Head Pressure :(

[loverblesarah]

Hi, i'm Sarah I've just turned 21 and got a little boy who's 4 in 15 days.

Since a young age I've always been a worrier, i used to look at my mum and dad and think i don't want them to die.

Since about 2008 after having my son I've started worrying a lot thinking if i die hes not going to have a mum.

Since last year its got worse, i stopped at my mums house for a week and would ring for a taxi at 3am in morning to A&E cause id be up worrying, sweating, having panic attacks and thinking i'm going to die in my sleep cause i couldn't breath properly... had chest x rays, ecg, bloods, sugar levels e.t.c done all fine.

Went my dads house and started worrying, felt short of breath, hot, dizzy, felt like i'm going to die, my legs felt weird basically had to drag my legs.

It got that bad when i rang doctors they would know my name and where i live e.t.c cause i kept going in.

Over the past year ive been on, citalapram, proponolol, diazepam, e.t.c

And im now on 30mg mirtazapine and 10mg amitriptyline.

Its got a lot better since but I've started going doctors a bit more again...
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Through the day or when i'm active i'm OK but when it comes to night and i'm alone i get some sort of head pressure its so hard to explain.

it feels like i can feel only a little part of my head (normally the back in the middle or left or right) and not the rest.

I've been doctors he said its anxiety but i'm not convinced hes looked in my eyes with torch, hes told me to grab his wrists and pull him away/towards me, told me to stand on tip toes.

He said hes not sending me for a scan there's no point he knows it'll come back fine.
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I cant watch sad films
Cant watch news
Scared to talk to some people in case they make me more worried.

[squeak]

The fact that you only notice this sympton when quiet and alone is a huge pointer of it being totally anxiety related. No doubt you feel the weird sensation, and you jump to the worst possible conclusion, probably brain tumour. Your doctor was not concerned, so you shouldn't be either. It is a very common anxiety symptom, not indicative of anything serious.

Having young children definitely heightens health anxiety for many. Have you asked for CBT? Or you could try some of the self help books out there. Keeping busy and distracting yourself is helpful. Enjoy your little boy, they grow so fast! Don't look back in years to come and feel you've wasted these times worrying about your health because anxiety took over

[Jules147]

CBT would likely be extremely beneficial in your case. Ask the doctor for a referral. I mention 7/11 breathing a lot in my other posts. It certainly helps with practice.

All of the symptoms described are normal, natural fight/flight responses. The only thing that isn't quite so normal is the fact that you are so frequently perceiving a threat triggering these responses.

The pressure is caused by the muscles in your neck tightening up to protect your spine at its most vulnerable point when faced with attack from a predator (think sabre-toothed tiger.)

Now you know that these physical responses are normal and are not harbingers of danger in themselves you have no reason to fear them. If you don't fear them they will go away.

You are a young and healthy mother who is spending too much time during quiet moments asking questions beginning with "what if...?" You are then imagining the worst case scenario and this is setting off your fight/flight responses and this has the effect of pouring petrol on the fire. The match lighting the fire is your thoughts and nothing else.

You can't stop having dark thoughts as they always sneak under the radar of our consciousness and the alarm bells that trigger the fight/flight response are very fast-acting, just like the trip switches on your consumer unit just after your electricity meter in your house. What you can do is introduce other thoughts to challenge them:

"What if....[worst case scenario]?"

"How likely is that?" Not very, certainly not likely enough to worry about.

"What is more likely?" Regarding your physical symptoms, fight/flight response and neck stiffening is a million times more likely than a brain tumour, especially when you notice the pattern and the trigger.

"Am I really a fortune teller?" I think you know the answer to that.

---------- Post added at 12:34 ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 ----------

Books: Self Help for your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes. Available on this site.