fed up

[helenclaire]

hi, am i the only one who feels so ill all the time? Everyday i feel ill, some days i feel lightheaded/ dizzy sometimes i feel sick or headachy other times i have hot/cold flashes some days are worse than others but i always seem to have something that is making me worry and when it is bad i then get panic attacks. I dread waking up in the mornings for fear of how i am gong to feel. I just want to feel well, i find it hard to believe anxiety is causing this, i am convinced it must be something physical. I feel too ill to leave the house most days which does not help the agoraphobia. Does anyone have any advice on how to cope with these feelings, i just want to feel normal. helen

[neptuno]

Hello Helen !
Anxiety can make us feel like this when all our symptoms go into overdrive. I know you must have seen your doctor who has confirmed your anxiety. When I have times like this I plan my day in "bite size" pieces - shower and have breakfast (one hour), Read a book (half an hour), do last weeks ironing (one very boring hour !), relaxations tapes (twice a day) etc etc... fill your time with planned activity so you don't have time to dwell on how you feel. I'm sure you will get some respite by doing this and knowing you have control over what you will be doing in the day.
Be kind to yourself

[trish1955]

hi i realy can relate to how you feel i hate geting up to as i no how i will feel i said to my sister i dont no if it anxiety an stress makeing me feel ill or feeling ill makeing my anxiety and stress worse either way i feel crap all tha time and reading yr reply i can see how aranging yr day would be good but if yr like me i am so down and so unorgaisied i cant do that i never no what will be going on in my home to do any kind of routinei seem to have lost my space since we moved in to this lovely area but a small house i dont no were to go to get away its like every room is taken by another member of the family as my son as moved back home he is suffering anxiey probs as well he is 19 my heart goes out to him as i no how he feels and when yr feeling verey anxouse i am all over the place any way if u ever need to chat pm me and we will arrange something bye for now trishxx

[Magpie]

I agree, I don't think there's a single person with an anxiety or panic disorder who doesn't have some sort of unpleasant physical manifestation. I found it got a little better once I'd come to terms with the fact these things are caused by anxiety. Not accepting it just makes you think 'well what is causing it then?' and that just adds to the anxiety that's already there.

[Acable12]

Hi,

I went through a year when I always felt like crap. It was when I was going through a very anxious time in my life and I went to the doctors a few times. He took blood and did some tests and found nothing wrong with me, he said you are just having an ill year. Sometimes this happens to all of us and you have to pick yourself up and get on with it. Take one day at a time and you will get better.

Aaran
XX

[nomorepanic]

Have you tried exercise? It helped me overcome my panic attacks

[lama]

Have you tried exercise? It helped me overcome my panic attacks

I've been wondering about this...alot of people say exercise makes them feel better. But I mean if you are having fast heart beats or feeling dizzy or feel like you can't breath how can you comfortably excerise?

[helenclaire]

yeah, i too have heard exercise can help, but sometimes i struggle to get around the house. And i worry that doing more will make the dizziness worse and then that will lead to more panic attacks ! I feel like i am stuck in a hole that i cant get out of. p.s. thanks for all your replies. helen

[Jaco45er]

Exercise is the key, I used to feel ill all the time (not so much now, just the odd day) but when I got back into exercising my anxiety/ill feelings started to subside.

I used to play football, squash etc until anxiety hit at 30. It hit me so bad initially, I stopped going to the gym, playing football and became pre-occupied with anxiety.

6 years into anxiety, I had tried everything and through endless internet searching I read about endorfphins (a feel-good chemical released during/after exercise).

Out of desperation, I re-joined a gym, and the 1st time I went I had very high anxiety levels and felt terrible. It took about 5 to 6 visits before I could exercise without feeling so bad. After that, the results were quite incredible.

The general anxiety started to drop, and even the thumping heart episodes weren't as scary (when you understand hitting 170bpm in the gym, u know the hearts not in bad shape).

You do not have to run a marathon or weightlift, gentle exercise at home is all you need. Just enough to feel slightly out of breath for about 30 mins a day.

Jaco

[feartie]

I absolutely agree that exercise can help enormously. I suffered from an ME type illness 10 years ago and slowly recovered over the next 4 years. However, while I was ill I started having panic attacks and have suffered from anxiety ever since. I had a very good year and half or so when I was almost anxiety free, and that coincided with taking up cycling and swimming and becoming pretty fit. I've been bad with anxiety again recently (I have back problems that prevent me exercising at times, sometimes for long periods), but do find that if I force myself out for a cycle I inevitably feel better afterwards.

I understand your fears about your heart and feeling like exercise may be dangerous. I felt exactly the same. But if you start off fairly gently, you'll soon build up confidence in your heart as you exercise again and again with no consequences, and hopefully a lot of benefit (certainly for your general health, and I'm sure for your anxiety too).

Cycling is a great way to exercise in my opinion, cause it's really not that hard unless you're somewhere hilly, and can be exhilarating in a way that walking just isn't. I love swimming too, thought it takes me a while to get back into that without bringing on feelings of panic if I've not done it for a while ~ getting used to the breathing again. Once I'm used to it though, I love it and find crawl it almost meditative.

Anyway, I hope you're able to discover how exercise can help you....

Fx

P.S. Actually, I find singing helpful when I'm panicking sometimes too. When I'm feeling like I can't breathe properly, I sometimes force myself to sing, and it really helps. I guess it helps my mood, but also get's me breathing more deeply and loosens up the muscles in my chest. I use this technique when I feel anixious when driving especially ~ and it's great cause no one can hear me singing at the top of my lungs! :-)

Orr... how about trying a dance class with a friend, once you're feeling well enough to get out and about? Learning new steps requires concentration, and is usually a great laugh, and both of these things will take your mind off your health worries and anxieties. And once you've finished your class it should make you feel more confident that your health worries are caused by anxiety, because hopefully you'll be feeling good after an hour off thinking about it all. I had a particularly bad spell with anxiety and depression in December/January, and going to a beginners salsa class with a good friend really really helped me get back on track.