Anxiety symptoms with no other problems

[damianjmcgrath]

I wanted to write this post to try and reach out to people suffering similar things to me. I have read countless posts on here, and other websites, and the vast majority of them have something in common - the people posting have legitimate problems on top of their anxiety.

For example, they have confirmed PVCs, ectopics, sinus tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, thyroid problems, fainting spells, inner ear problems such as tinnitus, depression, etc, or are on medication with known side effects.

When they get their anxious spells, they can see evidence of this, for example, their blood pressure rises dramatically, or their pulse goes up to 150, or they get IBS/stomach complaints as well.

Other people have very obvious triggers to their anxiety, such as social situations, work presentations, dentists, doctors (white coat syndrome), even going outside.


My own personal situation doesn't get explained or described that often, and I'd classify it as a much lower level than the majority of other people, but nonetheless, it's still a life impacting condition. I wanted to make this post so other people similar to me had something to identify with.

I have:
- no confirmed underlying medical problems whatsoever
- am not taking any medication
- had no obvious life events preceding the start of my symptoms
- no have obvious daily triggers for my symptoms
- I don't even feel anxious or nervous at all
- I don't have anxiety or panic attacks
- I don't hyperventilate
- My blood pressure never changes, it's always between 110-130 over 70-90.
- My pulse changes, but never goes above 110. It's always between 65-110, and it's only 110 at the very worse times or after exercise. It's normally between 65-90.
- My blood sugar levels are always stable.
- My blood test results have been remarkably stable for the past 3-4 years, hardly any change at all.
- CBT made a little impact but not a substantial one.
- I've kept a thought record and health diary, where I logged food, drink, and how I was feeling and what I was doing, every day, for months. I couldn't spot a trend or triggers.
- I'm in perfect health generally. I go to work, do social situations, and no-one would ever tell I'm fighting things under the surface.


Yet, despite all that, I get daily symptoms, seemingly out of nowhere, and some of them can be quite disabling. The chest pains/pressure/heavy sensations, the light headedness/dizziness, the left shoulder and upper arm pinching pains or a feeling like someone is pushing into my left shoulder. I get a feeling that my heart is beating quickly or out of rhythm, and when I check it, it never is. It's always fine, but that feeling makes me feel uncomfortable. I sometimes get feelings of "rushes" or "surges" which make me feel a bit sick, and a bit shaky, like I've got the flu, or shaky/jittery like I assume people with low blood sugar feel.

As you can tell, and as I've been told from the previous posts on here, all of those are typical anxiety symptoms, and that's what I believe I am suffering from. The doctors certainly can't find any other reason. It's sometimes difficult to believe them because I don't feel anxious or nervous.

I'm sure other people suffer from the same thing, but every time I read a post on here, people say "I'm taking x medication" or "I have a confirmed heart issue but I'm getting x symptoms as well" and I stop reading because it's a different situation to me and I can't relate it back to me (selfish I know!).

Unfortunately, this post doesn't have a happy ending (have to pay extra for that!) because I haven't overcome my issues yet, and the dreaded "what if this is a real issue" thoughts do come up daily, which I struggle to deal with. It's been 2 years now so logic dictates I'm reasonably healthy!

I've read books and guides, but it's tough translating them back to my situation. Guidance like "exposure therapy" which would be like spending 1 minute in a scary place, then 2 then 5, then 10, etc, doesn't work if I'm not scared of any place.

Deep breathing and Mindfulness will hopefully help get me into a more relaxed state generally, so that's my next plan of attack, but if anyone wants to share their experiences, that would be great.

Thanks.

[Lune]

I am in a very similar situation, I'm young and apparently healthy, yet I have had symptoms of panic attacks which doctors cannot diagnose, from palpitations and numbness to derealisation!
Through googling and sites such as this I've come to the conclusion myself that anxiety is the cause, however its stressful not to even have the reassure of a doctor confirming that. They seem reluctant to label my symptoms. I too struggle with fears that my symptoms are due to something more.
Before experiencing all of this I never even had a clue people could suffer from such sensations. Like you, I also don't feel any feelings of anxiety apart from the physical.
I've gone to various types of therapy which seems to have helped relieve many of my symptoms and provoked a change in them.
It's a scary place to be but I hope you figure it out, the best of luck!

[damianjmcgrath]

What therapies have you tried? I've tried CBT, hypnotherapy and acupuncture to try and relax but it hasn't made much difference.

It is hard to accept its anxiety sometimes as there's no anxious feelings. The thoughts it may be a slow build heart problem, or something like GERD or acid reflux etc are hard to shift and that's probably hampering my recovery.

