hyper awareness of bodily processes and sensations [Archive]

Butterfly22

14-11-11, 10:13

I was just wondering if anyone out there with anxiety suffers with being hyper aware of bodily processes and sensations... to the point where you can become fixated on particular parts of the body?

rocklover

14-11-11, 15:51

Butterfly22

14-11-11, 16:07

Thanks for sharing your experience.... it really is unpleasant isnt it? :hugs:

no-moving-lines

14-11-11, 18:53

I used to when I had panic attacks. My main symptom would be dizziness, so I'd be hyper vigilant about sensations of moving and spinning. It meant I was very uneasy and bordering on feelings of terror a lot of the time. so yeah Butterfly it really sucks, I feel for you.

Stephen_Joseph

14-11-11, 18:58

Butterfly22 - Hyper awareness of bodily functions is a frequent symptom of anxiety. It's difficult because then it fuels further tensions and worries, which all turns into a vicious cycle of anxiety.

rocklover - A loved one of mine also focuses a lot on her tummy which seems to be a common area of the body to have concerns over. Your phobia of being sick is certainly going to keep your thoughts fixated on this region.

I found that I often held my breath as well, when focusing on sensations in my body, which of course then contributed to a panic attack or general unease.

rb1978

14-11-11, 19:30

I am like this too. Subconsciously your mind focusses on what it is worried about so a bodily sensation that a non-anxiety sufferer might dismiss or barely notice can become all-consuming to an anxious person.

Like no-moving-lines my problem is dizziness. I do genuinely suffer with vertigo and the attacks of that are unmistakeable, everything swimming and spinning when I move. But, outside of that, I'm really really hyper-vigilent about dizziness and motion and then end up feeling woozy and light-headed all the time and especially at times of panic. Like today at work, I felt awful when I was going there, once I'd 'settled' in a bit my lightheadedness passed. During the afternoon I had to go to a meeting and leading up to it I felt dreadful- really lightheaded and unwell - I knew I was panicked about not being able to leave if I felt unwell. Once I was in it it was actually a relaxed meeting with people coming and going so I felt ok. After the meeting, guess what...I felt fine. Now I'm safe at home I feel better than I have all day.

Butterfly22

15-11-11, 07:50

Thank you for your great replies.... they are very helpful

blueangel

15-11-11, 12:29

Hi, I don't come on here much these days, but I just noticed your message. I dealt with this problem of hyperawareness with I had CBT at the end of last year.

I'd always tried to deal with things like this by distracting myself, but it doesn't necessarily work all the time. He said that a good way to deal with it was by acknowledging the feelings, by saying to yourself, "Yes, I notice this, but it's my body functioning because I'm alive." Then carry on doing what you're doing. It's a learned process, so it takes a while, but it does work.

Hope this helps!

Butterfly22

15-11-11, 17:09

Thank you for that blueangel, really helpful xx

Zee

15-11-11, 21:07

Yes.. I used to focus a lot on lightheadedness and then when another symptom bothered me the diziness went away.. recently I had a taste bud slightly raised which im told is common..my focus went there and then I started to get a sensation as if a tiny crumb was stuck at back of throat. I rinsed , brushed and so on..the feeling lasted couple hours, went away and then I suddenly thought today oh that things disappeared...minutes later it was back !!

MrJ

16-11-11, 00:07

Sure do know those feelings, the most weird feeling I had and started to panic was when I was in the car at traffic lights and had the most horrible (so I thought) sensations, after saying to myself don't be stupid it's just a panic attack, I calmed down a bit and realised it was just the vibrations from the engine running. The brain is a complicated item.

hot_chocolate

22-08-13, 07:19

chasingdogma

22-08-13, 15:19

I was just wondering if anyone out there with anxiety suffers with being hyper aware of bodily processes and sensations... to the point where you can become fixated on particular parts of the body?
Yes!

Especially when I am highly anxious. My hearing becomes super sensitive and I get tingles all over my head!

Leem

22-08-13, 22:07

I have this to, quite a bit. I do it to look for anything that may be threatening eg. apparent heart ache = heart attack (really it is my muscles in my rib cage aching from exercise!) etc... The problem is the more we focus on it, the more it bothers us, then we worry and the feeling become more intense. The key is to nip this in the bud early on in the 'oh my god what is that feeling' thought process. I have managed to do this sometimes, meditation which includes thought/emotion awareness has helped me a lot. I dont fight it or engage with it, just let it lose power and it goes. Its also true I have found that when we are engaged in an activity in the present moment, we forget these sensations.

