View Full Version : "Waves" of anxiety?
Please help.. I`m feeling pretty dreadful.:weep: I have suffered with anxiety on and off for many years now, but struggling with new symptoms, which are worrying me.
It`s difficult to explain just how dreadful they make me feel but here goes....
For example, last night I went to bed feeling reasonably happy and relaxed. In fact I was in a positive frame of mind. As I was trying to drift off to sleep, my mind started wandering, and then Waves of a dreadful feeling came over me. I say "waves", because this feeling travels through my body....a tingling, throbbing, pulsing sensation, and a feeling of dread. I get pain in my stomach, my heart rate goes up, and I feel like I need to yawn to get enough breath. I appreciate that the yawning and heart rate increase are due to anxiety, or panic setting in, but why these waves of dread and this horrible sensations in the first place? What is that all about? The episodes tend to last at least an hour, and they scare me. It has happened to me today , twice too. It leaves me feeling headachey, and my muscles ache all over.
Any ideas please as to what this is? I`m worried that this is more than anxiety.
feels_like_home
02-01-09, 14:56
I find that anxiety tends to hit me when I am relaxed. When I am busy I don't have time to focus on my symptoms. Maybe that is why these waves hit you while you are relaxed. I have had waves of panic travel through me as well. It feels like it hits every part of your body. I hope you feel better soon.
Hi
Feelings of dread, for what seems like no reason, are very common with anxiety sufferers. It can come and go in waves and for differing periods of time. It is nothing more sinsister and it is best to approach it in as calm a way as possible. Try relaxation, slow breathing or distraction methods and it should help.
So the "waves" are normal then? Just anxiety? pheww! Thank you ! I feel relieved to hear this.
The ones that I am suffering through the day, I find a bit easier to cope with,as i can just try and distract myself, but the night time ones are horrible, and so scary as everywere is dark and quiet. They badly interfere with my sleep patterns, and in the summer led to insomnia, and me having to go on sleeping pills for a while. Even the breathing tecniques that my Doctor taught me, don`t seem to help at night. I just have to sit it out until it passes or I fall asleep through te exhaustion of it.
NervousNellie
02-01-09, 20:29
My husband used to get these "waves" with his panic disorder. He used to suffer from debilitating panick attacks. He described the waves as electrical shocks. I've experienced this as well, usually when I was dozing off to sleep at night., but it only happens to me once in a while, usually after a long period of stress that has finally been resolved. It's all related to panic and anxiety. The good news is that my husband finally learned to accept them and they went away! Now I have to learn how to do that!
Thanks Nellie. It`s reassuring to know that others experience this too. I have had a lot to cope with recently so probably this has sparked these attacks off again. Your hubby does very well to ignore them. I get too scared to do that.
I think I get these also. I have had a great day today keeping myself busy and all then I came inside had some lunch and my wife asked me to visit a relative...I agreed then it started I felt flushed. A wonderful feeling as if the hairs on my head where standing up and then a feeling of dread which came after I realised I had the other symptoms....I started to ask myself what had caused it. Was it BP? was it because I had just eaten? Could I be diabetic? Question after question, Then It went when I forgot about it.
I Have noticed it comes on when I am not occupied when I have time to turn up the volume on my feelings and symptoms.
I am still wondering if it is something else and when I get that feeling again I will start all over again.
Mee
I've just been describing these waves of anxiety to my sister, I think anyone who has experienced them with their anxiety knows exactly what you are talking about and I'm sure it's connected to your anxiety - it's like your tummy turns over, like a wave crashing.
ThreeBee23
03-01-09, 09:09
I have not read all the responses, but I get exactly what youa re describing when I get serious anxiety or panic attacks. Not sure why we react this way, but just know you are not alone in your symptoms!
Hi
I suffered badly with this last year and the feelings really scared me as I too had suffered anxiety for years yet never felt this before. Evntually when I stoppped being so panic stuck when they came on they started to disappear. I still get it now and then when I've had a very stressful time but now I just then to shrug of the feelings instead of analysing what they might mean.
I used to discribe them as electric shocks. It's like a tinglely wave, almost a burning sensation. I think it's a rush of adrenaline and I noticed it much more at night when I was trying to sleep. Sometimes it would wake me up just as I was droping off.
Try not to worry too much and understand that sometimes when we have suffered anxiety for years we get so used to recognising the symptoms then something different comes along and it really freaks us out, thereby making that the worst and most frightening symptom we now have. We are constantly on the alert looking out for this new and mysterious feeling, wondering when it is next going to strike. Anxiety can bring along new feelings, I got depersonalistion last year too, I thought I was losing my mind and I have had anx for over 20 years.
