why and how do i help myself

[janni]

I am having body symptoms everyday. If its not pain felt deep in my head its pain and tightness in my chest. :( I just convinced i am going to die any minute, it's so horrible cos i have a death phobia too. I have mild narrowing of my arteries which a gp told me was negligible which means that most people my age that have smoked would prob have same result but its pretty harmless but ever since ive found out im certain of a stroke or other blood flow problem or oxygen. I don't want to come into chat no more and bring people down cos i am so heavily down. if theres nothing serious wrong then why does it feel so serious. on health anxiety page it talks about nervous system being aroused. how do i get it back into shape. i cant accept these things as anxiety. ive got tingling in my fingers ive had tingling in my gums and this is all anxiety? ive seen a neurologist who said its ptsd and anxiety, but i cant believe anyone. Im so stuck here waiting to die and cos im thinking of that ill never calm my nervous system down. Nothing inside feels right. Can anyone relate to this and has anyone been here and recovered?

[bluebell68]

Hi Janni... i know the hardest thing to do is to accept that our symptoms could just be anxiety related... i struggle with this at times too and it is horrible ...but all of the symptoms that you have described are common with anxiety...when my HA is really bad, i have had similar feelings to those you have described and i have honestly felt them ...i don't imagine them as many non anx people seem to think we do...and yet when my anxiety is low or gone these feelings have disappeared... i know this and yet when i get a new HA worry and new symptoms, i go thru the same cycle...as to what to do about it, well ask 10 anx sufferers and you will get 10 different answers.. it is trial and error to find what works for you ... for me, meds help but so does exercise and relaxation cds etc, i think an all round approach is the most useful .... adrenalin, that we produce when we are anxious or afraid will cause pins and needles and a tight chest feelings for sure and exercise is great for burning off adrenalin.. im not talking marathon running or hours in the gym but something as simple as a short brisk walk or a bit of gardening or any sort of mild activity will work... its hard to motivate ourselves towards activity when we are anxious but i have honestly found that this has helped me massively to cope with the physical symptoms of my anx,...you have done the right thing and checked your symtoms out with docs and i honestly think that if you can reduce your anxiety your symptoms will lessen and probably disappear... you will come thru this and feel right again... keep posting
xx
Rachel

[mandie]

Hi Janni

I can relate to some of your post.

I have a death phobia

I sometimes cant believe that anxiety can give u all these symptoms.

i have tingling and pins and needles in my hands .

everyday i seem to have something and it brings me right down, wish i could wake up and feel normal.

love mandie x

[janni]

thanks so much bluebell and mandie xxx your words help more than you know right now, thank you xx

[Carla08]

Hi Janni
I am sorry you are feeling as you are. I would say this is def all down to anxiety. I have experienced anxiety for a long time and part of that was the health anxiety altho that has now gone and other things took its place :( When we are really anxious we can convince ourselves that so much is wrong from health issues to everything else issues. If you were not anxious you wldnt be feeling as you do. You can get better. I got over my health/death anxiety but I dont know how it just went eventually. I got too tired and worn out I think to worry about it all anymore and I also got into keeping fit and healthy as possible which helped me in how I thought. All the symptoms you state are similiar to what I had and the tingling is anxiety however if you dont feel that this is what it is then I wld say go back to your gp *get a 2nd opinion*or another gp and tell them you are not happy and want your mind putting at ease. Hope you are feeling better soon.Love to you.

[chalky]

Hi Janni,

I honestly thought you were talking about me when I saw this Thread:-

"i cant accept these things as anxiety"

I felt like this for years.Despite Doctors telling me that I had anxiety and giving me Meds,I fought their diagnosis.
When I came to NMP,the penny dropped with me.
Anxiety is a condition in and of itself.
I had to learn about it and understand why my thinking had to change.
The road to recovery starts with action.
Accept your Anxiety for what it is and start to tackle it one day at a time.
Challenge your negative thinking.Your mind might say you are definitely ill but where is the proof.Check the Symptoms in the Forum and find common ground with other membersAnalyse your thinking and see the common ground you share with other members.In both cases,you are not alone!
Saying you "can't" leads us to think that that is that.Can't=can not.
You can choose to accept or you can not choose to accept that anxiety is the problem.
From my own experience,I know that the longer I fought this,the more it hurt me and the harder my recovery became.
Can you beat this?
Why not?
Read the Success Stories and believe.
Keep believing in yourself.
One day at a time,you CAN recover.
Best wishes,
Chalky

[janni]

thank you all xx coming here has helped. I have spoken with people and straight off they have said wow it is like speaking to myself which does let me believe that it is all anxiety but there are times when the body symptoms are just too much so intense. Thanks chalky i will keep reading and also carla for your feed back. Exercise is something i am scared to do but I need to start helping myself. On a better day there is hope and I see that one day I might get there. It's these days I have to hang onto not the worse ones. Thanks all for your replys. Deeply grateful xxx take care xx