Do you ever notice your jaw tightening or clenching when you are stressed or anxious? If so, you are not alone. Anxiety is not just a feeling, but it also shows up in your body in the form of muscle tensions, aches and pains, with the jaw being one of the most affected areas. This jaw pain from anxiety can start as a minor inconvenience, but when left untreated, it can spiral into serious discomfort.
In this article, we’ll explore the relationship between jaw tension and anxiety while also exploring techniques to find relief.
How Does Anxiety Cause Jaw Tension?
Anxiety is your body’s response to a perceived threat; thus, it typically activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, which helps you prepare for the situation at hand. During this state, your muscles, including the jaw, tense in anticipation and alertness to the threat. Many people clench or grind their teeth sometimes without realizing it, especially at night.
Over time, this strain can exhaust the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the surrounding muscles, leading to pains, tensions and difficulties in activities such as chewing or eating
Overcoming Jaw Tension From Anxiety
Dealing with jaw tension from anxiety requires a comprehensive approach to pain and anxiety management techniques. Let’s look at a few steps for the same.
-
Jaw Stretching Exercises
Begin with gentle stretching exercises for your jaw, such as opening and closing your mouth slowly while resting your tongue behind your upper teeth to relax your jaw. You can also try the goldfish exercise by placing a finger on your jaw hinge (TMJ) and dropping your jaw like a goldfish. Doing these several times a day can help release built-up tension.
-
Apply Hot and Cold Compress
Applying a hot water compress can be quite soothing. Heat relaxes stiff muscles while also reducing any swelling that occurs from long-term clenching. A cold compress might also be useful to numb the affected area and reduce pain. Using them alternatively for 10-15 minutes can help with quick recovery.
-
Use a Mouthguard
If your jaw tension is worsened by teeth grinding at night, a dentist-recommended mouthguard can help protect your teeth and ease jaw pressure while you sleep.
-
Gentle Massage
Gently massaging your jaw muscles, temples and area under the ears in circular motions with your fingertips or even a facial roller can reduce discomfort.
-
Mindfulness Exercises
Mindfulness involves being in the moment and creating awareness of your bodily sensations. Awareness can help you be conscious about your clenching habits and reduce tension. Being mindful and in the moment can also reduce anxious thoughts, thus working on the root cause of jaw tensions. Mindfulness alongside positive visualization can be incredibly relaxing.
-
Lifestyle Changes
Quite often, anxiety and jaw pain are worsened by a lack of self-care. Thus, lifestyle changes such as daily exercise, a healthy diet and maintaining a good sleep schedule can help reduce anxiety. Developing healthy hobbies such as spending time in nature, journaling and yoga can help with stress, again working on the root cause for clenching.
-
Grounding Techniques
Anxiety often puts your body on alert, leading to excessive clenching. At such times grounding exercises such as the “5-4-3-2-1” method—naming five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste can help bring attention back to the present, calm your body and prevent unnecessary clenching.
When to Seek Help?
If the jaw pain worsens and causes difficulty in eating or talking, it might be helpful to consult a medical professional. If anxiety turns out to be the root cause of pain, you can consider consulting a trained mental health therapist for tools and techniques to overcome anxiety.
Conclusion:
In summary, anxiety can lead to jaw tension by keeping your body trapped in fight or flight mode for a long time. Addressing anxiety-induced jaw tension, hence, requires a combination of jaw-relaxing exercises, hot and cold compresses, and gentle massage alongside lifestyle changes, mindfulness exercises and grounding techniques to reduce underlying anxiety. With self-care and appropriate professional support, you can recover and find relief over time.
References:
- Anxiety And Jaw Clenching Are Connected—QuickSplint®. (2022, June 14). https://quicksplint.com/resources/anxiety-and-jaw-clenching-are-connected/
- Does anxiety have you clenching your jaw? 12 tips to help. (n.d.). Calm Blog. Retrieved September 12, 2025, from https://blog.calm.com/blog/jaw-clenching-anxiety
- Easing TMJ Pain: The Benefits of Heat & Cold Therapy | John A. Garza DDS, LVIF, FIAPA, BSC. (2023, February 8). https://johnagarzadds.com/should-you-ice-tmj/