Take care and hope this helps a bit
bandar1113
03-01-09, 12:47
I've just been describing these waves of anxiety to my sister, I think anyone who has experienced them with their anxiety knows exactly what you are talking about and I'm sure it's connected to your anxiety - it's like your tummy turns over, like a wave crashing.
+1, these "waves" used to happen to me all the time, I know exactly what you mean. The tingling sensation, the dread, the increased heart-rate, the nausea and dizziness, the itchy heat, i understand it. after about 6 months or so I was just so used to having these waves of panic attacks that I was somewhat able to control them a little bit.
After a while, even while you're in the psychological trap during an anxiety attack, thinking there's something wrong with you, you can grasp the fact that there's nothing wrong with you and that you're just having an anxiety attack.
Knowing there's nothing wrong with me has helped me infinite times when on the verge of insanity.
Thank you so much everyone for your replies. You have helped me a lot.
I had a better night, last night. I felt the onset of the waves, and rode them! LOL! It wasn`t pleasant, but got to sleep within half an hour of going to bed, which is a massive improvement.
when this happens at night it is always 10 times worse.
In the daytime you can distract your self BUT at night!!!!!!!!
take a calm book or get up and have a cup of tea even repeat times tables - anything that will stop the horrid thoughts from getting worse (major panic)
It seems that panic / anxiety strike when we are relaxing - our bodies do not understand relaxation so sends up the warning tingles.
Hope this helps
june
This happens to me. Electric shock treatment when on the verge of sleep when not obviously anxious about anything. There seemed to be no pattern so after years of research it turned out I had a hiatus hernia and acute indigestion that was doing it. A muscle in my stomach sort of twangs when I am about to sleep, I get a burning sensation which sets up the fight or flight system - all very quick. I go with out sleep causing tiredness - ramping up anxierty - vicious circle. If I am careful with my diet I find that I get a better nights sleep. The stomach is worth considering when in this position. There is plenty of advice on acid reflux.
Tulip123
justbananas
13-03-09, 02:23
this is crazy - i never even thought these through but YES that is exactly what happens - waves is the perfect way to explain it. for me it's not like electric shocks i don't think .. it is literally just waves of panic. like i can feel a physical force whooshing through my body.
it often starts in my head or my chest .. a weird chest tightness OR a head rush/light headedness and soon swoops into this up and down motion. in the moments between the waves (the moments increase as time passes and anxiety settles.. IF it settles) - i feel somewhat fine in those moments. but then a wave hits again and it's what i imagine a labor contraction to be like. not in the realm of pain but just the way it comes and goes and has time in between each one. if i get REALLY worked up, there's almost no time between each one and it's wave after wave after wave.. luckily my general PAs have been dwindling and now i'm mostly only dealing with solid HA so i'm feeling less of the waves and dizziness. i think mostly because once i accepted it as anxiety, it lessened over time. now just need to shake this freaking HA, which is the root of all my anxiety!! how interesting, thank you for starting this thread.
Veronica H
13-03-09, 09:01
:) As Andrea said this is a rush of adrenalin. The great Dr weekes talks about this as the same feeling you would get if someone told you that you had won a million pounds. Unfortunately in anxiety sufferers this is usually caused by an anxious thought or build up of adrenalin from many anxious thoughts which keeps sqeezing the adrenalin in and sensitises our nerves. The important thing to remember here is that although it is unpleasant it cannot harm you.
Veronica
Hey, I too experience these waves. So know that you are not alone. The best way I have come to describe them is kind of like if someone comes up behind you and scares you, you kind of gasp a little and hold your chest) ( they arent usually this bad, but along the same line) anyway, i've developed insomnia from this and find myself constantly worrying all day afraid to fall asleep ( because that's when it happens, as soon as i close my eyes to sleep) The feeling is AWFUL and its causing me to have a lot of depression and worry. Anyway, I would love to talk to you more, anyone for that matter I would love to talk to on here. No one understands what I'm going through and it would be nice to talk with someone that understands.
Tisha
I started getting these recently .I get them maybe everyfew days,mostly at night just before bed.it kind of feels weird in my chest area and it affects my breathing .Its weird because i am 30 years old and ive never had this problem until recently.Had to get up and watch tv and smoke weed then it eased up after about an hour or so
I do get these too , I feel them all over my body , I can even " hear " those waves mincing my flesh . I did call them waves before I see the name on here . My flesh gets feelings of spasms , it's simply horrifying . Also , my mind is always racing I mean ALWAYS , in another , always scary level of irrational thoughts , even thinking of my own voice while I speak , or thinking of my own thoughts while they are forced onto me to scare me even more with some real insane thoughts !!!! I found that eating something sweet ( if you could through those rock shredding waves ) , can reduce them remarkably .
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