[Lune]

I've tried both CBT and EFT with some level of success, however I imagine the likes of CBT wouldn't be the most effective treatment for people with purely physical anxiety seeing as we don't harbour many negative thought processes, apart from fear of our symptoms!
Yes I agree that the health anxiety stemming from our symptoms is probably the very thing that causes them to continue! Anxiety is the obvious cause for our symptoms but I think the hardest thing is to fully accept that.

[white1989]

Damian,

I know we've spoken briefly before, but I can't tell you how relatable that post was to me. I could have written it myself. I've never been 100% able to relate to a lot of posts as I'm not really anxious about anything either, just randomly started having 'heart problems' one day, and from there on I've been led to believe it is a cause of anxiety! (my health is perfect as well).

I never know what a new day is going to bring. I break my life down into three categories - heart beat abnormalities, chest pains, and breathing problems - and I just sit and await which one, two or three will hit me today. similarly to what you touched on, on the surface I'm a fun loving, bubbly socialite who enjoys fashion and going out with my friends, but people don't see the frantic fear going on underneath and the fact that any sort of social event or plan that means I've got to leave my partner or my home town actually makes me want to cry like a 3 year old (I think we are a little like ducks...smooth on the surface but paddling like mad underneath!!!)

Best of luck, I hope things start to improve for you soon, and feel free to chat for support anytime.

[damianjmcgrath]

Thank you.

I get disheartened because a lot of books or posts on here that explain anxiety never describe me. I don't have feelings of anxiety or nervousness. I don't get butterflies in the stomach. I don't feel on edge or worried, I don't dread things or get scared by large crowds. I don't get tension headaches, or feelings of derealisation or depersonalisation.

I don't get panic attacks or freak out, and actually my breathing is relatively ok. I don't notice it getting faster or slower. I definitely don't hyperventilate.

I can be quite happily sitting at my desk at work or at home and suddenly get chest pains, a wave of pressure, a wave of dizziness, left arm and shoulder pain. It can be pretty bad, make me lose focus completely, and at that point, I do worry about the cause. It feels like a heart problem. These randomly occurring symptoms might last a few minutes, then disappear, then come back in ten minutes or so. They might disappear for hours then come back. Nothing seems to affect it. If I relax and watch TV to distract myself, the symptoms still appear. There's been times when I haven't been thinking about anything, especially not getting the pains, and then I've got symptoms. I don't believe I'm inviting them onto myself.

Obviously, it's either a real medical problem which has evaded tests (or it's a non heart problem such as acid reflux, food intolerance, GERD/GORD etc that the heart tests wouldn't pick up) or it's subconscious anxiety over an unknown trigger.

Either way, I'm struggling to get on top of it. CBT teaches me to think more rationally but I am. I'm not worried about things when I'm not symptomatic. When I am symptomatic, I have reasonable worries and my worries are like "I'm really dizzy, how do I stop this because in a minute I'll faint or be sick" which I think is an appropriate response.

The anxiety, if it is that, feels more physically triggered rather than cognitively triggered so the cognitive behaviour therapy has little impact.

I'm debating about medication because if I can stop the symptoms, then I'll normally feel fine. I've been prescribed propanonol but at the moment, the dizziness and chest pains are my biggest problems and as I understand it, propanonol lowers heart rate. At the moment, my heart rate isn't fast so I'm reluctant to take it.

If anyone suffers from anything similar, I'd love to hear any tips.

Thanks

[white1989]

We are absolutely identical in our line of suffering! It's actually strange!

I am normally just sat relaxing, reading, working, talking or doing something fun when suddenly my symptoms will hit. This like you said leads me to think I have a medical problem.

I had CBT last year but I felt I was almost forcing myself to believe that I was having panic attacks, that my symptoms were all panic-attack related, and that I was suffering with a mental health disorder which in fact I don't think or know if I actually am. As you say, I don't think or know if I've ever actually suffered a real 'panic attack', I don't think I've ever suffering depersonalisation or a few other things that typical are symptoms of panic attacks. This is why I think CBT didn't help for me as my therapist was trying to make me believe this is what I suffered from but I'm now not sure that I do.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your line of work? I used to work in retail where I was usually very busy and I got on really well with my colleagues so was always talking/enjoying myself, so I found my symptoms easy to forget about. Now im in an office job which I really don't enjoy, and I have little in common with colleagues so majority of the time sit in silence staring at my screen. I find it incredibly difficult to distract myself in this job as I have so much free mind time, which I think makes things worse.

I've been prescribed medication in the past but was too scared to take it. I'm scared that i'll become addicted or that it will make my heart feel even stranger and that scares me (affecting blood pressure, heart rate etc).

