Physical versus mental? New and confused

[Michael1836]

Hello...I am currently suffering some minor symptoms of what I believe to be anxiety related as i have had 3 blood tests a urine test a d a ct scan and all came back okay. However I am going to see a neurologist just to be sure soon which is making my anxiety slightly worse in the meantime until then.

My question is, how do I know if my very real physical symptoms are caused by my anxiety are not? My symptoms are

daily reaccuring headaches of various intensity especially around the eyes (I've always had a history of headaches but I think my anxiety is making it worse)

A very noticeable lack of energy and fatigue

And reaccuring shaky hands that are worse at different times of the day.

I ask because yesterday I spoke to my doctor who assured me it was all okay and that the only reason he is referring me to the neurologist is for m own peace of mind. While at a pub with my friends I felt absolutely fine. I had a headache but was ignoring it. I was laughing and having a nice meal and felt optimistic about the future.

And then the shakiness in my hands came back. It stuck with me all night and is still here in the AM along with some mild pains in my head.

It's a vicious cycle, I'm fine, but then I notice a symptom is STILL there and then the worry starts all over again. I woke up thinking "surely my doc missed something" which I know to be classic HA thinking but I can't help it that the symptoms won't go away even when I feel fine and am not worrying.

Can the Physical symptoms last even after I've calmed my mental side down? It doesn't make sense to me and worrys me a bit. Advice?

[panic12]

Ive had all the thoose symptoms, eye pain is pressure in the head caused by anxiety

[Elle-Kay]

Hi Michael, and welcome to No More Panic. You might find this symptom list useful in identifying what you're feeling as being related to your anxiety: http://cognitivetherapyonline.com/cbt4panic/anxiety-symptoms-list :)

[Michael1836]

Boy that list is helpful. Thanks! I meet tons of things on the list. Normally I'd think yeah but those could be symptoms of a real illness too but that list coupled with my doc telling me it's all okay makes more sense.

Still my question remains. Can these physical symptoms last even when the mind is calm? I could be sitting at a cafe feeling pretty good and then the shakiness or head pain comes back then the worry starts all over again...

[Elle-Kay]

Yes, absolutely. Your subconscious mind (where anxiety seems to live in my experience) works without you being consciously aware of it, so it's quite plausible (and I've had it happen to me) that you can be sat minding your own business, not feeling anxious, and then you'll get some kind of anxiety symptom. It's likely that something triggers it, but it's equally likely that it happens too fast to notice. For me, for example, I know that I "scan" myself for symptoms practically all of the time even though I'm not always consciously aware that I'm doing it. When I do a "scan" during a time when I'm not feeling anxious, this will often trigger the anxiety because something in me goes "Hey, shouldn't I be feeling anxious in this situation?", so I get a jolt of physical symptoms. Sorry if that doesn't make much sense - it's kind of hard to explain!