Please Help

[lisa70]

Hi all

Just recently I have started feeling very strange as though I am not here and I feel as though I keep starting and stopping, it feels like i get a sudden realisation of what I am doing as if my mind has been elsewhere. I am very frightened that this means that i am going mad, I also feel as though I cannot get going that I just keep stopping. I am not sure what is wrong with me but it makes me panic and feel like I could breakdown, not sure how I can cope with this I feel very strange .

Just wondering if anyone else has felt like this and what do I do to feel better.

thanks

[Workplace Doctors]

Dear Lisa,

Common Anxiety Symptoms

Everyone experiences some anxiety symptoms throughout their lives, usually a variation on the same group of basic symptoms, including:

Smothering sensations and shortness of breath
Racing heart, slow heart beat, palpitations
Chest Pain
'Lump in throat' and difficulty swallowing
Blanching (colour loss in the skin)
Excessive Perspiration (sweating)
Shaking or shivering (visibly or internally)
Pain or numbness in the head, face, neck or shoulders
Rapid gastric emptying
Indigestion, heartburn, constipation and diarrhoea
Sexual Dysfunction
Symptoms of urinary tract infection
Skin rashes
Weakness/tingling in arms, hands or feet
'Electric shock' feelings (anywhere in the body)
Dry mouth
Insomnia
Nightmares
Fears of going mad or losing control

[Workplace Doctors]

Although these anxiety symptoms feel horrific and scary, the effects are harmless. The word 'feel' is the key here; the anxiety symptoms experienced are just feelings... sensations of a true emotional response that have become inappropriately activated as a response to danger - even when no real danger is present. You see, anxiety is an emotion, like happiness or sadness but, because anxiety produces some fairly intense physical and emotional responses due to its 'physical' nature, the sufferer becomes trapped in a cycle of fear and anxiety symptoms.
Anxiety symptoms cannot cause any actual harm, as they are simply exaggerated experiences of normal bodily sensations and reactions. However, if anxiety symptoms intensify and interfere with normal day-to-day activities, it is necessary to take appropriate action to eliminate them before they become too intrusive or dramatically reduce the sufferer's experience of life.

[StoneMonkey]

Hi Lisa,

Sorry to hear that you are having these alarming symptoms.
Have a look at some of the articles on the left and see if anything clicks.
Depersonalisation (sorry no spell check) and feelings of unreality are all symptoms of anxiety.
Most people describe as feeling spaced out, weird, disconnected, brain fog.
It can be so intense that the biggest fear can be going mad or breaking down.
If it continues you might need to talk to your G.P.
I hope you get some answers and that tomorrow is a little better.

Simon.