View Full Version : Poll: Are your symptoms Physical or Mental?
chemlabrat
22-08-08, 18:50
I'm pretty new here, and have found from reading that health anxiety affects everyone in different ways. I notice some people log on here feeling completely debilitated by mental symptoms of worry, anguish, hopelessness, fear, etc. While others log on feeling debilitated by light headedness, chest pains, heart symptoms, headaches, etc.
Myself, I seem to be afflicted with mostly all physical symptoms. Any mental anguish seems to be because I can't make the physical symptoms go away.
I thought it would be interesting to get a poll of what plagues you the most. Is it physical symptoms, mental symptoms, or (God bless you) both?
Anxious_gal
22-08-08, 19:26
ya me too, mostly physical, n makes it hard to accept its just anxiety.
I think this is a tricky one to answer, particularly on the HA forum, because the "physical" and "mental" feed one another.
Anxiety symptoms aren't any less "real" than symptoms produced by something other than anxiety. Your body reacts to the chemicals produced by anxiety (which is ultimately produced by your thoughts and emotions, conciously or unconciously), as it does if you take drugs or alcohol or have a virus or bacteria or to chemicals produced by a bodily disfunction e.g. hyperthyroidism. Your body reports these symtoms to your brain in the same way. It doesn't differentiate by saying "but don't worry about this one, it's just anxiety".
This is, I think, is partly what HA stems from - if you can't tell what is making you feel the way you do, you worry that it is something that is going to damage you, hurt you or even kill you. I find the same thing often happens when you get 'real' symptoms of a 'real' illness - you panic that it is something serious because the effected part of your body can't tell your brain what the problem is - it can only give you symptoms.
The difference is that once you recognise anxiety symtoms for what they are, you can try to deal with their source by allieviating your anxiety. Which is often easier said than done for a variety of reason.
Not sure that helps, sorry! :)
mental and physical for me
Pooh
My symptoms started off mental but because of becoming agrophobic and subsequently lack of exercise they are now both. For me I've got to a stage where I must get over the physical before I can start to tackle the mental.
I think this is a tricky one to answer, particularly on the HA forum, because the "physical" and "mental" feed one another.
Anxiety symptoms aren't any less "real" than symptoms produced by something other than anxiety. Your body reacts to the chemicals produced by anxiety (which is ultimately produced by your thoughts and emotions, conciously or unconciously), as it does if you take drugs or alcohol or have a virus or bacteria or to chemicals produced by a bodily disfunction e.g. hyperthyroidism. Your body reports these symtoms to your brain in the same way. It doesn't differentiate by saying "but don't worry about this one, it's just anxiety".
This is, I think, is partly what HA stems from - if you can't tell what is making you feel the way you do, you worry that it is something that is going to damage you, hurt you or even kill you. I find the same thing often happens when you get 'real' symptoms of a 'real' illness - you panic that it is something serious because the effected part of your body can't tell your brain what the problem is - it can only give you symptoms.
The difference is that once you recognise anxiety symtoms for what they are, you can try to deal with their source by allieviating your anxiety. Which is often easier said than done for a variety of reason.
Not sure that helps, sorry! :)
I agree. I don't know if I am anxious because I don't feel well, or I don't fell well because I am anxious.
Defintely both. Thats why it is so hard for doctors to listen to me. Its like I have cried wolf too many times so when I have a real complaint they ignore it.
ThePanicSurvivor
23-08-08, 13:08
Hey guys.
I'm no longer having panic attacks. But let me share with you guys how I felt. The first time around was mental and physical. Second time around was mental and physical also...but then it just became physical.
It's a lot easier to deal with the anxiety when it's just physical. Because if your mind is positive and not dwelling on your symptoms...the wave of panic...is more like a tiny splash. And the splash gets smaller and smaller the more you take a "so what" attitude. As long as you don't avoid things..and face your fears head on. The physical wil eventually diminish.
In that case...I think there is no such as panic disorder that doesn't have some sort of link with the way you think. It can't be 100% physical. Your mind has to come into play at some point and cause the attack to happen.
Stop being hyperaware of your body...and even belittle yourself if you start feeling like you have some sort of disesae or something like that.
I hate being a survivor and unable to convey my thoughts inteligently lol. I am trying to help but am probably confusing some of you. Sorry...im not realoly very articulate or well spoken..but basically...shrug it off. Laugh at yourself.
You have to make a mental connection...between what your feeling..and how irrational...and even "stupid" it is. Having this attitude lessens the severeity of the attacks. And eventulaly they go away. Or at least they did for me. I dont want to sound condescending. But trust me...i lived in absolute fear and terror..of even waking up...AND going to bed lol....and now ... i live the most normal, anxiety free life ..... I am not 1 in a million. I have gone years and years without attacks and im sure most of you will be able to get over it too. Just have to face the fear head on. Not modity your behavior and hide to cope with the fear
My symptoms started off mental but because of becoming agrophobic and subsequently lack of exercise they are now both. For me I've got to a stage where I must get over the physical before I can start to tackle the mental.
