Introducing My Anxiety

[marc8701]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and would like to say already that I think it is fantastic and it is a real help to know that there are people out there suffering from the same problems.

My problem began in July 08. I am a male in my late 20s, have never had any physical illness ever apart from colds, am fairly fit and generally fairly positive about things.

Anyway one evening I was sat with my lap top and when I stood up I could feel this strange pressure on the left side of my head, almost like someone was pushing there finger on my head. It didn't hurt, just felt very strange. Over the next few hours I developed this strange tingly feeling on the same part of my head. It really freaked me out I didn't sleep much that night. The next day it pretty much went so I went on a birthday night out as planned. The feeling returned slightly and I felt awful all night. Looking back I know that the majority of the ill feeling was anxiety (sweating feet, increased heart beat, dizziness).

The next few days were not very pleasant, the sensation was still there accompanied by typical anxiety symptoms which I was reading very negative conclusions into. One night I took one of my fiance's anxiety tablets and suffered a full blown panic attack which resulted in an ambulance being called.

I had been to my doctor about 3 times by this point and I was determined to get a more satisfactory response on the fourth visit. I did. I was told to go to the Acute Medicine Unit in A & E immediately and I was kept in overnight. I had an MRI scan, a blood test, a urine test and an ECG. The conclusion was that I was fit as a fiddle and that it was the result of stress and anxiety.

I was in total disbeleif at this outcome to begin but over time I have come to accept it. My problem now is that I am 'worrying about having health anxiety' rather than worrying about having any particular illness. Of course I do occassionally have thoughts that its actually MS or the MRI missed a tumour but generally im just worrying about worrying.

The symptoms I have seem to revolve in cycles. The head sensations still appear occassionally but they are much better. I also have periods (of sometimes days) of increased or strong heartbeat. I also get tingly pains in my fingers and feet. Headaches arn't really a problem but dizziness and off-balance feelings are regular. I havn't had a panic attack since but constantly feel anxious.

The crux is that I know these symptoms are probably anxiety related but I just dont have the faith to completely rule out some sort of illness and when one symptom appears I stress over it for days which brings on further symptoms. I have had periods of weeks where I feel absolutely fine and all symptoms cease. But as soon as one occurs it all starts over again. I'm almost at the point where I can predict what symptom will come next! I have become completely obsessed by it and I just want to know how to break the cycle. I am managing work ok but I have had days where the symptoms are bad and worrying myself silly and find that I've spent the last 2 hours looking up MS or other illnesses on Google.

Does anyone else have this worry that they are simply worrying about having health anxiety?? And does anyone else have the symptoms I've spoken about??

[Andyroo]

Anxiety leave one feeling dizzy and unbalanced.. i feel like that every day its very common.

[marc8701]

Thanks Malv,

What other symptoms do you have and how long has this been going on for you?

[Andyroo]

somtimes my vision goes abit funny i feel light headed.. somtimes i get weird feeling is my hands! i can also feel very tired all of the sudden.. the list goes on.. almost forgot weird feeling in the chest.. some people even experience chest pains .. ive also felt as if i couldnt breath properly but really was breathing just fine:wacko: anxiety really messes with you.. and yes it can make you think theres somthing wrong with you! it makes us think the worst of things!! trust me just 3 days ago i was sure i had cancer!!!:scared15:

[Andyroo]

^ god that toast looks yummy:roflmao:

[miss_worry]

Hi Marc,

First of all, welcome to no more panic, I am sure you will find lots of useful information here. It has helped me greatly knowing that other people suffer the same way I do and that I am not on my own.

Anyway, what you describe here is what I have suffered/and still do suffer from. Once one symptom has disappeared another sprouts up out of no where. And the constant worry over having a life threatening illness such as cancer, heart attack, HIV.... the list goes on. I worry about this a lot. Especially about having a brain tumor.

Marc, I have stopped searching symptoms and what they mean on google and it has helped me to get things into perspective. My husband even put a blocker on our internet to stop me searching any health related websites!!! This has helped me a lot.

What I have learned is that stress and anxiety create all sorts of weird and bizarre symptoms and learning to accept them is the key. The feelings of tingling in hands and feet and head aches are all related to anxiety. Dizziness and feeling off balanced is part of it too. I get this alot. I try and rationalise my thoughts and I know that these feelings will disappear again when I relax.

I hope this has helped you a little? Don't feed your symptoms anymore negative thoughts, I know its easier said than done, but you have to keep trying and not let anxiety get in your way. I have not found a quick fix as yet and when I do I will let you all know!!!

Vx

[marc8701]

Thanks for your message V,

Haha, I could imagine my partner putting a block on websites! It really is no good for you. I was in work on Friday and had an achey feeling in my left arm. The first google search I looked at told me I had MS and that really sent me off for the rest of the day! Once I calm down and relax I can look at things rationally and I realise that I have been jumping to ridiculous conclusions, but that doesn't help when your in the thick of an anxiety episode.

