Angela Merkel has said that she is in good health after experiencing a third episode of shaking at a public event in Berlin. On Wednesday morning, she was seen trembling during military honors for Finland’s Prime Minister, Antti Rinne.
The third episode of shaking was believed to be less intense than the previous two episodes. The trembling then stopped when she moved her body.
After the meeting, the German Chancellor said, “I am doing fine and you should not worry,” adding that she had been going through some psychologically processing.
On June 18, the German politician was seen involuntarily shaking for the first time during military honors for the visiting Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Later, she blamed dehydration, She said she felt better after drinking some water.
After a week of the first episode, she again had a bout of shaking during a meeting with the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin.
On Wednesday, the chancellor said, “I have already said that I am going through a phase of processing the recent military honors with President Zelenskiy. This appears not to be quite finished yet, but I am making progress and will have to live with it for a while.”
In 2017, she was also seen shaking during military honors in Mexico City in humid conditions.
Many speculations have come up, citing whether her intense schedule has started to take a toll on her health.
Annalena Baerbock, the German Green party co-leader, had suggested that her shaking episodes could be associated with the climate crisis. She said, “Regarding the hot temperatures, we can see from the chancellor it is clear that this summer climate has health consequences.” However, Annalena later apologized for her comments.
Emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of Bristol Peter Roberts said, “There is little information available beyond what has been stated by Angela Merkel, so it’s impossible to know what might be the cause.”
He added, “An initial effect caused by dehydration, followed by anxiety that it may occur again, might even be the cause. The stress response is a basic survival mechanism and kicks in as soon as a threat is perceived, including fear that something may happen.”
Roberts explained that as there is no underlying cause, uncontrollable shaking could be the result of a normal stress response. “The problem with the response is that our bodies behave in this way in response to both real and feared threats. Indeed, the fear that your body is going to start behaving in a seemingly abnormal way may precipitate that very response,” said Roberts.
