Anxiety sweating is a form of excessive perspiration where a person starts to sweat whenever he or she feels under pressure or anxious. This can lead to social problems as well as decreased confidence when around other people. Although sweating is a natural occurrence, it can become a vicious cycle when it’s caused by anxiety. The more anxious a person gets, the more he or she sweats, which then increases anxiety levels even further. Treatment for excessive sweating includes using stronger or aluminum chloride-based antiperspirants, changing to a healthier diet and relaxation exercises.
In normal situations sweat helps to cool the body and stop it from overheating. It can also occur if a person has a fever. Excessive sweating — or hyperhidrosis — is the term used when a person sweats more than he or she needs to. Anxiety sweating is one form of hyperhidrosis that’s triggered by stressful situations.
The symptoms of social anxiety sweating can vary between individuals. Some will experience underarm sweat while others will have problems with different parts of the body. The most common areas of excessive sweating include the hands, face and feet. There is also some variation in the level of sweating, although it’s not always clear what makes one person sweat more than another.
Some people with anxiety sweating may find that the level of sweat changes on a daily basis. This may be linked to the level of anxiety that the person is feeling or it may be completely random. Variation in the amount of sweat is thought to be caused by the level of activity in the sweat glands that day.
The problem with anxiety sweating is that it can have a major effect on a person’s everyday life. Due to the embarrassing nature of the problem and the inability for the person to control it, the condition can cause people to become nervous around social situations. This is especially true for people who suffer from excessive underarm sweat, which causes noticeable wet patches even on cold days.
Excessive sweating can also be linked to a hereditary problem. There are a number of different treatments for the problem including iontophoresis, which is a method that uses an electrical current to treat excessive palm or feet sweating. Aluminum antiperspirants can be used to create a lattice over the pores to block sweat. Toxin injections are also sometimes used for armpit sweating, although this is a process that needs to be repeated at least once a year. In some cases medication or even surgery is required for more severe conditions.