Symptoms changing?

[Pepperpot]

I read this is a good thing. I read that it means you're on the road to recovery. My symptoms change; last week it was a numb arm that felt like I had a trapped nerve, this week the muscles in my neck are really sore and I have horrific heartburn (which I won't take anything for as I'm scared).

Has anyone had experience of changing symptoms and being on the road to recovery?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Pepperpot,

Have you thought of something perhaps natural the heartburn? Some of the natural products can be taken in food like I think Turmeric (I think thats for that) or ginger? Just thinking you could suck on something ginger or drink it to see if it helps. Turmeric is just a spice so can be cooked in.

Yeah, I've had loads of changes. I will say that some of my symptoms are from the very beginning and some have gone. But I did notice changes in things when I was moving between what I consider to be my stages.

Something I have managed to track with my anxiety in recent years is that old adage, "one pain lessens another". So, an underlying nagging issue seems to come to the surface but it was really there before but masked by a bigger symptom that has passed.

So, it's possible. It's also possible that for some the symptoms can change a bit, like the HA people.

[Ditapage]

I believe the symptom changing is the best evidence we have for anxiety being behind our symptoms because the more unrelated symptoms we feel, the more likely it's psychosomatic as illness does not present this way with ever changing symptoms. People think psychosomatic is imagined pain, but it's not- it's real but its origin is anxiety. We are so sensitive to every pain and sensation in our body no matter how mild. It's because our nervous system is fired up to perceive everything as a threat and responds with panic and heightens our awareness of the feeling to the point we can't think of anything else- until the next sensation. The solution is to ignore it because we are continuously telling our mind "danger danger" and the mind has no choice but to remember to react that way next time we feel this benign symptom.

It helps to see it as anxiety just throwing everything it has at you to stay alive. A new symptom seems to come whenever you stop reacting with fear to the previous one. When you recognise this cycle it goes a long way towards calming down the nervous system. I am trying the "so what?" approach. Or calling out the anxiety, like "oh so today's a numb arm? Fine I can live with that." You'll be surprised how much it helps.

[Carnation]

I totally agree with you Ditapage. :)

[arislie]

Thank you for the information friends
I was greatly helped by his writings there is

---------- Post added at 03:46 ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 ----------

thank for your attention

[Pepperpot]

Yeah terry I thought of baking soda (not exactly natural I know lol) but I'm still scared of that lol. I will try ginger tho. At the min, I've found chewing gum is helping, but I've got a bloody sore jaw with it haha.
Today I've been super-duper busy & haven't had much time for anxiety and allowing myself to feel any symptoms. They've suddenly come on once I've wound down but I'm unsure if it's cos I'm not busy now, or cos I'm tired. Today has been the best I've felt in the past 6wks.

[arislie]

Thank you friends for information
This really helped me

[MyNameIsTerry]

If you are worried about baking soda, how about using it to brush your teeth first?

Sometimes people find sucking on a sweet helps with their anxiety. I wonder how much ginger is in thos eginger lozenge things we used to buy as kids? You can still get them.

My GF drinks Canada Dry when she has stomach problems. I'm not sold on it as it just made me gassy & I feel a bit bloated from it but she said it helped her.

Your thread asks whether seeing a symptom change means progress. Well, I know for a fact that being able to distract yourself for any length of time, let alone a long period through a day is progress because at the worst it can dominate your days 24/7 with no reprieve no matter what you do. Thats what my GAD has always been like anyway.

If it is because you are tired, is it because fatigue worries you? If so, it's possible. If not, then it's more likely just because you are no longer distracted.

This is the start of the recovery journey. 1 good day is the start. That means you WILL have more good days. They may feel a bit alien at first too, but don't question them as it brings the anxiety back again. The alien feeling goes away the more of them you have.

If tomorrow is a bad day, accept it and challenge it with "I had the best day in 6 weeks yesterday so I can again" and just see where things take you. It's a journey or ups & downs and it wouldn't be an anxiety/panic disorder if you just had one good day and it all went away. Have realistic expectations and it helps a bit, although it is still hard and frustrating when you get up and feel crap. It gets easier though.

[Pepperpot]

I may try the teeth brush thing. That would prob help. After posting earlier I've been awake all night. Pains in chest and whathaveyou. I hope I am in the start of the road to recovery. I must admit my appetite is returning and I had a couple of glasses of wine last night (been terrified to drink)

[MyNameIsTerry]

There you go then, another sign of things getting better. The very start is accepting you have a disorder. Then working on it and seeing things change like this shows you that you have movement on the journey. Things get stuck in ruts, seem to go backwards at times or worse but these can be transient so not as long lasting as they were before and you pull yourself out of them quicker. Be patient about this, it can be rocky earlier on.

I found it seemed to go through stages. With each new stage I may have a different symptom focus or new symptoms or a pattern would change. There were hard stages too and what you have to do is look at your rock bottom and tell yourself that you are far better than that despite feeling in a lot of pain at the moment. Thats the truth of it. I know this because I would have bad blip and think I was sinking but if I looked at what my day looked like i.e. shopping, walking, eating properly, watching TV, reading, seeing family, etc and compared that to my rock bottom where I couldn't even do any of that, I knew that whilst I was in a load of pain and in tears whilst walking - I was still not shaking all day on the settee terrified of the world and wishing the day away.

Does that make sense?

Brushing your teeth with baking soda might be a good "stepping stone" in terms of exposure because you can taste it, keep it in your mouth but have the safety of knowing you can spit it out. If you get past that, maybe you can use it further? I was thinking of such as, is it Arm & Hammer? It's like if you are afraid of taking a pill, part of the exposure hierarchy at some point is bound to be getting it closer to your mouth and eventually holding it in your mouth.

If the wine causes anxiety, it might be too early for you. I found I couldn't tolerate lots of things when I was really bad but I could later on. Some people still can;t take alcohol later but there are so many factors with alcohol and the person themselves that there is no easy answer and it's individual. Just be sensible with it and gradual. Don't get hammered, it will likely spike the anxiety or make you depressed. Once your mind is more settled and your neurotransmitters are more stable, these things can be more tolerated. So, again go for small steps, just a few sips, maybe a glass and judge it from there. Be careful if you are on meds too, some are ok (with a GP's approval, of course) but some have stronger interactions that can make them less safe.