Your body is telling you

Psychosomatics of anxiety and neurosis

Everything inside feels clenched, thoughts go round in circles, your hands shake, your stomach twists, and the tests are fine. Anxiety very often lives in the body, and you can work with it.

Aizhan LiAuthor of the Ladder method
Updated 23 October 2026

What psychosomatics says

Psychosomatics looks at anxiety as a signal from the body: you’ve been living too long expecting danger. In the Ladder method, anxiety often sits on the step between you and your goal: you know where you want to go but can’t see the next step, and the body prepares for the worst.

The habit of controlling everything, laying out a safety net for everything, thinking ahead for everyone usually begins where it once wasn’t safe to relax. The body remembers, even if you now live in safety.

Psychosomatics goes alongside treatment and doesn’t replace it. It helps you see what you expect from the future and which step you can take right now.

Quick check: what may be behind it

What do you worry about most often, and what’s the worst that could happen?
When in your life was it not safe to relax?
What one small step would make the future less frightening?

What it is

The WHO says anxiety disorders are the most common of all mental disorders: in 2023, 470 million people had one, more often women than men. This isn’t ordinary nerves before an exam, but intense and excessive fear and worry that are hard to control and get in the way of life. They’re accompanied by tension in the body.

Physical signs according to the WHO and the NHS: heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, nausea and an uneasy stomach, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, irritability, tiredness, dizziness, a sense of impending danger. There are several anxiety disorders: generalised, when you worry about everything, panic disorder, social anxiety, phobias.

According to the NHS, a doctor may suspect generalised anxiety disorder if you worry about many things, the anxiety affects your daily life, you find it hard to control and you’ve felt anxious a lot of the time for at least 6 months. The Kazakhstan Ministry of Health clinical protocol “Anxiety disorders” (2015) describes the same picture: leading anxiety, many vegetative symptoms, avoidant behaviour, onset and course linked to a situation that is hard for the person.

Effective treatment exists, but the WHO notes only about 1 in 4 people in need receive it. Anxiety isn’t weakness or character; it’s a condition you can bring to a doctor.

How it shows up

Everything inside feels clenched, it’s hard to relax
Thoughts go round in circles, “what if”
Trembling, sweating, a racing heart without exertion
Your stomach twists, you feel sick before important events
You sleep badly, you wake up in the middle of the night
Irritability and getting tired quickly

If you have thoughts of harming yourself, the anxiety is so strong you can’t work or take care of yourself, or you have chest pain and shortness of breath, get help right away: see a doctor or call 103 (emergency in Kazakhstan). The NHS stresses that in a crisis you need urgent help, not waiting.

Start with a general practitioner: they’ll ask about your symptoms, check your thyroid, heart and blood if needed, and refer you on. After that you need a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist or a clinical psychologist. The NHS names talking therapies and medicines prescribed by a doctor as the main kinds of help.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell if it’s anxiety and not an illness?

When no cause is found in the body and symptoms come back in moments of worry, it may be an anxiety disorder. Only a doctor can determine that: they’ll check your thyroid, heart and blood and assess how long the anxiety has lasted. The NHS names a guide: feeling anxious a lot of the time for at least 6 months.

Why does my body shake and sweat when I’m nervous?

Among the physical signs of anxiety the WHO names heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, nausea and stomach pain. It’s the body’s reaction to a sense of danger, and it switches on even when there’s no real threat. Psychosomatics adds a question: what do you expect from the future?

How can I calm down without pills?

For some people breathing exercises, regular movement and a talk with someone close help. But if the anxiety lasts for months and gets in the way of life, you need a doctor: effective treatment exists, and the WHO says only one person in four receives it. Psychosomatics goes alongside.

Sources

See what is holding you back.

In 10 minutes, the Ladder shows past events, other people’s words and your fears on one map.

Take the free diagnosticFree · 10 minutes · on your phone