Why does my arm not feel like MY ARM anymore?

[fairyclairy]

Hiya,

I used this site very much when i was going through my worst with panic attacks/anxiety a few years ago and it really helped!!
But lately, they have started to increase again what with me finishing uni and about to start my full time job in about a month (which is really worrying me!)

This might sound stupid but i was in the car the other day (as a passenger, not driving) and i suddenly went really weird.. my right arm just didnt feel like my arm anymore? I was looking down at it and it just felt so strange and like it was someone elses.. and i was wondering how i was moving it when it wasnt mine?
This sounds sooo strange but i cant describe it any other way, it was freeky! I got a rush of fear aswell with it and my heart began to race.. I immediately told my partner what i was feeling and he was trying to reassure me that it was just panic but after having panic attacks for 11 years now and never having this symptom before i was very worried.. My arm still feels abit strange now after 2 days but that might be because im focussing on it!

Has anyone had anything like this before??

I just need the reassurance that it is just panic and not something else, and then il be able to deal with it just like any other panic attack and try to forget about it..

Please help..

Thankyou,
Claire :wacko:

"Worry doesnt help tomorrows troubles.. but it does ruin todays happiness"

[meg86]

Hello :)

My left arm has gone numb before due to anxiety, i am not sure if you mean the same thing? i was obsessed with my arm going numb for months it was awful, the doctor confirmed that it was fine and alot of anxiety sufferers experience this.

I do sometimes feel weird and look in the mirror and feel like its not me like im not really there like a dream like state which is also a common anxiety symptom so maybe you have put the two together?

anxiety can give your body lots of strange body sensations, i am pretty sure it is just anxiety but go to your doctor if it will put your mind to rest :)

[nineteen]

ive had it the last couple of days in both my legs, its like they are numb or tired or somthing and it just feels really weird, but it is a symptom of anxiety and it shud pass

[Thumbelina]

Hi Claire,

I also had this weird symptom. I am glad I am not the only one. I had it few days ago last time.

I am looking at my arms sometimes and they feel like they are not mine, that they are detached from my body, and it is very scary. But upparently its just the sideeffect of the extreme anxiety. And its not necessarily because they feel nomb, no they are not - i can moove them, but it feels like they are not mine...

Very scary, and I also discover with every setback some new symptom.

This time they all are connected with agarohobia, - I am convinced I am agarophobic on top of GAD.
We are very bad at picking symptoms, but they also pick us as often.

keep strong

[fairyclairy]

Thankyou for your replies.. I am much more relaxed about it now knowing i am not the only one and that it is just panic!

Thankyou for the reassurance, :bighug1:

[johnboyd]

what you are referring to is called depersonalization..common symptom of anxiety..dont dwell on it too much because it will get worse..just ignore it and it will go away

[angiebaby]

Hi hun, been having this sort of thing for a few years now. Not nice but it will go away. Try to distract yourself for a while and it should ease up a bit.

[lee270780]

hey ive been looking for this post because it is such a strange symptom i too have had this recently in fact got it just now as i type mine came on all of a sudden i woke up in the night not really in a panic but i just had the strangest feelings my arms were not mine!very weird and its like you find it strange that you are controlling them! anyway as with all other symptoms it will hopefully decrease in time the worst is the initial fear because you have never had it before!

take care
lee

[saresare]

hi i jus wanna tel ya i often get this n it is horirble! but it is a common anx symptom :( xx

[naomimimi]

one morning i work up and felt like this. and it lasted for a couple of months.

my arms and legs felt like they were not there and, like they weren't mine and i felt like i moved like a robot. i also thought i had gone insane and would never be normal again. i then thought i might have died in my sleep cos i felt like a ghost.
i drank a lot because that made me feel 'normal', having my boyfriend there also helped, even though he didn't know how i felt, communicating with someone subsided my fears of being a ghost.

probably the most horrible thing i've felt in my life, but it does go away,

[sarah jayne]

I think i had this last month. I woke up and couldnt feel my legs properly, they were like jelly. I could hardly walk ! I paniked and rang nhs direct and told them my legs were numb and i couldnt walk, they didnt seem to take me seriously, probably cause it was 4.30 in the morning on a saturday night, they prob thought i was drunk lol ! x

[Pdubya86]

I have had this for a couple of weeks now in my arms. Initially I had it in my legs. At least I think it is the same thing. My arms just feel, well, weird. No pain, just an almost overwhelming uncomfortable feeling that something isnt right. I hope it passes!

[Kasha]

Goshhh! Yes, Ive had that before... its SOOOO freaky and weird.. but the feeling will come back if you forget about it.... sometimes when I have that, and I itch it... I cant even feel that :O weird!! xxxxx

[louisedge123]

It is called depersonalization

a side effect of anxiety.


look it up.

[simso]

Hello :)

My left arm has gone numb before due to anxiety, i am not sure if you mean the same thing? i was obsessed with my arm going numb for months it was awful, the doctor confirmed that it was fine and alot of anxiety sufferers experience this.

This might not be relevant to you, but a year or so ago I had feelings of weakness in my arms and joints and I thought I was probably getting some kind of rheumatism or something. I went to the doctor and had blood tests and it turned out that I was 'critically' low in vitamin D. I was prescribed huge doses (20,000iu) to take once a week for three months and the problem went within three days. I have maintained taking a much lower dose of D3 vitamin tablets, but recently the symptoms are returning. I'm going to increase my dose, but I think the over the counter tablets might not be strong enough. Apparently, in the UK, Vit D deficiency is very widespread as we don't get that much sun.