It helps to express feelings on this site as this is the first time I've ever really spoken about my symptoms in such detail, and I'm glad to hear that we're not alone!

[Beckybecks]

I'm no expert although having anxiety for over 20 years does mean I've learnt a thing or two. Not all anxiety is due to circumstances. It can be genetic. Does anyone in your family suffer similar symptoms or any anxiety related condition?

I ask because that is what I have. Having been happy, carefree and confident for 30 years I suddenly developed this anxiety problem with a lot of the same symptoms as you. Of course I followed the obvious route of doctors, tests, therapy, meds, acupuncture, hypnotherapy. Turns out there are several people iin my family who suffer from anxiety related issues.

20 years later I can at least feel confident that Im healthy and not going mad. I've done a lot of research so that I can have a better understanding of where these symptoms come from. That does help inasmuch I don't fear them anymore. However, they still appear, out of the blue and without warning or reason.

The very fact that you are troubled by these symptoms and are so aware of your BP, Pulse, sugar levels etc. shouts out that you do have some anxiety, however hidden it may be. The only people I know that can list all these statistics are those that have either been physically ill and have a need to keep an eye on them or those that are anxious about their health, which is most of us on this forum.

My easy going relaxed and healthy friends who don't have a clue about anxiety never check their BP or sugar levels and aren't even aware of them. Whereas I have to keep a daily record just to reassure myself. Because I have anxiety.

[damianjmcgrath]

I absolutely agree with you. I know my numbers because I'm anxious about my symptoms and I think if I have pain plus blood pressure numbers through the roof, then that's evidence to take to a doctor. I want to catch it early.

Obviously, my experience is the same statement that everyone has - I feel like my symptoms cause anxiety rather than the other way around. It's probably not true.

I'm not aware of any genetic anxiety although I only know my mother's side. My auntie has depression and I think my fathers mum had anxieties but I don't know for sure or any details. Just comments in passing from my mother when I was discussing my condition with her.

I work in an office job, doing IT. I'm not flat out writing all the time, so the quieter moments tend to invite symptoms, maybe I body scan subconsciously.

I developed these symptoms around the age of 28/29 so roughly similar to you.

I also found CBT limited use.

My main problem right now is new symptoms or old symptoms getting worse. I can categorise my normal feelings as anxiety and relatively happily ignore them or live alongside them. If a symptom suddenly gets worse or I get something brand new like dizziness, I can't immediately categorise it as anxiety so I worry about a medical problem.

I think perhaps it's not safe to blindly categorise everything as anxiety as I might ignore a potentially serious condition.

How do people cope with those thoughts?

[Fishmanpa]

Perhaps seeking one on one therapy would help to open some doors.

Something is triggering those reactions and when no medical reason can be attributed, it really only leaves the mental aspect. The fact that you're posting on this forum shows that somewhere deep down you know this to be the case. It's finding out what the triggers are, where or when they originated and why they manifest themselves as they do. Based on what you're saying, it appears that they're coming from your subconscious. Somewhere in your mind, your brain perceives a threat or catalyst thus causing the reaction. Or, as has been said, it's a chemical imbalance that flares up at inopportune times. That can be genetic or a learned behavior. My ex wife has depression and anxiety and my daughter suffers the same. I've had some depression and anxiety but they were due to having dealt with serious medical issues. My son is as carefree as they come... go figure.
Prior to the health issues and now that I've gotten help, I don't struggle with it.

Hope you find some answers.

Positive thoughts

[Beckybecks]

I agree with what you say about not blindly categorizing everything as anxiety but if you have a look at how "normal" people deal with symptoms (those without anxiety) they don't react the way we do. They don't immediately reach for Google or run to the Doctor at the first little twinge.
I make an effort to be like these people now. (Even if I am worrying on the inside). I wait for at least a week. I test myself. I measure how the symptom is actually affecting me. Can I still work? Is the symptom worse when I'm alone? Disappears when I'm occupied or chatting with friends.?
Try it. You'd be amazed at how that excruciating pain in your chest can actually become a teeny weeny twinge when you're not paying it too much attention.


And yes, I do catch myself thinking "what if it gets worse" or if it's something new, "will I be able to cope this time". But I make it a challenge. I need to be able to reasonably ascertain whether this time it needs a doctor, whether this time it's serious.

When I give it time, almost 9 times out of 10 it turns out to be nothing serious and I'm relieved I didn't say anything to my family or bother the Doctor.

I know I'm not like my friends and I'm just pretending to be "normal" but I'm hoping that I'm teaching my mind some new habits.