Phantom arms?

[Kez_miller]

Hi guys. So basically the past few weeks I've had some seriously bad anxiety which just wouldn't go away. Until the past few days, the last few days have been good with no anxiety except for the fact that last night and all today it's like I can't tell the difference between the left arm and right arm. That's the only way I can explain it. It's like my brain is mixing up the left arm and right arm or as if I'm not controlling my arms or that they're not connected too me. The only other sensation I can explain is like my arms are numb or weightless but they're not. I know this makes me sound like I'm crazy or weird but just wondered if anyone can explain this. It's causing me anxiety again thinking I've got a brain problem or about to have a stroke or something. I dunno. I need help 🙈

---------- Post added at 22:39 ---------- Previous post was at 19:46 ----------

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[bin tenn]

Sounds very similar to depersonalization/derealization, IMO. Very common in anxiety sufferers. I used to experience it often, myself, many years ago when I first started having anxiety attacks.

[ServerError]

I remember ringing my therapist to tell him I felt somehow "disconnected from my arms", as if I could see them and know they were there, but feel as my relationship to them was looser than normal. Very hard to explain.

It's nothing to worry about, though. Just a trick of the tired mind. Your mind needs a break from stress and worry, and it's dulling your senses. Time to listen to what it's telling you.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Depersonalisation.

Other than that if it was more about confusion I would think just the issues with cognition that anxiety impacts on.

[Citydeer]

That sounds tough, sending you big hugs. I think I have had depersonalisation but not of the physical type. I felt mentally very disconnected from my life, what I had been doing for the past few years, as if I'd been on autopilot and felt totally out of touch with my identity. I got this after having panic disorder for 3 months. It's calmed down a lot now thankfully but I still feel a bit off from time to time with it. At my worst I thought trees looked so scary, so alien.

Does anyone know why it happens? I read in the past that it's because anxiety can make certain functions in your brain switch off to try and protect you, therefore it can affect how you perceive reality. I dunno if that's right tho


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