clothing anxiety

[josephine]

hi everyone ,

I havent been on this forum for a year and a half but i have not been good these last few months. Well really it is years , about 10, but i have this new problem which turned up about 5 years ago and has progressively gotten worse. I feel embarresed to even talk about it but cant go on like this any more.

I feel really unwell when i put certain, most, clothes on. I get dizzy, ringing ears , visual problems, palpatations, confusion, balance problems etc. The problem usually goes away when i take the clothes off and i usually end up wearing the same clothes for days and days. They feel safe to me. I am not sure if this is a real physical problem like chemical sensitivity or it is anxiety and im causing it myself. This has ruined my life and i am hell to live with. I continually feel ill and like i am in a dream, i feel detached from myself most of the time.

DOes anyone feel like this? is it a phobia or anxiety attack? I do not know who to ask for help. My gp cant help me, im sure. Has anyone got any advice? Sometimes ifeel life is just too much sometimes. My husband thinks it is psychological. But i cant make it go away as hard as i try.

I feel so alone and hopeless.

I take propranolol sometimes, but not much . I worry that it may be causing it. A side effect?

Thankyou for listening. I hope ive posted in the right place. IM not sure which category my problem falls under.

Thanks again

Love Josephine.x

[crystal17]

That sounds really hard to deal with and confusing. You know, the human psyche is very sensitive and mysterious and it could be that certain clothes are reminding you about a time in your life that was difficult or painful in the past.

It would most likely be subconscious and therefore you would experience this as having symptoms like the ones you are having.

Or it might be that the clothes are a safe way of channeling your anxiety so that your unconscious mind doesnt have to deal with the underlying issues.

I think you could maybe speak to your gp, IF you feel you can trust them to really listen to you and not brush you off or dismiss you. I say this because although most doctors are great, I have actually had bad experiences with doctors and had one laugh in my face when I suggested I suffered from something. (I actually did have what I suspected as it turns out).

If you dont feel ok with talking to your doctor about this specific thing then tell them you are struggling with anxiety and need to speak to a counsellor or CBT practitioner.
If there is a long waiting list, then look for a free counselling service in the meantime who you can talk to and if it feels right, tell them about your difficulties with clothes - it may be that you just need to get some thoughts out in the open and something will click and make sense about why you are suffering like this.

Confide in your husband if you can as this will help you to feel supported x

[Moggo]

I have this to a degree Josephine.

I feel really uncomfortable in certain clothes and I have safe clothes. Mine is due more to poor self image though, but I do get physical symptoms as a result.

[bluesparkle]

hi
well this site just goes to prove you will never be alone with what ever part of anxiety/panic you are suffering.
i have had this in the past... and used to end up changing my clothes back to the same old items.
i felt real symptoms like stomach cramps and nausea etc but it is all to do with our minds and the anxietys.
as i have got better and am mainly recovered this has gone too...i decided to not give in and keep them on for that bit longer or all day if i could.
it is just something our minds have grasped hold of and like crystal said it may be that your mind is linking certain clothes to a past memory.
but please be reasured you are not alone and it WILL get better.
rach
x

[josephine]

Thankyou for your replies. I cannot believe that other people have or have or have had a similar problem. I thought i was the only one.

I have tried to keep the clothes on that make me ill, sometimes for hours, but i always give uo as i hate how i feel. i put a safe dress on today and felt fine. Just wish it was that easy with all my clothes.

I have a drs appt tomorrow but not sure whether to go. i dont see how he can help me. Maybe i have to do it myself. Even when i put washed safe clothes back on they affect me. I have it in my head that it is the washing powder. I dont know.

so, bluesparkle, you got over this by keeping the clothes on not letting it beat you. I will keep trying. I wish i could be like you. But i take comfort that you overcome it.

I dont feel so alone now. i just thought i was losing my mind. I even feel ill when i buy clothes for my son and have to handle them. Especially dark clothes. I dont even have to wear them sometimes. I live a life of avoidance. Its draining avoiding most clothes. Impossible. So i feel ill most days one way or another.

All the things i loved to use like hair products, make up and now clothes make me ill. Tired of feeling ill .

Thankyou again for your answers. You are all so kind to take the time to answer me.

ps. I constantly have a feeling of unrealness. Like i am in a dream and not in my body. Is this depersonlisation? What do other people feel like with this. I feel like im detached from everything. Nothing is sharp. Lights are bright and my ears hiss. Sometimes when people talk to me i feel like i am in a tunnel and they are at the end. Like when youve had afew drinks. You can hear and see things still, but it feels odd. Horrible.

Love Josephine.xxxx