JosieLouise
17-10-16, 22:24
Hey there :) This might be long, please bear with.
Despite suffering with anxiety for the best part of 15 years, I've somehow been lucky enough to get away with very few physical symptoms. The worst I remember was nausea/vomiting once or twice in extreme circumstances. But recently I've had a big Health Anxiety relapse and seem to be experiencing what I think (what I hope) is a very physical reaction that I've never had before.
It started with a prolonged tension headache that nothing except sleep could shift - then head pressure which felt like an elastic strap was squeezing my skull. It was awful. After that I began to feel 'spacey' - not dizzy as such - but as if my head were filled with water and I could feel the waves. It was bizarre, especially when I started to feel like my head was lifting away from my body. Now most recently I am experiencing periods of extreme muscle tension - to the point where I can't sit still and get involuntary tiny jerks in my legs and arms if I try. I feel weak, finding it takes more exertion to do everyday things, a bit like you feel when you've just done really hard exercise.
All these symptoms come and go day by day in varying severity, but they're making me feel like I'm going crazy. I convince myself I'm 'too sick' to do anything; I just want to lie down quietly all day because that's the only way I feel relaxed. I feel tired constantly yet also hyper at the same time... I can't explain it. It's like having eaten too much sugar or drunk too much caffeine,
but at the same time feeling weak like I haven't eaten enough. I find myself zoning out and I can't concentrate on much, like reading on the train for example. It's too hard. Sometimes I feel foggy and find it hard to focus my eyes. The health anxiety element makes it worse and I go round and round in circles.
I feel like I'm going insane.
I already take 20mg Citalopram and am in CBT. I feel like my distorted thoughts are much, much better than they were but they seem to have been replaced by all these physical symptoms. I'm considering bringing up beta blockers with my doctor but I don't know if my symptoms are 'bad enough', and I'm asthmatic which I understand could be a problem. I know you're not doctors, but I'm curious about what other options I could have? I'm already doing all I can - yoga, mindfulness, supplements. I'm kind of at the end of my tether.
Despite suffering with anxiety for the best part of 15 years, I've somehow been lucky enough to get away with very few physical symptoms. The worst I remember was nausea/vomiting once or twice in extreme circumstances. But recently I've had a big Health Anxiety relapse and seem to be experiencing what I think (what I hope) is a very physical reaction that I've never had before.
It started with a prolonged tension headache that nothing except sleep could shift - then head pressure which felt like an elastic strap was squeezing my skull. It was awful. After that I began to feel 'spacey' - not dizzy as such - but as if my head were filled with water and I could feel the waves. It was bizarre, especially when I started to feel like my head was lifting away from my body. Now most recently I am experiencing periods of extreme muscle tension - to the point where I can't sit still and get involuntary tiny jerks in my legs and arms if I try. I feel weak, finding it takes more exertion to do everyday things, a bit like you feel when you've just done really hard exercise.
All these symptoms come and go day by day in varying severity, but they're making me feel like I'm going crazy. I convince myself I'm 'too sick' to do anything; I just want to lie down quietly all day because that's the only way I feel relaxed. I feel tired constantly yet also hyper at the same time... I can't explain it. It's like having eaten too much sugar or drunk too much caffeine,
but at the same time feeling weak like I haven't eaten enough. I find myself zoning out and I can't concentrate on much, like reading on the train for example. It's too hard. Sometimes I feel foggy and find it hard to focus my eyes. The health anxiety element makes it worse and I go round and round in circles.
I feel like I'm going insane.
I already take 20mg Citalopram and am in CBT. I feel like my distorted thoughts are much, much better than they were but they seem to have been replaced by all these physical symptoms. I'm considering bringing up beta blockers with my doctor but I don't know if my symptoms are 'bad enough', and I'm asthmatic which I understand could be a problem. I know you're not doctors, but I'm curious about what other options I could have? I'm already doing all I can - yoga, mindfulness, supplements. I'm kind of at the end of my tether.