your symptoms

[**whenwillthisend**]

hi everybody just wondering what your worst symptom of anxiety has been and the hardest to leave...i think ive had most of the symptoms of anxiety that claire weeks mentions in her books...at the minute im experiencing bad chest tightness i feel ive had a herd of elephants trampling on my chest...this has been the most hardest and stubbornest symptom to ease and ive had it most days for 5 months...
Also do we all sufferer from bad nerves as claire weeks says our symptoms come from agitated and over sensitized nerves.... i definately feel agitated some days i cant stop fidgeting...my partner thinks im mad im sure!!.. as i feel so wound up i cant stop moving parts of my body...could that be too much adrenaline though????

[Daisybun]

This is me today, baaaaad day. Tight chest, can't breathe very shakey and fit to explode. Worst was lump in the throat last year, rushing to the loo evry hour was no joke either. these have passsed so I expect the breathing will ease too.
Definitely adrenaline, I have to calm down and try and stop the shaking even now - its all part of the stress biology. Acceptance and calm are the way through its just doing it the hard part.
Take care

Daisybun


'This too will pass'

[marie ross]

Hi

My worst symtom has to be the dizziness and the feeling unreal. Horrible can't stand it, i just stand there, and i feel like i'm going to fall over (i would'nt mine if i'd had a bottle of wine!!!), although lately i've had a new symtom emerge, which is running to the toilet a lot AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Will it ever end??????

Take care.

Marie XXX

[giddy]

Hi - my worse symptom is the lightheadedness - I had it all the time for weeks - it was the first symptom to appear and is still ligering around now at times.
Love Helen

[kate H]

Yeah mine is definatley DP it still raises its ugly head briefly most days. Mine was mainly palpitations and skipping heart beats at nite

.......Is your past barging in on your future? Make a better 2morrow 2day.......

[shiv]

Hi I'm a lot better now, but mine were heart thingies! You know: racing, thudding, skipping, missing, turning over- you name it I had it. Mind you I'm not too keen on dizziness either

Shiv x

[clickaway]

My worst symptom? Maybe its one of those that have been totally unexpected in the night and have sent me into the worst panic, although fortunately they have been very transient. An example being a strange sensation that went down most of the side of my body which resulted in a trip in the blue flashing wagon.

But for me the worst feeling is that of despair and loneliness.

Here's a list that I've experienced over the past two and a half years, although I usually only suffer two or three at once!

Muscles spasm and shaking around right armpit
Stomach churning
Neck and Head Pain
Muscle tension in back
Tiny muscle tensions in chest
Aching arms
Jelly Legs
Tight wrist in morning
Pins and Needles
Tightness in fingers
Tightness in chest
Tense throat
Eczema
Dry Skin
Sensitive skin
Light-headedness
Flashing lights in head
Numbness in left thigh
Temporary yellow mark on arm
Tiredness
Lack of concentration
Lack of interest, even in pleasurable things lol
Lack of coping skills (esp. chores)

Probably been others I've forgotten about, and some of these listed have only been very temporary.

Just illustrates the power of the anxious brain, eh?



Ray
http://www.anxietyrelease.org.uk/

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers

[bernadette]

hi my name is bernadette they call me detty for short i have panic attacks which i have had for 20 years but only got worse the last 2 years i have had ever symptoms going my new one is when am having a panic attack i feel like i am going to be sick never had that 1 before i will probly have a different 1 tomorrow but i think with all the different symptoms you have i think this is not a panic attack because it is different sympton from the last but of course it is we just have to get use to them thank you bernadette

[nomorepanic]

Apart from the hyperventilation (which is very common in Panic Attacks and Anxiety), I have suffered the following symptoms:

Constant and re-occurring diarrhoea - sometimes for months on end.

Eyes twitching - I could look in a mirror and the corner of my eyes were moving!

Chest pains - I used to get a lot of these and was seriously concerned that I was going to have a heart-attack. I have since learnt that they are due to the constricting of the heart muscles and apparently the best cure is to start exercising and stretching these muscles to relieve the pain.

Stomach upsets - this I still suffer from. I get bad pains, upset stomach, indigestion, acid pains etc.

Sleeplessness - yeah I still suffer from this. I sleep so lightly that the slightest thing wakes me up and I find it really hard to relax and sleep! When I do sleep it is intermittent and I wake up many times in a night and then in the morning feel that I haven't slept at all.

