Did you know there is a link between anxiety and dehydration?

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, heart racing, panic, and fear flooding your mind as if a mental hurricane has just hit you? It feels so random, so out of the blue, and you aren't sure what to do! So you get up, go to the bathroom, maybe grab a drink of water, and suddenly it's gone! You're left wondering what just happened!

There's a surprising link between dehydration and anxiety that I just discovered and had to share!

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I know the general rule of thumb is that you should have little experience with something before writing about it. Still, in this case, I'm going to consider my research on anxiety and dehydration a tremendous amount of experience for your benefit! (Even if I just discovered it, LOL).

Honestly, I never do this, but I feel it's necessary to tell the world what I learned about this crazy link between anxiety and dehydration; if I can help anyone, it's worth it!

Anxiety and Dehydration

So here's my story.

One night last week, I was lying in bed and couldn't sleep. Suddenly, I felt my heart pounding, my breath got shorter and shorter, and I could feel a panic attack about to arise. Nothing in the natural seemed to point to a reason for the panic.

I am no stranger to panic attacks. I've had them on and off for about 16ish years. I know by now how to identify the problem and handle them. Sometimes it's circumstantial stress. Other times the panic will come from worry and concern about a pending event. Mostly they come when a surge of hormones comes at that time of the month—all easily identifiable, though.

Not this time.

I tried to rack my brain on what could be causing this massive amount of panic. My heart was racing. The palms of my hands were starting to get clammy. Everyone was sound asleep, and I was about to have a full-scale panic attack.

It. Was. Awful!

I felt helpless.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do at that moment: pray.

It wasn't much of prayer, though.

It was more of a desperate plea. "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God," I shouted in my mind! Suddenly, I heard a still small whisper, the kind that makes you know that God is there and he hears you at that moment. The sort of whisper that brings peace to your whole being, and you feel held and seen.

"Drink some water, you're dehydrated."

Ummm, "WHAT?" I hesitated.

Again, "drink some water, you're dehydrated."

"Surely this isn't God," I thought. He had to whisper it several more times before I decided to try what I was hearing. I was sure I was now hearing things, which made me feel even crazier, LOL.

As reluctant as I was, I decided to get up, fill my Brita filter pitcher to the brim, and drink several large glasses of water. I even added some Himalayan pink salt for good measure!

Ya know, sometimes God is more practical than we think He is.

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to pray away what I felt like was an attack, and it ended up being something way more practical than I realized. (More stories for another day).

Anyway, back to the panic attack, I drank the water until my stomach felt like it was going to explode, and I laid back down. After a few minutes, I felt my heartbeat slow down, I started to feel a chill in the air again (my husband likes to freeze us at night, lol), and shockingly I began to feel calm and tired.

"What on earth just happened," I thought.

"I'm not really sure, but I need to look this up!"

After saying a quick "Thank you God," in my mind, I grabbed my phone and started looking up Anxiety and Dehydration. To my complete and utter shock, there it was. Article upon article on the topic!

OMGOSH! IT IS A THING!

God is so wild (super-awesome, incredible, wonderful, amazing...etc.), y'all! I couldn't believe what I was experiencing!

Imagine my utter surprise as I realized how often this had happened, and I hadn't prayed and didn't know it was a thing.

Now, this may come as no shock to you, but for me, after 16 years of dealing with panic, fear, and anxiousness, coming across this information seems, well...

Life-Changing!

I am very familiar with the connection between diet and anxiety. Even familiarized with the idea of the link between lack of sleep and mental wellness. However, the concept of dehydration and panic attacks being linked is absolutely new to me!

I have always been a coffee/caffeine connoisseur, but especially since having my youngest daughter. Being a toddler mom can be really exhausting, and I find it easy to over-caffeinate. Therefore, I find myself dehydrated (or somewhat close) a lot!

If you're anything like me and you didn't realize this, I'm going to help you out by linking a ton of articles that you may find useful the next time you're wondering why sudden anxiety hits and you feel yourself on the verge of a panic attack!