Anxiety and stress are perhaps the No. 1 cause of muscle twitching, which is also known as benign fasciculation syndrome. Benign means the muscle twitching will not develop into anything serious. Fasciculation is the medical term for muscle twitching. Syndrome means that typically, a lot of muscle twitching is also accompanied by muscle cramps, muscle aches and some tingling. But these other symptoms come on after the person starts excessively worrying that the muscle twitching is a sign of a deadly disease.
We are genetically hardwired to physiologically react to a crisis situation. Our muscles are on standby to jump into action. But contemporary stress is different from ancient stress. Today, we don't need to be ready for the charging bison or hissing snake. But just the same, our bodies are under siege by other forms of anxiety: job stress, paying bills, foreclosure threats, protecting teens from drugs and sex, marital problems, traffic jams, business meetings, etc. It's no wonder that our muscles are always jumping.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Anxiety and stress are perhaps the No. 1 cause of muscle twitching, which is also known as benign fasciculation syndrome. Benign means the muscle twitching will not develop into anything serious. Fasciculation is the medical term for muscle twitching. Syndrome means that typically, a lot of muscle twitching is also accompanied by muscle cramps, muscle aches and some tingling. But these other symptoms come on after the person starts excessively worrying that the muscle twitching is a sign of a deadly disease.
We are genetically hardwired to physiologically react to a crisis situation. Our muscles are on standby to jump into action. But contemporary stress is different from ancient stress. Today, we don't need to be ready for the charging bison or hissing snake. But just the same, our bodies are under siege by other forms of anxiety: job stress, paying bills, foreclosure threats, protecting teens from drugs and sex, marital problems, traffic jams, business meetings, etc. It's no wonder that our muscles are always jumping.
We are genetically hardwired to physiologically react to a crisis situation. Our muscles are on standby to jump into action. But contemporary stress is different from ancient stress. Today, we don't need to be ready for the charging bison or hissing snake. But just the same, our bodies are under siege by other forms of anxiety: job stress, paying bills, foreclosure threats, protecting teens from drugs and sex, marital problems, traffic jams, business meetings, etc. It's no wonder that our muscles are always jumping.