Not all tingling sensations in your body are the same. Some can be much worse and probably are present due to an underlying problem. However, they can feel similar, which is why it is important to highlight the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling, especially if you are asking what the real cause is: anxiety or MS? Let’s discuss:
Defining Tingling
Although it can be a sign of something serious, it doesn’t have to be and it usually isn’t. However, you should get it checked to ensure there is no underlying problem in the background. Scientifically known as paresthesia, tingling is a sensation that physically feels like prickling, numbness, or even “pins and needles pricking you simultaneously”. This tingling sensation can erupt in different parts of our bodies as it doesn’t discriminate. Predominantly, it usually happens when the proper blood flow to a specific body part is disrupted, for example, when you have been sitting cross-legged for a long time and you start to have a sleepy leg, that’s essentially a tingling sensation.
The Common Triggers of the TIngling Sensation
- Putting pressure on the nerves: As we have mentioned before, disrupting the blow flow to different parts of the body, which can happen by putting some kind of pressure on the nerves, can lead to tingling sensations.
- Poor circulation: If for one reason or another, you have poor circulation of blood to different parts of the body even without putting pressure on the nerves, it can also lead to tingling sensations in various parts of your body.
Read More: We Need To Talk About Anxiety Tingling
What Else Could It Be?
The tingling sensations can be an urgent matter precisely because the underlying problem behind these can be much worse than actually imagined. Tingling can come as a symptom of degenerative disease called multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic neurological autoimmune condition that attacks health cells instead of protecting them as it normally should. 
To understand the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling, one needs how MS actually works. MS basically attacks the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord and the nerves that travel all over your body carrying the electrical pulses that are used for communicating with different parts of your body.
What’s MS Like, In The Sufferer?
Although MS tingling can occur anywhere, frequently, patients with MS predominantly complain of tingling in arms and legs. Anxiety is also prone to arise in them due to that, which can make it a confusing matter for them, but there are a couple of indicators (although they vary from person to person) through which one can identify if the real cause is MS or anxiety:
- Numbness accompanies the tingling sensations
- Needle and electrical-like sensations in tingling
- Numbness and sudden weakness in the area that tingles
- Even light contact with the tingling area can lead to pain
- Persistent and consistent itching or crawling sensations in the tingling area
- Many often complain about their legs or arms “falling asleep”
- Others will complain about intense feelings such as burning or squeezing
- The tingling also has a tendency to spread and intensify over time
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So, What’s the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling?
As we have said before, the actual difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling can be obscured due to the sheer amount of overlapping of their symptoms, making you ask questions such as, “Can anxiety mimic MS?” or it can create a debate of anxiety vs MS, whenever someone talks about tingling. However, they can be differentiated in certain ways that may help a diagnostician properly diagnose if the underlying cause behind your tingling is MS or anxiety. We have created a table for it to make it convenient for you to find the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling:
| Indicators | Multiple Sclerosis Tingling | Anxiety Tingling |
| Triggers | Nerves are affected due to the autoimmune disorder – MS. | Stress and anxiety are of course the culprits behind this one (Chand & Marwaha, 2023). It can also manifest as part of anxiety disorders such as OCD or panic disorders. If it starts as soon as anxiety starts, then it is probably anxiety tingling. |
| Onset | Tingling in MS may arise and occur gradually, for example, you may notice you are gradually losing your sense of touch. | Tingling that occurs suddenly due to the presence of stress or as part of anxiety or panic disorders. |
| Location | MS tingling and other sensations can occur on just one side of the body or both sides. | Anxiety tingling usually affects both sides of the body at once. You may remember calling it “…tingling in hands and feet anxiety…” or “…whole body tingling anxiety…”. |
| Duration | Tingling pertaining to MS symptoms will come and go intermittently but will be consistent and will increase over time. | Anxiety and panic-like symptoms tend to resolve once the anxiety itself tends to subside. It is best to get relief from the root, which is anxiety and then surely this type of tingling will also subside. However, if the underlying problem even for this is an anxiety disorder or a panic disorder then the affected period will be extended (Anxiety Disorders, n.d.). |
| Accompanying Symptoms | MS tingling is usually accompanied by additional nerve or muscle symptoms, such as muscle spasms or vision problems. | Anxiety tingling will probably be accompanied by anxiety-related symptoms such as shortness of breath or feelings of fear. |
If you ever thought “I had MS but it was anxiety”, then the table above can really help resolve your confusion and also the anxiety related to it!
Treating Anxiety Tingling and Managing MS Tingling
Now that you have understood the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling, it is time to discuss how to find a way out of them. Anxiety tingling can be treated and MS tingling can be managed, so let’s see how and then finally put a lid to your questions like, “Can anxiety cause arm tingling?”, “Can anxiety make you feel tingly?”, or “Does anxiety cause tingling?”.
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Treatment for Anxiety Tingling
To treat anxiety tingling, one can go for these treatment methods or a combination of these methods:
Apply relaxation methods: Practice meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation techniques to improve blood flow to the different parts of your body while also decreasing anxiety by itself.
Healthy lifestyle: Lifestyle changes should not be underestimated and they should always pertain to health. Things like avoidance of excessive caffeine (or other stimulants), eating nutritious food, regularly exercising, or getting enough sleep all fall into healthy lifestyle changes that not only help with improving circulation and overall cardiovascular health but also help regulate the body’s stress response and minimize anxiety-related tingling.
Therapy: Psychotherapy (also called talk therapy) is a suitable therapy for anxiety tingling that helps sufferers of anxiety look inward into their problematic behavior that stems from negative thought processes and find resolutions for it via talking to a mental health expert. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the goal-based and short-oriented version of psychotherapy, which is perhaps more suitable for reducing anxiety-related problems quickly.
Medication: Anti-anxiety medications such as benzodiazepines and antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors all work toward reducing anxiety but for recommended dosage and type please refer to an expert. Perhaps, psychiatric medication management can be tried for better support at Inland Empire Behavioral Group.
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Managing MS Tingling
This will also unveil a bigger difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling as how both of these are managed or treated are vastly different from each other.
Disease-Modifying Therapies (DMTs): These are essential medications like dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) and ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) that directly try to slow down the progression of MS.
Palliative treatment: A type of medical therapy that focuses on relieving symptoms without addressing the underlying cause, palliative treatment can be used for managing MS symptoms. For this, anticonvulsant medications such as gabapentin (Neurontin) or pregabalin (Lyrica), as recommended by a doctor, can be used.
Physical therapy: These directly target the MS tingling parts of the body and you will see all of it going to negligible levels as it improves muscle strength, coordination, and balance, which help alleviate tingling by enhancing overall nervous system function.
Cooling products and pain management: Use things like cooling vests or cooled products like ice packs to help reduce sensory symptoms worsened by heat. Additionally, you can also get recommendations from doctors for nerve blocks or other pain management strategies to reduce MS tingling.
Read More: Understanding High-functioning Anxiety: Signs, Challenges, and Coping Strategies
Conclusion
If you have questions like, “Can anxiety mimic MS?”, or “Can anxiety cause nerve tingling?”, then perhaps the confusion related to these is resolved as you now know the difference between anxiety tingling and MS tingling. If you need treatment for symptoms like these or the ones related to other mental conditions such as bipolar disorder or depression then you can go for treatment such as the ones mentioned above or alternative ones like telehealth psychiatry, you can book an appointment with Inland Empire Behavioral Group. No need to say this from now on: “Thought I had MS but it was anxiety.”
