The Hidden Connection Between Anxiety, Blood Sugar, and the Nervous System
One of the most confusing parts of living with reactive hypoglycemia or IPS is the way anxiety seems to blend with physical symptoms. Many people begin to wonder whether they are anxious because their blood sugar is unstable or whether their body is unstable because their anxiety is high. Others have been told by doctors that everything they are feeling is simply anxiety, even though their symptoms do not feel psychological at all. For many people, including me, the truth turned out to be more layered and more human than that.
There is a deep and very real relationship between blood sugar regulation and the autonomic nervous system. When the nervous system is calm and regulated, the body interprets internal sensations with clarity. When the nervous system is overwhelmed, depleted, or recovering from illness or stress, signals get misread. A normal shift in blood sugar might suddenly feel like danger. A mild drop might feel like a free fall. A full stomach might feel like emptiness. A wave of adrenaline might appear without any emotional fear behind it. The body responds as if something serious is happening even when the numbers do not show anything alarming.
For people with true reactive hypoglycemia, these sensations are often tied to real glucose changes. When blood sugar dips, the brain becomes fuel deficient and the body releases adrenaline to protect itself. This adrenaline release can feel exactly like anxiety even when the mind is calm. For people with IPS or false lows, the mechanism is different but the experience is almost identical. The nervous system fires the same adrenaline signals even when glucose is within a normal range. In both cases, the body is trying to respond to a perceived threat, and the sensations feel intense and overwhelming.
My own experience made this connection extremely clear. When my system was weakened by viral illness and stress, and later destabilized by juicing on an empty stomach and then going low carb, my nervous system began reacting to even small metabolic shifts. I could feel completely calm in my mind and yet experience a full rush of physical symptoms that looked like anxiety from the outside. It took me a long time to understand that what felt like anxiety was actually a protective mechanism coming from my body, not my thoughts.
This is why so many people with blood sugar issues, both real and perceived, say they feel anxious without a clear emotional reason. They are not imagining it. They are not dramatic. They are not making it up. Their body is simply responding to internal changes with heightened sensitivity. The anxiety is not the cause. It is a symptom of the body’s attempt to stabilize itself.
Recognizing this changes everything. It allows you to stop blaming yourself for being anxious or fragile. It lets you see the wisdom in your body’s attempts to protect you. And it creates space for gentler approaches. Warm meals, steady fueling, nervous system support, consistent protein, slow breathing, and grounding practices all begin to work because they address the true root of the experience rather than the surface feeling.
Whether your blood sugar actually dips or your body reacts to normal glucose changes as if they are dangerous, your experience is real. It is valid. And it is rooted in physiology, not weakness. Understanding the connection between blood sugar and the nervous system is one of the most freeing steps in this entire journey. It brings compassion to something that often feels confusing and frightening. It gives you a path forward that does not rely on fear, shame, or trying to force your body into stability.
If this resonates with you, I am glad you are here. This is a place where your sensations are understood and where your nervous system is met with softness rather than judgment. There is a way to feel steady again, and it begins with knowing you are not alone in this experience.