The thing I dont understand about my symptoms is the fact that I can never link them to feelings of anxiety. I dont really panic as such I simply feel moderately anxious all the time so it is very hard to make a rational correlation between a physical symptom and feelings of anxiety. I think this is something which adds to the anxiety because I begin to doubt that the two are related.

If you dont mind me asking V, when did this begin for you? And do you have any understanding of what started it?

[miss_worry]

Hi Marc,

I know what you mean! When I am in the middle of an episode, no matter how much relaxation or distraction I do, I still think I have something seriously wrong. I think its the adrenalin working over time. Eventually when the body calms down, you regain your thoughts and actually start to rationalise.

I also start to question myself. I start to worry about not being able to tell the difference between a "real" symptom or an anxiety related one. When this happens it gets scary. I should have died by now of an heart attack or brain tumor from the symptoms I have had!! Because Dr Google is very good at diagnosing you with the wrong illness!

I have had anxiety from a very young age, but it's only last year when I had my first panic attack that the health anxiety started. Even though before the panic attack, I knew I was more sensitive to illnesses than most people.

Tc
Vx

[AcroSplat]

Thanks for your message V,

Haha, I could imagine my partner putting a block on websites! It really is no good for you. I was in work on Friday and had an achey feeling in my left arm. The first google search I looked at told me I had MS and that really sent me off for the rest of the day! Once I calm down and relax I can look at things rationally and I realise that I have been jumping to ridiculous conclusions, but that doesn't help when your in the thick of an anxiety episode.

The thing I dont understand about my symptoms is the fact that I can never link them to feelings of anxiety. I dont really panic as such I simply feel moderately anxious all the time so it is very hard to make a rational correlation between a physical symptom and feelings of anxiety. I think this is something which adds to the anxiety because I begin to doubt that the two are related.

If you dont mind me asking V, when did this begin for you? And do you have any understanding of what started it?

Hi Marc.

I can relate to your story, and i actually went around in circles for 5 months before finally accepting it it all a few weeks ago.

I would go to my GP, who said my symptoms were anxiety related, so i would go home feeling alot better, and my anxiety and nervousness would disapear, but the symptoms of twitching, tingling, vibrating left arm pain, and limb jerking still continued.

Two weeks on i was fully relaxed but still the symptoms were still there, which would make me think "Hang on im not anxious, why is this still happening? The doctors must be wrong" And then it starts all over again and i would Google and look at personal stories of people with MS and MND and so on. This went on for a period of 5 months because i just couldnt accept it, or belive it.

Anyway my Dr told me a few weeks back that some people expereince anxiety as a full on panic attack. Others (like me) can feel 100% relaxed and calm but still get symptoms as things like Negative thinking and Googling will keep feeding it.

So after 5 months of this repeated cycle of visitng drs, specalists, mri's and so on things are finally settling down. But it does take time.

[Awil]

Hey, I can completely relate.

I can trace the footprints of my symptoms back to last November, when I ended up in the ER on Columbus Day weekend (the night Joba Chamberlain was infested by bugs in Cleveland). At about 12:30 AM I began to have feelings of unease or impending doom, accompanied with tightness in the chest and trouble breathing, which progressed into uncontrollable shaking. It was a pretty scary 15 minutes on the way to the hospital. As soon as I got there, incredibly enough, it abruptly stopped---and I felt fine afterwards, just a little wiped out. The doctors performed a plethora of tests and concluded that it was an anxiety attack, but I went home believing that it was dehydration.

I didn't have anything of that nature after that night for about 5 months, until the same thing happened to me again in late March (without a trip to the ER.) Once again, I dismissed it for dehydration. However, the next month or two were a nightmare: breathing trouble, panic attacks, sweating, bloating, palpatations---you name it. Classic anxiety---and it took awhile to acknowledge it. I missed so much school during this time---I couldn't do ANYTHING. Absolutely debilitating. Finally, I slowly started beating it in May and June, and by July 4th, I felt normal again. I had a great summer---very little problems. I was actually excited for the start of school in September because I felt a sense of rebirth. In about mid-September, I started feeling out of it again---mainly because I couldn't sleep in that month AT ALL. This was probably attributed to anxiety, given my history. A few months passed, feeling just out of it (not nearly the same stuff or potency as in the Spring), when I was diagnosed with strep. At the same time, I started developing anxiety symptoms again---which has persisted to this day.

This time, it's accompyanied with dizziness, fatigue, and even head rushes, in addition to symptoms mentioned before. It's just so tough to accept that this is actually an emotional misfire, rather than a physical problem. This misconception alone is what, I strongly suspect, has prevented me and many others from planting that dagger inside the heart of anxiety. It mimics virtually EVERY possible issue a human can have. But you have to just realize that your waging a war against yourself instead of what you believe is an unwanted intruder in your body---in a sense, a Civil War, which is crippling for a nation (in this case, your body) physically, too. So, the solution and trick is to stop fighting and stop worrying---just relax and accept that your so called enemy doesn't exist. It's easier said than done, I know, but if the major physical afflictions are ruled out, you can bet your house that it's anxiety.

Good luck,
Alex