It could have been me writing that post. I too am agoraphobic and because I rarely go out the house I've not been getting any exercise, therefore my muscles have become weak and I can't walk far. Of course, this only makes my mental state worse. Weak legs, tiredness, exhaustion and getting out of breath make me panic even more.
love
Sunny
I cant really answer this one. Sorry. I suffer with health anxiety and totally agree with Lee Bee, its really hard to distinguish between the 2.
Dragonless
24-08-08, 21:38
It used to be just mental...but this flippy tummy and the shivers down my spine drives me to distraction. the tummy can last days and i cant eat much..so i push it down then i feel even worse.... i try so hard to shrug it off ... i'll keep trying goddam it!
MyNameIsntRich
01-09-08, 22:05
I gotta jump on the its hard to differ the two train here... While i know deep down its all mental... I feel the phisical and those bother me the most at times.
I agree. I don't know if I am anxious because I don't feel well, or I don't fell well because I am anxious.
This definitely describes me.
I think I am mostly physical but it is partially mental. I get scared when I am unwell, then I get more symptoms and get more scared. It's a very vicious circle.
At the moment it is my heart that is scaring the h*ll out of me. Just wish I was well physically ane mentally.
Quiet-Lift
02-09-08, 23:31
I would say it's the mental symptoms more than the physical, simply because physical is more visible than mental and doesn't evoke so much prejudice, misunderstanding and (sometimes) hostility.
Mental can be connected with physical and vice versa.
i'm both, one depends on the other for me
mine are both. but only the mental ones bug me
My are mostly physical the mental comes in when the pain wont go away.
willtheconk1998
30-12-08, 15:45
My symptoms are definitely a mix of both the physical ones make the mental ones worse and vice versa.
A friend of mine is trying to set up a website specifically for people with health anxiety to try and find ways of coping and combatting what we feel so we can share how we feel and cope.
We all need somewhere to go and this is a great site for that but he is on a personal quest to find a place for people just like us, it isn't gitzy or glamorous but it is start.
I don't know if I am allowed to put it on here I hope it is ok as he is really passionate about what he is doing and uses this site regularly too.
The sight is www.healthanxietyhelp.co.uk (http://www.healthanxietyhelp.co.uk)
Southern_Belle
30-12-08, 20:30
I stated an even mix of both. I do not suffer with health anxiety. I do have GAD and can just about worry about everything except my health for some odd reason. As far as physical issues go, everytime I go to the doctors for follwups for existing issues they find something new that is a real medical problem that I wasn't even worrying about. Go figure!
Laura
Mine started out physical, cause I had that low potassium scare. Which I think led me to continue these panic attacks...Cause now I'm ultra aware of every little change with my body, like when I take shallow breaths cause I'm relaxed and then it winds up messing up the physical issues, which cause me to worry more.
It seems all like a vicious cycle to me, but for me, I can't have one without the other it seems. Never just had like physical issues minus the mental or vice versus, not without it leading into an attack anyways. If that makes any sense.
I dont suffer from any of the horrendous things many of you do like panic attacks or palpitations I just have this inability to rationalise physical symptoms, ie very head ache is a brain tumor and if they are less common as with my mid cycle bleeding I go into complete meltdown
Its hard for me to say I have physical manifestations of anxiety but its the mind that creates them.
I also suffer from hallucinations which feel like physical things because I can hear with my ears and see with my eyes but really its a mental thing. Quite confusing really
sarah jayne
22-09-09, 17:55
I suffer more physical than mental.
I sometime find it hard to distinguish between the 2. The worst feeling I get is when I can't think clearly at all, when having a panic attack can't think of anything other than the panic. From what I've just read on another post this is what people call brain fog (didn't realise that till now - doh). Since started taking ADs my physical symptoms seem to have gone down but this 'brain-fog' is happening more (sometime my head feels just full and can't think clear at all)
mine are both physical and mental.... but I have more going on too. I have chronic physical symptoms.... with insomnia which affects my emotional state strongly.. which exacerbates my physical symptoms more. I'm in a vicious cycle..one feeding the other... looking to break the cycle and get on with recovery. I've been on tranquilizers to deal with the problem..but they haven't fixed it.. just given me temporary relief.
It's definetely the physical symptoms for me. Although deep deep down I should know by now that it is the anxiety that is making me feel unwell, I honestly just cannot seem to get this into my head. When I am having physical symptoms I keep telling myself in my head it's nothing, it's just the anxiety, nothings wrong with you, but the anxiety seems to overrule every time and I end up in a complete panic. I remember going back to the doctor three times and breaking down in tears each time because he kept telling me it was just general anxiety I was suffering from and I was pleading with him to run more tests, do different tests because I could not believe that anxiety could cause you to feel so terribly ill.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.