Physical Reactions
- have sweat
beading/breaking out on one's forehead
- have one's heart in one's mouth
(or throat)
- have one's heart pounding
(or pulse racing)
- butterflies in one's stomach
- hand feeling clammy
- knees bouncing
- pacing back and forth
- tearing up due to embarassment
(wanting to cry)
- Shift their weight from one foot
to the other
- Sway slightly where they are
standing
- Fidget with their hair, clothes,
nails, or something they’re holding
- Glance around the room or refuse
to make eye contact with someone
- Chew on their lips or nails
- Hum quietly to themself
- Tap their fingers on their arm,
the wall, or a table
- Wrap their arms around themself
- Cross their arms or legs while
seated
- Pick at their lips or cover their
mouth
- Rub their own neck or shoulder
- Sigh often
- Sit with their knees up near
their chest, or lay in the fetal position
- Look stiff and uncomfortable
- Check over their shoulder often,
or glance around the room
- Cough or clear their throat often
- A pounding heartbeat, or the
feeling that their heartbeat is in their head
- Accelerated or heavy breathing
- A tingling sensation in their
fingers, hands, or legs
- A rush of energy (which would
suddenly leave them afterward, making them even more tired than usual)
- Dizziness
- Tightened muscles
Descriptors
- fumbled
- blushed
- winced
- fidgeted
- cringed
- stuttered
- giggled
- afluttered
- agitated
- robotic
- hesitant
- bothered
- distracted
- edgy
- clumsily
- awkwardly
- distractedly
- flustered
- frantically
- frayed
- hypertense
- nervy
- jittery
- jumpy
- intimidated
- paranoid
- perturbed
- rattled
- queasiness
- restive
- restless
- skittery
- shudder
- skittish
- strung up
- tenterhooks
- tight
- stressy
- uneasy
- unquiet
- twitchy
- unsettled
- uptight
- unrelaxed
Idioms
- be at your
wit's ends
- be bricking it
- be ill at ease
- be on pins and needles
- be under the gun
- get in a sweat
- have all the cares of the world
on your shoulders
- have kittens
- like a cat on a hot tin roof
- sweat bullets