Eyji1

24-08-13, 14:02

I do that with my heart and lungs. I've found it best to keep busy. Playing the drums is what I do to keep my mind occupied. I feel so refreshed afterwards.

jayjoe18

24-08-13, 14:16

I do this too, for me it's my bowels, I'm always monitoring as I panic about needing the loo when out or having a bad stomach etc. Which of course intensifies the feelings and makes me feel 10x worse! This then leads to extreme anxiety to the point where I have to escape. It's awful :(

ddonaghey1989

24-08-13, 22:29

Sparkle1984

24-08-13, 23:00

these replies are all really interesting and makes me understand a little bit more. my main thing is dizziness i have it nearly every minute of the day and the more i focus or panic on it its worse. it was bad at a stage where i woke in a panic feeling like i couldnt feel my legs. horrible thing anxiety is. how can i make this all go away? ive been prescribed prozac but im to afraid to take them x

If you asked your doctor for the Prozac in liquid form, would that make it easier for you to take it? You would be able to start at a lower dose. I believe they make it in several different forms.

Dutchbaker420

11-09-13, 02:37

I get hyper awareness in my mouth. it is very disconcerting. i will feel either my whole mouth or just bits of it where skin is touching skin, or hyper awareness of my tongue. i know its because of panic. is there any treatment for this?

Emma

Omg I get this exact thing! I also get it with my nose, I just become aware of the fact that it's there and freak myself out to the point where I want to rip it off. I know rationally that it's suppose to be there but it drives me crazy. It's much worse the week before my period. I've been doing CBT so hopefully that'll help. For now I just try to breath and distract myself

BessieMae*candothis!

11-09-13, 05:05

I am the same way!!! I get hyper aware about my head and my heart. Anything that goes on that I am like "WHAT IS THAT FEELING?" and lately its been running away with my thoughts and making me feel scared like "there is something WRONG HERE" when there isn't. The thing about it is that the more you resist, the more it persists. So I'm really trying to relearn how to cope, feel like I have lost the ability since I wasn't feeling any anxiety until just recently.

Rach7339

11-09-13, 09:39

Yes, especially as I get frequent panic attacks and so I self scan all the time. My worst area is my tummy as I can feel EVERYTHING that happens in there. I am obsessed with it as I have a phobia of being sick and I have constant nausea.

This is exactly what I do! Wow it's nice to know I'm not the only one! Once I feel anxious I always fixate on my tummy and feel sickly and get a upset tummy, this then make me feel more anxious especially when travelling anywhere as I then get anxious that I'm going to be sick or need the toilet! It's a a vicious circle. I almost think I can cope with the other symptoms that come with anxiety but this ruins my life! I'm constantly convincing myself I'm actually ill but as soon as I'm out of the situation and the anxiety as passed I start to feel better!!

Liviguy

17-09-13, 10:54

I can relate to this. I often feel every little twitch and twinge in my body which sends my mind into overdrive. Before I started taking Citalopram I would obsess and worry about everything, now I tend to try to ignore it and focus on something else (I know it's easier said than done)

jillyb

17-09-13, 12:12

Yes, and its driving me mad! There's a useful chapter in The Worry Cure that talks about this. Everyone has aches and pains etc every day, it's just that folks like us focus on them. Somehow we have to stop it ..any ideas anyone? X

Liviguy

17-09-13, 12:20

When I find out myself I'll let you know lol

Stu82

17-09-13, 19:45

I have the same, I get focused on my breathing where i think I'll stop if i don't! Daft! Have done on and off for last 7yrs since starting with anxiety. I know it's all down to my mood and anxiety because at one point I didn't worry about it for about 18mths but also my anxiety wasn't bad.

I've also found that it is common for us to focus and worry about natural bodily functions just a symptom of anxiety.

xvolatileheart

17-09-13, 23:05

This is absolutely my problem. I never was worried about my health or anything in my body until I had a panic attack. From that moment on, I was convinced I was dying and I've devoted every second of every day to monitoring my body constantly since then. I truly don't know how to break it... I wish my mind could just relax but you can't force your brain to take a break!