Anxiety...Please Help!!

[Anxytips]

Hi all,

Just found your website and enjoying the read...trying to figure out etc what is going on.

Basically I wanted your thoughts on this really....

I am a 27 year old male, good job, relatively healthy, dont smoke, like a drink (but then who doesnt!?) etc.

In October of last year i lost my job, went to a competitor and have been here since the start of 2011. This job is what I used to do in my old job but am back to square one with building my customer base again etc. It is quite hard becuase of the current climate and have only hit my sales target 3 times in 6 months. However my boss always tells me not too worry and that he is very proud of what I am doing/bringing to the business etc. However I am a driven person and this does get me down slightly as I want to do well.

In August of this year I lost my Uncle. My aunty passed 3 years ago, and their son (my cousin) passed 2 years ago. Since around April time I started having random fears of dying. I spoke to a few people who rationalised this for me etc and I thought/felt ok about it. Anyway, at the beginning of August I had a very strange overwhelming feeling come across me at work. It was in the morning. I had really strange tingling sensations around my hea. My left side of my face started tingling, then all down my left arm and down my left leg. I started to panic thinking i was having a stroke. I had to get air but could not shake this feeling. Thought i was going to pass out. I drank 1.5litres of water in 30 minutes!

My boss sent me home and as I was driving home I still felt like this but did not kow what was going on. I got home as as soon as I did I automatically felt better. Like a switch had been put off on me.
I wanted to get checked out as I was worried I had a brain tumor becuase of the constant pressure in my head. The Doctor advised that what I had been through in recent weeks, targets at work, losing my uncle etc that I had stress. Anyway that night I felt slightly better, but at 2am I woke up with cold sweats, shivering all over, left leg muscles were hard and quivering uncontrollably and had to rush to the toilet.

As soon as my partner put her dressing gown round me when I got back into bed I felt a little more at ease.

The second day I went back to the doctors who told me that becuase I was stressed I also picked up a slight bug which made me like I was that night. He prescribed nothing but rest to me.

Anyway I felt fine for a few days after.

Towards the end of August I went to a music festival with some friends. I was absolutely fine until one night I randomly thought I was going to collapse again and that same tingling feeling as when I was at work came rushing over me again, and I knew that I had to go back for a lie down. Again I drank lots of water but just could not sleep as I wanted to rid my brain of thinking stupid thoughts.
Again this went away for a few days. A week later myself and my partner were sat watching a film. Again, this same feeling swept over me, tingling over left side of body, mind thinking I was having a stroke, feeling irritable and a little nausious. Again this passed about 2 hours later.

Two weeks ago I helped my brother in law move house. A week later (Last weekend) and my lower back started to ache and I just could not shift it. I then thought randomly that I had bowel cancer/spine cancer, as cancer is in my family and this is what my cousin died of 2 years ago.
Anyway, this pain had now left my lower back, however this morning, I was sat in the car waiting for my partner so I could take her to work and my tingling has started again all down my left side. I have tried not to think about it but it is doing my head in as has been pretty much constantly there all day. All bar a couple of times I have had a laugh with my colleagues today and it had gone but come has back again. I have looked at some symptoms of anxiety and can relate to the following:-

Shortness of Breath (Sometimes)
Difficulty swallowing, lump in throat (Sometimes)
Headaches, tight band around head. (When I get tingling feeling on left side of body)
Pins and needles feeling in arms and legs.
Feelings of anxiousness and dread.
Unable to think clearly (becuase of worry)
Feeling like you are going crazy. (Feel like I am going to pass out and do not know what is wrong)
Strange, obsessive thoughts. (Like I have cancer or am going to die!?!)
Racing heart.
Feeling nausesious
Feelings of anxiousness.
Constantly Irritable.
Feelings of depression (maybe a little)
Constantly worrying.
Dry mouth. (Sometimes)

I was wondering if anyone else felt like this and if I could have some advice....

Thank in advance

[Bill]

I should think alot of people here will hear themselves in your words.

Speaking of anxiety, this is probably what has happened...

I am a driven person and this does get me down slightly as I want to do well.

In other words, you put alot of pressure on "yourself" due to your desire to succeed in life. This pressure creates stress. You have high expectations of yourself so you will push yourself harder and harder but I would guess you're always left feeling you could do more and better.

Anxiety surfaces when your mind is trying to tell you that it's reached it's limit and that it needs time to recharge by relaxing.

Also, In August of this year I lost my Uncle. and this has triggered memories of losing your other relatives and how...cancer is in my family and this is what my cousin died of 2 years ago.

Your over-stressed mind then connects the loss of your relatives with your fears about your own health and so you develop "health anxiety".

This then means that every time you "feel" something wrong, your health anxiety is then triggered causing you to worry about "what if" it's something serious such as what happened to your other family members.

