Anxiety is rarely "just in your head" — an overactive thyroid, blood-sugar swings, and low magnesium all produce symptoms that feel identical to anxiety. Here are the tests worth requesting before you assume the cause is purely psychological.
A routine check screens for disease, not for the borderline thyroid and metabolic patterns that mimic anxiety.
When anxiety is the presenting symptom, most workups stop at a basic panel or go straight to a mental-health referral. Both can be right — but they skip a short list of physical causes that produce textbook anxiety symptoms: racing heart, restlessness, trembling, and trouble sleeping.
An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) is the classic example — palpitations and a sense of being permanently "switched on" are driven by excess thyroid hormone, and TSH alone can miss the early picture. Blood-sugar swings trigger adrenaline surges that feel like panic, especially before meals. And low magnesium amplifies the body's stress response. None of these are caught by assuming the cause is psychological.
The three clusters below cover the physical drivers worth ruling out. They don't replace mental-health support — they make sure you're not treating a thyroid or metabolic problem as anxiety.
Physical drivers that mimic or worsen anxiety. Rule these out alongside — not instead of — psychological support.
Doctors order what they're used to ordering. Being specific about what you want, and why, changes the conversation.
Getting the right tests ordered is step one. Reading the results properly is step two.
References & Guidelines
Free. No account. Works with any lab report in 45 seconds.
Upload My Report →