscle tension my body experienced during the anxiety attack. So while it’s not a diagnostic ECG for heart rhythm, it is a kind of snapshot of how overwhelming the anxiety was at that moment — the degree of tremor, inability to stay still, etc.
You’re also right that wrist-worn devices are more prone to artifacts compared to a clinical multi-lead ECG, and that’s a limitation to keep in mind. Thanks for your thoughtful comment — it’s helpful to look at it from both the technical and physiological sides!
I am totally with you here. I wanted to point out the difference so that people who don‘t know the difference do not think that anxiety or a panic attack will affect their heart function. Would probably send people into even more anxiety
My partner always had trouble accepting that what he was having was anxiety/anxiety attacks. He couldn’t accept the physical side of it and kept thinking it must be something else, because he thought anxiety just related to thought process. Anxiety causes all sorts of physical symptoms. The best way I explained that to him was to look at what happens when you get a fright, for example, you’re driving along and a bird smashes into the windscreen. Your heart will pound so hard, you’ll jump, your adrenaline will rush, you’ll probably get shakey, etc.
When this happens seemingly out of no where, like when you are just sitting on your couch, those symptoms can spiral because you start to panic because it seems like they came out of no where. Sometimes what can happen is that you were actually thinking about something in the back of your mind that caused anxiety to rise in you, which brought on the initial physical symptoms.
Anxiety is definitely not just in the mind but in the body too.
Thank you for sharing that — I really appreciate the way you explained it. The example of the bird hitting the windscreen is so clear and relatable. I can see how it would help someone understand that anxiety isn’t just about thoughts — it’s a full-body experience.
What you said really resonates with me. In my own experience, I think part of what makes anxiety so hard to deal with is exactly that confusion: Why is my body reacting like this when I don’t feel consciously afraid? And then that confusion feeds the panic, creating a loop.
Your point about how the trigger can sometimes be something we aren’t even fully aware of is so important. It really helps to remind ourselves that the body is just trying to protect us, even if the timing feels wrong.Thanks again for putting it into words so well.
