Physical symptoms but no anxiety?

[Sabre120]

Hi there, I'm relatively new here and have lurked around a fair bit, but now i have a question I wish to ask.

Do any of you suffer physical symptoms of anxiety even when you don't feel anxious? I've had this discomfort in my arm for a good month now, followed by shoulder/neck pain and muscle twitching in my legs, which seems to be exacerbated when I actually worry about the area in question. For instance my shoulder felt a little achy, and as I dwelt on it, it became quite painful. However, even when I don't feel physically anxious the problems persist, albeit in a lesser manner.

[HoneyLove]

Hi Sabre, if you are feeling stressed/anxious regularly you may find that you still feel symptoms even when you're not actually feeling particularly anxious. It's because it takes time for your body to unwind from the effects of stress hormones. It's the culmulative effect of stress on your body.

If you're not doing any form of stress reduction and your body has no regular way of relaxing and releasing good hormones, then it's going to add to how you feel.

A daily stress reduction method and/or relaxation technique may really help how you feel. It'll help your body recover from the effects of stress and help ease some of those pains and muscle tension.

[Fishmanpa]

HLove is correct.

In the free CBT course offered here, there's a rather in depth explanation of the physiological responses to anxiety and stress. What you describe is right in line with that.

I equate it to a fire. When stressed, it's like throwing wood on the fire. So even when the stress lessens, you still have burning wood and it takes a while to burn down. And even at that, it takes even more time for the coals and embers to finally go out. Your body reacts much the same way.

Positive thoughts

[mummyanxious]

I like your analogy FMP. Will remember that one.

[swgrl09]

I experience physical symptoms when not anxious too. Mine is muscle tension. If I focus on it, it gets worse. If I can ignore it, it sort of stays in the background but is always there.

[Fishmanpa]

Too add to the analogy of a fire....

Sometimes, we don't even know we're feeding the fire. It's like our bodies have a little gremlin that throws wood on the fire or stokes it. Physiologically, it's the fight or flight response to stimuli, whether we're aware of it or not. With a person who suffers from anxiety, some of those unconscious responses are learned. That's where CBT comes into play. We change the way we think to change the way we react.

Prior to my "scanxiety" episode last month, I was irritable and anxious as you might imagine. Having the big "C" hanging over your head is stressful to say the least. While I thought I was in control, my body was reacting to the stress taking place and thus the chest pain seemingly out of no where.

Positive thoughts

[Sabre120]

Thank you sincerely for all your replies, I too appreciated the fire analogy! It's very comforting to hear that I am not the only one experiencing this, I will endeavour to look at the CBT therapy course here.