Your body is telling you

Psychosomatics of excessive sweating

Sweating from heat, exercise and nerves is normal. Heavy sweating without such a reason is called hyperhidrosis: it can happen on its own, because of another illness or because of medicines. If you sweat at night, it has lasted six months, it gets in the way of life or it appeared suddenly, see a doctor. The Ladder method adds questions about where you have to stay tense.

Aizhan LiAuthor of the Ladder method
Updated 25 October 2026

When to see a doctor

Book a doctor’s appointment if you notice:

Wet palms, feet or armpits without heat or exercise
Sweat appears when you are nervous, at meetings, when talking to people
Clothes get wet and leave marks
Sweating gets in the way of work and communication
You sweat at night
The sweating started recently and for no clear reason

If sweating is sudden and heavy together with chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath or fainting, call an ambulance. See a doctor in the next few days if you have night sweats, sweating with a fever, weight loss or a racing heart, or after starting a new medicine.

Start with a general practitioner: according to the NHS they will check for another condition and order tests, for example for blood sugar and thyroid hormones. If there is no cause and the sweating is severe, you need a dermatologist, or an endocrinologist if a thyroid problem or menopause is suspected.

What medicine knows

The NHS writes that it is normal to sweat when you are hot or exercising, and that sweating is excessive when you sweat while your body does not need to cool down. It can happen for no obvious reason, because of another condition or as a side effect of a medicine. MedlinePlus adds that people also sweat more when nervous, angry, embarrassed or afraid.

Hyperhidrosis can be local (palms, feet, armpits) or all over the body. If no cause can be found, it is primary hyperhidrosis: the glands work harder than usual, and it often runs in families. When there is a cause, it is secondary: MedlinePlus lists anxiety conditions, diabetes, an overactive thyroid, menopause, infections, heart and lung disease and some medicines among the causes.

What can ease it: loose clothes made of natural fabrics, socks that absorb moisture and different shoes from day to day, less alcohol and spicy food (NHS). A pharmacy sells stronger antiperspirants, armpit shields and foot powders.

If this does not help, a doctor may offer tablets, creams, a treatment that passes a weak current through water (iontophoresis), botox injections under the armpits or surgery (NHS). If another condition causes the sweating, that condition is treated.

Sources

In the Ladder method

In the Ladder method sweating is not explained by "character". It has physical causes, and there is nothing to blame yourself for. But both MedlinePlus and the NHS recognise that nerves and fear increase sweating, so questions to yourself are appropriate here.

Wet palms at a meeting or sweating before going on stage often come with shame: "everyone will notice". Shame increases nerves, nerves increase sweat, and the circle closes.

On the ladder this shows up as a step "I am being judged". You can look at it separately. A doctor chooses the treatment, the method does not replace it.

These are questions for reflection, not an explanation of what causes the condition and not a treatment.

Quick check: what may be behind it

In which situations do you sweat the most and what do they have in common?
What are you afraid of when people look at you?
What thought about yourself do you repeat before such moments?

Frequently asked questions

Why do I sweat so much when I am nervous?

MedlinePlus writes that people sweat more when they are nervous, angry, embarrassed or afraid. For some people this reaction is especially strong. If sweating gets in the way of life, see a general practitioner or a dermatologist: there are ways to help.

Is sweating an illness or nerves?

Both are possible. The NHS writes that excessive sweating can happen for no reason, because of another condition or because of medicines. MedlinePlus names anxiety conditions, diabetes, the thyroid and menopause among the causes. So check your health first, then look at nervous tension.

When should I show sweating to a doctor?

The NHS lists the situations: nothing you try helps, it has lasted at least 6 months, it stops you doing normal things, it happens at least once a week, it happens at night, it runs in your family or you take medicine for another condition. With chest pain or shortness of breath you need an ambulance.

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