Wilmington, NC
Denise-Marie Griswold earned her Master of Science in Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling from East Carolina University in 2014 and became a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS) in North Carolina. She worked as a clinical case manager and intake coordinator in residential and inpatient addiction treatment, with people who had substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.
Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, a city hit hard by the opioid crisis, she was active in the local recovery community and in advocacy and outreach, including work with the Cape Fear Coalition for a Drug Free Tomorrow and the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. Alongside her clinical work, she reviewed addiction and mental health content for accuracy.
Denise-Marie Griswold has contributed to these articles
Physical Symptoms
How to Calm Nervous & Upset Stomach When Anxious
An upset stomach is one of the most common anxiety symptoms, caused by gut changes and stomach tension. See a doctor first, then try these ways to calm it.
How Anxiety Affects Your Hands
Anxiety can affect your hands in at least 5 ways, from shaking to burning. Here's what causes each symptom and how to get quick relief.
Can Muscle Twitching Be Caused By Anxiety?
Twitching muscles and worried it's serious? It's a common, usually harmless anxiety symptom. Here's what causes it and how to help it settle down.
Anxiety May Be Causing That Rib Pain
Rib pain can be an anxiety symptom, caused by chest muscle tension or the way you breathe. A doctor should diagnose it, but reducing anxiety eases it.
The Anxious Mind and Body: Arm Pain Explained
Arm pain can come from anxiety through muscle tension, poor breathing and more. Once a doctor rules out other causes, a few steps may ease the pain.
Anxiety and the Connection to Body Odor
Body odor can change with anxiety, mostly through stress sweating. See why it happens and simple ways to stay fresh and worry less about it.
Related Medical Issues
How Anxiety Can Cause Swollen Lymph Nodes
Anxiety may lead to swollen lymph nodes or make you notice normal ones more. If you have other symptoms, see a doctor first. Here's what to know.
How Anxiety Affects Blood Pressure
Anxiety can push blood pressure up or down. See the 4 causes, why it is rarely dangerous without an existing condition, and why checking can backfire.
How to Recognize and Treat Hypoglycemia-Related Anxiety
Hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, can cause anxiety-like symptoms, but anxiety can't cause it. See how to tell them apart and treat each one.
Anxiety and Teeth Problems
Teeth problems can come from anxiety indirectly, most often from grinding at night. See how anxiety leads to tooth damage and how to protect your teeth.
Other Symptoms
Anxiety Urination: An Inconvenient Symptom
Anxiety urination happens because stress affects how the brain controls the bladder. See the causes and what reduces it day to day.
How Anxiety May Cause Weight Loss
Losing weight without trying during a stressful time? Anxiety can affect your appetite and body that way. Find out why it happens and how to stay healthy.
Can Anxiety Cause a Fever?
Anxiety isn't known to cause a real fever, but it can make you feel hot and feverish. See why, why a reading can mislead, and when to see a doctor.
How Anxiety Can Cause Bloating
Bloating often shows up alongside other anxiety symptoms, since anxiety affects digestion and sleep loss can add to it. See what helps reduce it.
About Anxiety
What Happens During an Anxiety Attack?
Racing heart, shaking and a sense of doom: anxiety attacks are far more physical than most people think. Here's what's happening and what helps.
How to Overcome Nervousness
Nervousness is normal, but when it overwhelms you or won't go away, it may be anxiety. See when to get help and ways to overcome it.
Introduction to the Fight or Flight Response
The fight or flight response is your body's built-in alarm. Anxiety disorders happen when it fires with no danger. See how it works and why.
Anxiety Symptoms and Schizophrenia
Severe anxiety can cause symptoms that make you fear schizophrenia, but having anxiety without schizophrenia is far more common. See the differences.
Mental-Cognitive Symptoms
Derealization - A Scary Anxiety Symptom
Derealization makes the world feel strange or unreal, and it can feel like you're going crazy. Learn why anxiety causes it and how to bring yourself back.
Violent Thoughts: An Anxiety Symptom
Unwanted violent thoughts can be a symptom of anxiety, and how you react to them affects how often they come. See 3 strategies to control them.
How to Overcome Anxiety's Inability to Concentrate
Anxiety drains focus through worry and physical symptoms. See why it's hard to concentrate and 6 methods that help you stay on task.
Sensations
Hypersensitivity To Sound And Anxiety Disorders: Symptoms, Causes and Proven Solutions
Do certain sounds make you tense or panicky? Noise sensitivity and anxiety often feed each other, and exposure therapy can help you react less.
Anxiety Related Vaginal Symptoms
Vaginal discomfort can be linked to anxiety: stress may lead to some problems and make normal sensations feel stronger. See the link and what helps.
Panic Attacks
Rate Your Panic Attacks With This Severity Scale
The Panic Disorder Severity Scale is a clinical tool you can use at home to rate your panic attacks. See how it works and what your score means.
7 Tips for Panic Attack Prevention
Panic attacks can be prevented with the right habits. These 7 strategies help you have fewer attacks and feel more in control.
More topics
3 Effective Anxiety Breathing Exercises
Breathing too fast or too shallow keeps anxiety going. Try these 3 simple breathing exercises to slow down, ease your symptoms and feel calmer.
Anxiety May Cause Simple Auditory Hallucinations
Anxiety can make you hear things, like your name or popping sounds, mostly from heightened awareness. It differs from psychosis and eases as anxiety does.
Anxiety! What’s Wrong With Me?
Anxiety often makes people blame themselves. Find out how anxiety really develops, why you can't think your way out, and what helps instead.
Unusual Ways That Anxiety Affects Behavior
Behavior changes are part of most anxiety disorders, some common and some surprising. See the unusual ways anxiety affects how you act, and why.
Can Anxiety Be Caused by Dehydration?
Dehydration rarely causes anxiety on its own, but too little water can make anxiety symptoms worse. See how hydration affects anxiety.
