Home » Dizziness, Featured, General Updates, Other Types of Vertigo, Treatment, Vertigo

The link between Anxiety and Balance problems

11 November 2010 2 Comments
Woman with anxiety

BLUESTONE / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

When I see people for balance problems in my clinic they frequently report feeling anxiety along with their other balance issues like vertigo and dizziness.  If you feel this way too, then you are not alone.

Research has demonstrated that there is a link between the two conditions.  Anatomically there is a link between the balance areas in the brain and the limbic or motional parts of the brain.  It is thought that disordered function in one area can lead to problems in the other.

This connection has been found in both adults and children, whether the person has “balance” problems or not.  The figures I have seen are that about a third of anxiety cases are caused by balance problems.  A third of balance problems are caused by anxiety and in a third of cases the two are not linked.

The good news is that treating the balance disorder with a rehabilitation programme has been shown to reduce or fix the anxiety symptoms.  Seeking help for your balance condition is important.  Sign up for our newsletter and we will let you know when our self help balance rehabilitation programme is available.

So let me know by posting a comment below.  Do you feel there is a link between anxiety and balance?  Have you benefitted from a balance rehabilitation programme?

2 Comments »

  • Tempe Laver said:

    Hi

    I feel that I have balance problems such as tilting to one side and a constant feeling of lightheadedness like I am drunk. My eyes don’t seem to work well and I can’t focus on patterns, strong lighting and movement. I have read the work of Dr Harold Levinson and also noted that a recent study into children and anxiety in Tel Aviv lead to dramatic improvments in childrens anxiety treated with balance excercises. I live in Brisbane, Australia and am hoping you could recommend someone here who treats anxiety with balance excercies.

    Thanks

    Tempe Laver

  • drmatt (author) said:

    Hi Tempe,

    Try looking at the Doctor Locator page on http://www.aafn.org.au

    Thanks

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.