The persistence of physical symptoms

[Sabre120]

So about 6 weeks ago I had an anxiety spell which led to me experiencing a number of strange neurological sensations almost constantly. At its worst it made me feel like a feeble old man (I'm 22), but now it seems to have decreased in intensity significantly, I guess my question is, to those of you that have suffered from the physical symptoms of anxiety, how long did it take you to overcome them? Was it a slow process in which the symptoms slowly went away, or did they disappear very suddenly?

[penguinbop]

I've had symptoms for the last 6 months, every time they go away they come back, every month. However for me, I think its because my DR has never checked to see if there is a cause other than anxiety. If you have been checked over and have no illness, distraction is the best thing, and they should go away with time when you stop thinking about them. Hang on in there I know how tough it can be.

[lalouba]

Unfortunately for me it's been 5 years and they still haven't gone away! I live with these bizarre physical things pretty much every day and it can get very scary. There are at least periods of time where it isn't as bad.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Unfortunately for me it's been 5 years and they still haven't gone away! I live with these bizarre physical things pretty much every day and it can get very scary. There are at least periods of time where it isn't as bad.

Same with me. I have bad periods where they are very persistent but better periods where it doesn't bother me quite so much.

[Jimmy28]

I used to get horrible headaches for 3 years but now they've stopped. Now my heart is my main problem.

[Sabre120]

Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated, now I'm back at university, I can busy myself with all sorts of things (I've joined the gym and cycling society) and hopefully distract myself to such a degree that this whole thing will go away. It seems to have diminished significantly, although I get the occasional 'flare up' of symptoms every few days.

[Janey86]

Hello,

Yes, I've experienced what you've described above. I'm depressed and have periods of high anxiety, which have been calmed by an anti-depressant in recent weeks. (Prozac, 80mg per day.) Physical symptoms which come with the anxiety include nausea, dry retching, faster heartbeat, loss of appetite, pins and needles, shortness of breath.
I've had far fewer episodes in recent weeks, which I put down to the medication. I still have bad days, but it's getting better. When I feel anxious I try to remind myself that it will pass and I try to remember the time when I last felt calm and relaxed.
Those hobbies sound great. I'm finished university and currently taking time off work (due to my condition) and I try to distract myself with cleaning. Keeping the brain busy really does help. 10 weeks ago I couldn't even get out of bed, but it's worth making the effort and taking the medication.

[Serenity1990]

From what I understand it takes a good while.

This is medically way over-simplified but an ex member on here described it thus. You've basically fried your nervous system by anxiety constantly causing it to be over-alert. The first step is to accept these symptoms for what they are, and deal with the anxiety. Once that's done it'll take months if not years for your nervous system to recover, depending on for what duration the anxiety persisted.