Really, how unwell can anxiety make you feel?

[cattia]

The longer I go on with this anxiety the more generally unwell I feel. I have to drag myself to do anything. I feel dizzy and spaced out 24/7. If I didn't have to do anything I'd happily sit in bed all day long. I know I have anxiety but I can't shake the feeling that something else must be making me feel so ill. I feel like I have flu but without the fever. Can anxiety really do this? Sometimes I feel like I'm blaming everything on anxiety and missing the real cause, but then I guess we all think like this. At the start of this episode I'd have parts of the day when I could feel normal, especially in the evenings. Now that's gone and I just feel unwell all the time. I am sleeping better which also makes me think it's not just anxiety.

[pulisa]

You are doubting that you really have "just" anxiety so your mind is focussing on all the other "alternatives". I think you said that all your recent blood tests were fine so this rules out obvious causes of tiredness/fatigue etc..You could go down the route of getting yourself tested for every possible disease but I suspect that you would go on feeing like this until you accept that anxiety is capable of causing you these very common symptoms which are debilitating but completely benign.

[Primula]

Hi Cattia. When I had a very prolonged spell of anxiety a few years back, I had constant fluey feelings and all sorts of aches and pains. Yes anxiety can do this to you, it does drain your energy, it's the constant fight or flight. Just remember though you are in no danger it's all brought on by anxiety and when that dies down which it will eventually, you will feel better. Try the CBT for panic website if you haven't already. [emoji3]

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[pulisa]

Cattia, does it give you any reassurance to look around the forum and see just how many other members suffer from these symptoms? Relentless anxiety really does take its toll on the mind and body.

[lofwyr]

Anxiety also allows you to perceive feelings that really are just amplified by anxiety. When I was a nineteen a guy I knew who was my age got a brain tumor. I had heard his symptoms, and this was my introduction to anxiety. I had headaches for weeks, months, even. Those headaches were real, and at the bottom of my health anxiety spiral, I got a CT scan. It was clear. That hour, those headaches vanished, never to be felt again.

[Bleet]

Over the many years I have battled with HA I can't think of anything that hasn't ached hurt or felt wrong at some point. Doing stuff is the biggest thing you can aim to do, which I know is not easy, but doing nothing will only feed the HA beast

[cattia]

Thank you so much to you all for your replies. I felt so terrible this morning but I went for a mile and a half walk which helped, because one of my big health fears at the moment is CFS/ME so I felt better that I was able to walk that far with no problems. It really is so hard to accept that anxiety can cause all of this and no sooner do I think I've accepted that my symptoms are anxiety, another new one crops up which seems like it can't possibly be! I know that this is the same story for so many of us on this board. I am giving myself another week to try to get my head straight and If I am no better, I think I'm going back on meds.

[DNR]

Cattia, I have seen a few of your recent replies to threads and I can say everything you are going through is the same as myself, I am dizzy, spaced out with a constant headache, tight neck muscles, the list goes on, I walk around like I am drunk. I can only suggest to try and rationalise that this is anxiety and although I am going through this every day I am trying CBT therapy in the hope it will help. I like you, believe I have CFS because these symptoms make me very fatigued to the point where it doesn't feel like normal fatigue. Have you had medical tests?

[cattia]

Hi DNR, yes, I've had two lots of complete blood counts. I have just had a test for Lyme's disease as I live in a high risk area so I'm waiting for that to come back and I am also getting my vitamin D checked. It's just so hard feeling like every day is the same and I just want to feel well again! I am sorry you are also going through this. I hope the CBT helps. Are you taking any meds?

[DNR]

No meds, tried sertraline, but didn't like the start up side effects, I do sometimes want a med that could give me a few hours break from it all as it is constant. I feel constantly drunk if that makes sense, just going to the local shop causes my symptoms to sky rocket and that's when the fatigue comes in. I know it is difficult, and even I feel how can anxiety make me feel so strange and unwell constantly, but it really is anxiety.

[cattia]

Yes I also tired Sertaline but after five weeks I felt so lethargic and low on it that I tapered it off. My next option is fluoxetine which I've taken in the past with good results. I am hoping I can get through this without meds because I am very anxious about taking them, especially since I had such a rough ride with sertraline, but I also want my life back so I'm getting to the stage where I'll just do whatever it takes to feel better. I've been getting these head jolts of dizzineess when I move my head and also severe derealisation and brain fog all day long. It's exhausting for sure. I hope we all can make progress with this soon.

[au Lait]

Yes, chronic anxiety definitely physically drains you. Think of how much your body goes through to prepare for the fight or flight response. Think of what it must do to your body to practically live in a constant state of fight or flight. I’ve heard it referred to as adrenaline fatigue. You feel worn down all the time. You feel sick without apparent cause all the time. You feel tired, achy, forgetful, your muscles twitch and spasm. You have headaches all the time. All of these things are what anxiety does to your body. It doesn’t just affect the mind.

The good news is that these physical symptoms are not life threatening nor will they last forever. I’ve heard that when we learn to manage our anxiety, the physical symptoms will begin to resolve over time. It’s just a matter of reminding ourselves that these physical effects are not signs of anything more serious. I understand that people want to be vigilant, and they don’t want to write things off as anxiety and potentially miss some other cause. But it’s a slippery slope from being reasonably cautious to falling into the anxiety trap.

[Bleet]

Well done on the walk Cattia, keep it up. One thing that helped me is knowing that getting over HA is not a smooth and steady process. You will get spikes and flares (the HA rollercoaster) that trip you up and make you think you aren^t getting any better (which you are experiencing as new or reoccurring symptoms). But if you push through them things will slowly improve.

Stay strong

[cattia]

Thank you for all the replies and encouragement. I do feel like I'm making progress one minute then I'm back to square one. It can be hard to believe it will ever get better but it gives me so much encouragement to come here and talk to you all.

[MarkyMark88]

Lately dizziness has been the big one for me. I'd call it more lightheadedness because I'm stable and it doesn't feel like the room is spinning. Almost like a feeling of coming off a night of Advil PM. I posted a thread on here last week about it and I believe it's because I was on zoloft for three weeks then as of two weeks ago started taking buspsar. So it could be my body getting used to having these meds in my system.

Though I've had that "dizziness" feeling almost everyday since my first panic attack in August. Since then I have either had xanax or clonazapam in my system at some point for the past three months. When I was on the xanax or currently if I'm on the pam I feel fine. But my doctor said that when those meds wear off feelings of anxiety symptoms can hit pretty hard. Especially if you just stop cold turkey for a day or two.

I feel that if I'm stationary, like at my desk at work, driving or sitting on the couch at home is when these feelings are at their worst. But if I'm active, out and about with my mind on other things, the sensations subside.