Dizziness - my biggest problem - feeling that I am going to faint/pass out. This was most annoying whilst driving, as I was scared that I would crash. Other times I could just be sitting watching TV and suddenly feel light-headed. This symptom went on for many years.

Irritable/Moody - oh yes and with a vengeance at times!! I must have been impossible to live with!! I sometimes got very childish as well and would throw tantrums and objects!!

Depressed - I had a lot of depression in the early years of the Panic Attacks. I would cry almost all the time and could just see no end to the illness.

Suicidal - Although I had no intention of taking my life, I did feel that I didn't want to live anymore - there was nothing worth living for in my eyes.

Hurtful/hateful - I could be very hurtful towards others. I drove people away as I was so spiteful and aggressive - hitting out at the ones I loved just because they were there.

Feeling of being 'vague' or 'unreal' - I always described this to people as feeling as though "I was not really here". I felt that I was an outsider looking at the world through my eyes - very weird sensation.

Claustrophobia - this has definitely got worse since I started suffering from panic attacks. I am now very claustrophobic to the point that it restricts things that I do - e.g. going to the cinema, lifts, flying etc.

Fear of motion - I have developed a fear of motion - I hate been driven in the car as I hate the sensation of going from fast to slow. Weird I know but true.

Sensitive to drugs - every time I take new medication I suffer from every side-effect that it has. This is because I read the accompanying leaflet and then fear that I am going to get those side-effects and guess what - I do!!

I could go on but I think I will stop there for now!!



Nicola

[**whenwillthisend**]

oh dear...isnt it amazing how ill we can really be and feel with anxiety and panic and how it affects us all in such similar ways...especially as it sometimes is just our way of thinking..i always say to people if you have never experienced anxiety or panics etc then you just dont possibly know how we could feel(when my partner is telling me to be positive and i will be fine!! if only he knew)...

[janie]

Well i think my worst symptom so far has been the chest pain because of the fear of heart attack. My dad died suddenly of a heart attack about 12 years ago so it is always on my mind. Today however my chest is not too bad but I have this strange burning sensation which feels like it is sitting at the bottom of my right lung.

The adrenalin rush is also difficult to manage. Before this 'episode' i was really laid back and calm - everyone used to comment on how easy going I was (was that just a front???). And now I can't stop moving. I've lost about stone and a half in six weeks, i pace up and down like an idiot, not sleeping well, I'm even considering taking up jogging ...... now I know there must be something wrong. Ha Ha.

Take care all my new friends - including anxiety, my newest friend. x

[florence]

I've had many symptoms myself , but to me, the worse symptoms I got to experience ( and still do ) are : a feeling of loss of normality, being detached from reality, night terrors, feeling faint, impending doom. Voila!

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[pips]

Gosh Anxiety is such an evil thing huh!

My worst symtoms are breathlesness and feeling like I'm going to stop breathing.

Feeling like I'm going mad and the men in white coats are coming to take me away! LOL

Dizzy spells, pulpitations, nausea, IBS, insomnia, mild depression irratible Claustrophobia. etc etc etc!

It's such cheery stuff all this hey! NOT!

Take Care,

Love PIP'S X

[bernadette]

hi everyone when i have panic attacks i have every simpton going but my new one is i think my tongue is swelling up well thats when i go in to panic but i do my breathing and it goes with in 10 mins

[jodie]

hi all

i have had some real bad symptoms over the years and have allways found it hard to get it into my head it is just down to anxiety and not something worse i will put below what symptoms i have had.
dizzy spells
feeling of fear all the time
blowing small things into major problems
head pain
allways thinking i have cancer or something
fast heart beat
and the worse ever that i find very hard to cope with is
eptopic heart beats ,flutters,skips ect

it is so hard when you do this writeing it down,it makes you see just how much we all have to go through in our lives and why it is so so hard.
jodie x

[jackie]

that is definitely too much adrenilin and yes i believe claire weekes is spot on about the nerves thing

the chest pain is my most stubborn symptom , although at the moment i have a pain in my jaw which i believe to be angina so that is the symptom of the moment

the joys eh what

jackie

[manmoor]

my symptoms are numerous

chest pains
swallowing problems
muscle strain(big prob at mo)
headaches
dizziness to name but a few oh and ive had cancer in every part of my body eyes included now am I an idiot or what lol

Mandy xx

[chellebelle]

I think like nearly everyone I've had nearly every symptom possible!

The worst for me is feeling unsafe all the time and that death is imminent..thanks to my headaches.

Claire Weeks is a genuis!

Love M.

"This too, shall pass"