what comes first??

[joy]

Is anyone like me and gets the physical symtoms first which seem to then cause the anxiety? For example(difficult to explain) I feel shaky which makes me anxious not anxiety making me shake.in other words in my head I'm not anxious but my body seems to be!

Hard to explain to the shrink or anyone else

Joy

[Lilith1980]

Maybe it is your subconscious expecting you to shake because it knows you have done so before, which makes you shake and become anxious.

Sometimes because we expect things to happen, that is why they come about. Like if you normally have panic attacks getting on a bus then you come to expect that you will have one if you try to get on a bus, and this expectation alone can trigger off an attack.

Its all very "chicken and egg" isnt it!

Jo xxxxx

[sandramick]

YEAH EXPLAIN THAT ONE . WASNT ANX TILL BODY STARTED SWEATING AN SHAKING .WIERD :shrug:

[helenclaire]

Yep, it is absolutely like that for me, i will be fine and then get an uneasy feeling and this is when i start to get panicky and anxious, without these feelings i think i would be ok but my mind goes into overdrive worrying about what is causing it.
Helen

[joy]

thats exactly how it is so what do we do about it??????

Meds dont seem to be doing anything

Joy

[jodie]

hiya

this is the same for me to i get ectopic hear beats and they allways start then that makes me anx .but i do know that i can have a realy hard time workign ect and be ok then days later all the pa,s and anx start i never get anx when times are bad for me it is allways a few days after

jodie xx

[helenclaire]

I wish i knew the answer to this.
I would love to ignore these feelings as i am sure they would pass alot quicker,
but i cant, i just start fearing the worse.
Its like my mind is programmed to react like this and i cannot change it.
If anyone knows how to overcome this way of thinking i would really appreciate it.
Helen

[cassi23]

i get the physical symptoms first now- then the anxiety. i wouldnt say im particularly anxious anymore, but still get symptoms even when not feeling anxious!

cassi

[celeste]

Physical symptoms for me first. Then the anxiety. My main physical symptom is having to dash to the loo. :blush:

Never being able to be more than 100 yards from a toilet is somewhat restrictive

[Bill]

Anxious symptoms ALWAYS happen because of something that's going on in our mind but often we're totally unaware of what the fear is that's causing them because we don't realise we're thinking an anxious thought.

If you analyse your thoughts by asking yourself what you're afraid of, then you'll discover your subconscious fears that are creating your anxieties.

If we are faced by a lion, we experience fear which triggers anxious symptoms but would we actually "think" about why we're feeling anxious, which is a fear of being eaten? We react to the lion because we know we should be afraid which we've learnt through experience which had caused programmed reactions and so we don't actually "think" a thought. We just react.

Look beyond your programming and you'll find your fear that's creating your symptoms. I Promise!:hugs:

Once you find out what your fear is, then it's possible to learn how to treat it too!:winks:

One last thought....sometimes medications can also create anxiety feelings as well as when we try to come off them.

[Yvonne]

Yes I know this is exactly right Bill.

For example if we were to see a snake just sitting there minding its' own business we would not go and stroke it would we? We know snakes are dangerous so we would get as far away as quickly as possible.

Whether it's at a conscious level to the sufferer or not there is a fear there for the symptoms to emanate themselves.

This stuff is habit for us - it is deeply ingrained into the subconscious to be scared of certain things. YOu can become "unscared" of things like situations - whatever it is that triggers your panics but you can still get panicky. This is completely true. You can find that you are completely fine with things that scared you ---- however you can still get panicky. It is a habit which I wish I knew how to break.

[cece]

Thoughts always precede the symptoms, often we just are not aware of them and then the viscious cycle begins:mad:

[Jon06121974]

Exactly what happens to me i can be very calm and pre occupied then suddenly my whole body shakes and panic sets in even if i try and remain calm. then the eyes go funny i get dizzy spells and so on.

my problem is im always fearing its not anxiety and thats the vicious circle im in. some days are ok and some are awful, todays been one of the worst yet so reading this post has helped even though i still feel shaky.

does anyone fear they are going to have a seizure? thats my fear when i go shaky and my head feels like to much is going on.

[peach]

hi joy,

yes, my physical symptoms are most defintaly first to set me off...

i have decided this is because my body anxiety switch just doesnt know when to turn off anymore, or react sensibly as it should...lol
i just describe it to hubby as my off switch doesnt work...so i will feel symptoms even when im not feeling anxious at all....like in a shop....

i beleive that we need to retrain our mind and body into 'normal' mode again, which i feel will take a long time because i think it took a long time for our bodies to start reacting incorrectly to situations in the first place...most of us can pinpoint the time when and anxiety came on, which i can too, but i have realised that it was really slowing showing signs much earlier on....i was getting small doses of what would later happen, but at the time i of course had no idea, and would forget about it as soon as the feelings went....

now, my switch is always on, even when i havent instructed it too....and because its always on, the pysical symstoms are worse for it..

i hope this helps you a little.....
good luck, and your not alone in this...

[Pink Panic]

Hi Joy,

My physical symptoms deffo set me off on a vicious circle too.

I like the way Peach explained her thinking about her having a switch as i had something similar explained to me by in therapy.
The fella said that when you have anx the switch is firmly pressed on and theres no half measures such as you would have with a dimmer switch where you can just lower it ..... it's firmly on or off and we have to learn how to switch it off by relaxing. Once we can do that we are on our way! Easier said than done though!

I spoke to my CPN about feeling like this yesterday and i said that the thoughts weren't running round my head like they used to but the symptoms are the worst thing now and she said the thoughts will still be there it's just i'm not so aware of them but it's them that set off the physical stuff so i need to identify what they are!
I start CBT on Friday after a long long wait but the therapist needs to take a detailed history before we can begin in earnest and this may take several weeks so if and when i do get any techniques to help with this i will let you know.

Love
Pink
xxx

[nomorepanic]

Read this thread I did in 2005

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2246

[Bill]

Nicola, it was interesting reading your post. It's made me think a bit more on the causes of panic.

In your case...an increase in weight expands the abdomen and reduces the lung capacity so people complain of breathing problems.

Stress caused by being overloaded can also cause us to shallow breathe.

A minor symptom can make us worry that it's something more serious and lead to panic.

Our fearful thoughts alone can cause panic.

Our programming can cause panic because of learnt behaviour.

A feeling of being trapped can cause panic.

Even being overweight can make us feel unable to breathe.

A general feeling of insecurity can also cause panic.

There are probably others and some of the above probably overlap but I feel panic always happens for a reason, and it's identifying the cause that will lead to treating the panic.

I think just as anxiety is in general, everyone suffers similar things for often different reasons which is why no one "cure" would suit all.

In my case I'm sure it was because my mind was overloaded with stress both at home and at work together with a feeling of being trapped that caused my panics.

It was interesting reading your thread Nicola and it made me think more about the subject.:hugs:

[monique]

yes agree with Bill. There are always thoughts behind there somewhere, but you often don't realise that you have had them till the physical reaction happens. We are so used to the background fear chatter that we have learned not to even notice it. It can be disconcerting when the physical stuff just seems to come out of nowhere.

[cece]

Very nicely put Monique:) I think that's where cbt can really help you start catching those thoughts in all the chatter and bringing light on them so you can illiminate them.