"Is it Just Anxiety?"

POTS

11 Mar

Why POTS is Frequently Misdiagnosed (and How to Tell the Difference)

For many Australians living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), the road to a diagnosis is paved with the same three words: "It’s just anxiety."

According to the 2025 Australian POTS Registry, the average person waits 5.8 years for an accurate diagnosis. During that time, a staggering 64% of patients are initially told their symptoms are psychiatric.

At Northground, we focus on the intersection of neurobiology and psychology. We know that while POTS and Anxiety can look similar, they are happening in two different "departments" of the nervous system.

The Great Mimicker: Why Doctors (and everyone) Can Get It Wrong

On paper, a POTS flare and a panic attack share several "red flags":

Tachycardia (racing heart)
Shortness of breath
Trembling or "internal tremors"
Lightheadedness
A sense of "doom" or urgency

The difference isn't in what is happening, but why it’s happening. Anxiety is typically a "top-down" process (thoughts triggering the body). POTS is a "bottom-up" process (the body’s posture triggering a heart rate surge, which then alerts the brain).

The Trauma of Being Misdiagnosed

Being told "it's in your head" when your body is clearly struggling is a form of medical trauma. This creates a state of Interoceptive Hypervigilance—where your brain becomes "locked" into monitoring every heartbeat, waiting for the next "glitch."

This is where somatic therapy becomes vital. We aren't here to treat an "anxiety disorder"; we are here to help your brain process the stress of a chronic illness and retrain your Insular Cortex to recognise the difference between a POTS surge and a genuine threat.

In other words - somatic therapy helps you re-connect with your body, to learn to nurture (not fear) its signals in a gentle and graduated way.

At Northground, we provide a POTS-affirming space where your physical symptoms are validated and your nervous system is supported.