Yes, anxiety can absolutely make you feel "spaced out," a sensation often described as brain fog, depersonalization (feeling detached from yourself), or derealization (feeling detached from surroundings). This happens because anxiety consumes mental resources, impairs focus, and can trigger dissociation as a coping mechanism, making you feel numb, foggy, or like you're in a dream-like state, especially during high stress or panic attacks.
Effects of anxiety on your body
feeling light-headed or dizzy. pins and needles. feeling restless or unable to sit still. headaches, backache or other aches and pains.
Symptoms of dissociative disorder can vary but may include: feeling disconnected from yourself and the world around you. forgetting about certain time periods, events and personal information. feeling uncertain about who you are.
It makes it hard to concentrate, difficult to pay attention, and gets in the way of memory formation. This leads to feeling spacey, being easily distracted, and being forgetful. And that's a recipe for brain fog.
Generally, intense symptoms such as rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath subside within 10–30 minutes, but the aftermath, known as an anxiety attack hangover, can last for hours or days. During this period, you might experience fatigue, muscle pain, emotional numbness, and irritability.
Symptoms of a panic attack
Severe Anxiety
Symptoms become more pronounced and can include intense fear, constant worry and avoidance of situations that might trigger anxiety. Physical symptoms like dizziness, nausea and chest pain are common. Severe anxiety often requires professional intervention, such as therapy and medication.
“For example, stress, lack of sleep, inadequate exercise, poor diet, prolonged sedentary time and many other factors can all contribute to lack of mental clarity. While COVID-19 can cause neuroinflammation, for many people the symptoms of brain fog may not be related to COVID-19.”
Five common anxiety symptoms include excessive worry, a racing heart, trouble sleeping, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating, often accompanied by physical feelings like a churning stomach, shortness of breath, and muscle tension, alongside irritability. These symptoms can be persistent and interfere with daily life, signaling the need for professional help.
Passing feelings of depersonalization or derealization are common and are not always a cause for concern. But ongoing or serious feelings of detachment and distortion of your surroundings can be a sign of depersonalization-derealization disorder or another physical or mental health condition.
Dissociation is one way the mind copes with too much stress, such as during a traumatic event. There are also common, everyday experiences of dissociation that you may have. Examples of this are when you become so absorbed in a book or film that you lose awareness of your surroundings.
Physical signs such as sweating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, and digestive issues highlight anxiety's physiological and neurological impact. These symptoms often lead individuals to seek medical evaluation for heart or neurological conditions before receiving an anxiety diagnosis.
Feeling nervous, restless or tense. Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom. Having an increased heart rate. Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation).
Anxiety, either about a current situation or forthcoming event is a normal bodily reaction to stress. This reaction begins in the Amygdala - an area in the brain which sends distress signals to the hypothalamus. These signals are then communicated to the rest of the body to evoke a 'fight or flight' response.
Anxiety brain fog happens when a person feels anxious and has difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly. Many conditions may cause anxiety and brain fog, including mental health diagnoses and physical illnesses.
Five significant signs your brain might be in trouble include memory loss (especially recent events), difficulty with familiar tasks or language, confusion about time/place, significant personality/behavior changes, and problems with judgment, focus, or coordinating movement, often indicating conditions like dementia, brain injury, or other neurological issues, requiring a doctor's visit.
Zoning out can occur when your attention is challenged by mental or emotional focus on something else. For example, you might space out while driving or when listening to something that leads to boredom. Your phone and other digital devices can cause distraction, too.
Although zoning out does not always indicate that you have anxiety, it can be a sign of such a condition. When your mind is preoccupied with concerns, you may experience a lack of concentration and wandering thoughts.
A GP may diagnose GAD if you have the typical symptoms and: you often worry about a wide range of things. feelings of anxiety are affecting your daily life. you're finding it hard to control your feelings.
Worry excessively about everyday things. Have trouble controlling their worries or feelings of nervousness. Feel irritable or “on edge” frequently. Feel restless or have trouble relaxing.
Feeling anxious from time to time is completely normal. However, if your anxiety gets to a level where it's causing a lot of problems or making it hard to get through your day, it's time to get help, says Eckler.
Stage 4: Severe/ Debilitating Anxiety Disorders
The most intense form of anxiety, stage four, is characterized by severe and debilitating anxiety disorders. These can manifest as panic disorder, PTSD, or OCD, where the anxiety is overwhelming and constant, severely impacting daily functioning.
Some common mental symptoms of anxiety include:
Feeling nervous, restless or tense. Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom. Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry. Having difficulty controlling worry.