Panic Symptoms Changing?

[catsandnaps]

Does anyone else notice their panic symptoms change? A year ago, my symptoms were all chest and heart rate related. Lately, I've noticed it's more lightheaded-ness and weird disconnect feelings that sparks my panic attacks. Has anyone else experienced a similar shift? Has it made your panic easier to manage or worse? Thanks in advance for any comments!!

[Pepperpot]

I've only had them for 4 weeks and they're all different. They started off with the choking thing and dizziness, and now, lying in bed im riddled with pins n needles on one side & I keep sweating. It's awful. X

[ana]

They keep changing for me too. First it was the rapid heart-beat, then it was the shortness of breath and dizziness. After that, I'd feel pins and needles in my limbs, and now I experience depersonalisation. There's an array of physical sensations one can experience, but the important thing to remember is that it's just a panic attack that it's going to go away. Physical sensations are not going to kill you and you are not going to go insane. :)

Also, sometimes not paying attention to what's happening to your body makes my anxiety subside because I'm not giving it any importance.

[catsandnaps]

Do you ever think symptoms are evolving to just go away altogether? I feel like something is changing in me, so maybe whatever is causing my panic will be just leaving already?

---------- Post added at 21:16 ---------- Previous post was at 21:13 ----------




Also, sometimes not paying attention to what's happening to your body makes my anxiety subside because I'm not giving it any importance.


And then I reread your message, Ana! Agh you are right! :doh: I analyze my symptoms so much that I'm positive I am making them worse. Good advice, thank you for this!!

[Ditapage]

Changing symptoms is a positive sign for an anxiety sufferer, apparently. It's supposed to convince us our anxiety is causing everything not some physical illness. Doesn't work for me. I just hate having any symptom. Mine change DAILY. It's exhausting. One minute it's head, next my chest feels tight, or my eyes feel weird and on it goes... The outcome is the same: high anxiety.

Good advice I read was stop engaging with your mind. I actually managed to stop noticing my feelings by not checking in with them as anxiety sufferers have the tendency to do. Once you acknowledge the problem is in the mind you can simply decide to shut out the thought "what feels weird?" and you won't feel anything. And I was panic free for a day! That's the secret; but it's not that easy.

[ana]

Catsandnaps,

you're very welcome - glad you found my message helpful. :) It's exactly that - you're analysing your physical sensations and then you discover that, say, it's not just your heart that's racing, it's also your breath that's short and shallow, and then, oh, what's happening with my chest, and my stomach feels a bit strange, and what's this other thing that I'm feeling, am I getting dizzy, I'm going crazy?!! lol, you see where I'm going with this. You simply get pulled in into discovering new symptoms. However, if you simply allow yourself to notice the symptom, acknowledge it as a manifestation of anxiety, and then turn your attention to other things, the symptom will give up on trying to get your attention.

Also, what helped me to relax and not be so attuned to my anxiety symptoms was realising that not every symptom is connected to my anxiety, and not every sensation is a sensation of a panic attack. For instance, when walking down a street on a hot day, as I've got low blood pressure, I might start feeling light-headed and weak. Instead of interpreting the feelings as anxiety and going into the 'oh-my-God,I'm having-a-panic-attack' mode, I say to myself 'it's just your blood pressure, you're fine.' Works like a charm!

[GingerFish]

Yes! Up until new years eve last year (when I had my worst ever panic attack), my panic attack symptoms were mainly physical - feeling sick, feeling dizzy, heart pounding etc but on new years eve last year I felt a panic attack that was pretty much all mental feelings - severe feeling of impending doom, felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, DP/DR, fear of dying. I did also have some physical symptoms such as a very hard pounding heart.

Now I have noticed that ever since, its mostly mental symptoms I get now which can range from just not feeling right to full on feel like I am about to die and its utterly terrifying. I still get the physical symptoms but they don't get to me anywhere near as much as the mental ones. The mental feelings always feel so much more insidious than just anxiety and panic if you know what I mean?

[ana]

Ginger,
I know exactly what you mean! I would also rather have the physical than the mental sensations as the latter are more frightening and worrying...

[Bookcrazy]

OMG yes!! Usually I have the shakes, sweating and depersonalization but today I had the chest pains, lump in throat and scary mental thoughts. My symtoms change depending on how severe the attack is. Changing symptons make me worse, as I never know what to expect, and becuase they're all different it makes me convince myself that something terrible must be happening to me with all these different things happening to my body lol!

[HaroldMorse]

In my opinion, if someone is facing a change in anxiety symptoms and it goes to effect badly then, it is better to consult a doctor and take some pills for controlling those symptoms.

[Ditapage]

I'm at the point where it's something different every day. cant even take meds because I panic about side effects though my psychiatrist told me "just tell yourself it's the medication" but it's not that easy. I can't tolerate feeling anything other than normal which is ridiculous expectation as my psychologist told me "nobody feels comfortable all the time and went on to point out she has a sore finger, sore back, congestion, meaning when she stops and thinks she can find these symptoms as well.

I'm constantly in "what's that?" mode.

You could keep a diary of your symptoms. I did that and it got exhausting! Every day there was something and not just one thing, multiple things all day. Once you see it all on paper and read it back to yourself, you can see why you might be considered a hypochondriac.

But it can help because you can always look back and remember you've had a symptom before and you were fine. It's also an unhealthy exercise though because it doesn't help to take your mind off health anxiety. Dr strongly advised not to monitor like that. I see his point. Especially if you are going to pay attention to EVERY sensation.

[dally]

Yip, I agree, I too would rather have the physical symptoms, cos I can take something for the diahorroea, vomiting, and deep breathing etc.
The mental fears of doom, death, dying, and ambarrassing hysteria are the worse!',

[catsandnaps]

You could keep a diary of your symptoms. I did that and it got exhausting! Every day there was something and not just one thing, multiple things all day. Once you see it all on paper and read it back to yourself, you can see why you might be considered a hypochondriac.

But it can help because you can always look back and remember you've had a symptom before and you were fine. It's also an unhealthy exercise though because it doesn't help to take your mind off health anxiety. Dr strongly advised not to monitor like that. I see his point. Especially if you are going to pay attention to EVERY sensation.

This is great advice! I used to keep track on a calendar what my symptoms were until I needed a larger calendar! I stopped keeping track around the time I originally posted this, and I find my day-to-day symptoms have actually decreased. Decreased or I'm just not giving them meaning anymore. Thanks for sharing, Ditapage!!