This then panics you causing the anxiety symptoms to feel worse because you then can't stop worrying. The more you worry, the more severe the symptoms feel but when you feel "reassured", (my partner put her dressing gown round me when I got back into bed I felt a little more at ease,) the symptoms then ease. What didn't help was that you may have also caught a bug which created symptoms itself which also caused you to worry.

Therefore, to try and ease things for you, you have to go back to the beginning and find the initial cause....

"You put yourself under too much pressure."

So the first step will be to ease up. Give yourself time outs. Try not to be so intense. Learn to relax and give yourself some relaxation time because if you don't, you're going to reach burn out and may then feel you need meds to calm you.

Once you take some pressure off yourself, you can then learn how to keep relaxed when these "what if's" surface. The more you focus and dwell on these worries, the more these panics will surface and feel worse. You have to nip them in the bud by turning your attention on to other things which don't cause stress.

That's a few things to think about for now. You Will be ok. Just try to ease up a bit, don't dwell on these feelings and remember that your boss is happy with you.:)

[xxlisaxx08]

I don't think anyone is able to explain that any better than Bill

Anxiety is horrendous and present itself in many different ways. I had a fear I had bowel cancer about 4 months ago all my tests came back normal. I'm now worrying about throat cancer. It's all health anxiety related to my fear of dying.

Lisa x

[Anxytips]

Thanks guys and espescially yours bill. It did sink home when i was reading. Not had a bad today with this. I had this tingling sensation all yesterday and last night until i fell asleep. just couldnt shift it then this morning i woke up and felt ok. Got into the car and it started again....lasted for an hour and since then i have been alright and trying to focus mind on other things. Anyway ive just got back from work and can feel it starting up again. Just feel like i want to go to bed and sleep but dont want too as i just want to chill and do things i used to like relax and watch tv etc...
Stupid thing to do I know (especially when feeling like this but earlier today i started to get a slight dull ache just under my rib cage....googled it...apologies!! but now ive started to think about lung cancer...im trying to put this to the back of my mind too lol. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to go over everything with them and i will get back on here to let you know

[Bill]

You know, when we come home after a stressful day feeling really tired, all we feel like doing is to sit and put our feet up while we watch tv......BUT that can often be the Worst thing we can do because often the programmes on tv aren't stimulating enough so instead of relaxing, our minds have the opportunity to "think too much"...and of course then our stressed minds will find something to worry about which often means it'll start searching the body for any strange feelings to worry about!

So, when you're sitting in front of the tv consider the following...

1) Have a doze after dinner if you feel tired enough but ONLY for 10 mins and no longer. The reason is they say 10 mins can be refreshing but any longer will take you into a deep sleep so you won't feel able to get off to sleep when it's time for bed.

2) Do "something" while you're sitting there. It could mean reading a mag, a book, doing a crossword, puzzle, ironing, knitting or sewing etc (Well, I do all the cooking, washing up, sewing, ironing etc!...can't knit though! lol) What I'm trying to say is it will keep the mind occupied IF the chore/hobby is interesting enough.

3) If you have nothing to do and don't want to doze, then get up and do something as soon as you find yourself feeling bored. Sitting there will just make your anxiety come back.

4) Build a relaxation routine to help you unwind before bedtime. It could be a long bath, visiting the gym or exercising, yoga etc or simply learning and practising a relaxation technique such as meditation or listening to relaxing music, and of course avoiding caffeine and alcohol last thing. Tea/coffee can act as stimulants when you will be needing to relax. Alcohol can help us get to sleep but it's a depressant and also often leads to a bad nights sleep due to nightmares etc.

If you go to bed with an anxious mind, you'll have a restless night and feel tired next day which leads to more anxiety.

To combat anxiety, you need to try to limit the opportunities whereby anxiety can attack you. Too much on our plate causes stress but so too does boredom. It's a case of moderation and finding the right balance.

It's also a case of finding enjoyment in life. The more bored or depressed we are, the more we feed anxious thoughts. Life shouldn't be just about getting up, working, eating and sleeping. Earning enough to live on is of course very important but so is finding Enjoyment for the sake of our own wellbeing so that we don't end up too ill to enjoy what we've worked so hard for.:)

[Anxytips]

Again, thanks for comments and yours Bill.

Ok, so went to doctors this morning. He did a thorough check of me, did reflexes, checked heart rate, pulse etc etc. My lungs are clear as a whistle so not lung cancer (weight off my mind lol) and he said that were no serious signs of any brain tumors, again another weight lifted. So he diagnosed that I have anxiety and that my levels of anxiety are higher than normal.
GAD does not run in my family, but cancer does so that is why i thought of that straight away. I have to go back on the 28th for blood tests etc and then see what that brings up, he also said i may have an overactive thyroid as this does that also....
Will keep you updated

[M155anthr0p3]

If it helps you at all....

My HA is always made so much worse by death in the family. I obsess & obsess & obsess over death. I think I may start freezing them all now...