is this really anxiety?

[molli88]

my head is constantly pounding. and i feel like im “underwater” i even feel like im going to pass out. is this anxiety or something more severe??

[Sprinkle1]

I do not think it is anxiety, I suffer with severe anxiety and do not have those symptoms, sounds like an overload of stress to me. Anyone else want to chip in? Sending love n hugs.......

[molli88 in reply to Sprinkle1]

it just scares me. my family always blames it on anxiety so i just continue to say anxiety. but i literally feel like im underwater and my head hurts and sometimes i just wanna sleep. but then i always feel like something is wrong with me. so ughh idk

[Hidden in reply to molli88]

If you feel like something is always wrong with you, this could be health anxiety.

Does this stem from your sisters diagnosis? Health anxiety can convince you something is wrong, health anxiety can keep you so focused on a physical issue you are having at the moment that it can convince you something is wrong or something is failing in your body.

Choices are with your current situation, ask your family to help you get to a doc if your pain needs medical attention, or recommend therapy for the anxiety.

[molli88 in reply to Hidden]

it actually does. it has been really bad ever since my sisters diagnosis. and yes i literally feel like something is wrong then i feel like im going to black out but in reality im just overthinking and my thoughts are just going crazy

[Hidden in reply to molli88]

I can understand your fears and being scared. Health anxiety is tough to manage on your own, it seems your family is telling you you have anxiety. Have they offered to get you into therapy or treatment for it?

[Sprinkle1 in reply to molli88]

Hi again, I am familiar with your feelings, sounds to me like excess stress, which is bringing you down mentally and physically. Is there someone you can talk to in confidence that you trust. When we talk about our feelings it helps reduce them from giants to dust on the floor. I know I have been there. Please believe in yourself, love and respect yourself, take tests if it will help, and remember ALL thing change and come to an end, So live your life and enjoy it, that is what it is given to us for. I send you strength, peace, love and big hugs...

[Jeff1943]

Nobody here is qualified to give you a definite answer. Only a doctor can do that. A doctor may run a few blood tests or refer you to a specialist.

When they say: "There's nothing physically wrong with you" then you have the reassurance of knowing for sure. Maybe you've done that already but if not your Doctor is the person to ask not your family or people here.

I think the odds are stacked in favour of health anxiety triggered by your sister. Once you know for sure many people here will be able to tell you what they know.

[molli88 in reply to Jeff1943]

i went to the doctors and all they say is see a therapist or a counselor. i have high blood pressure to begin with so like it doesnt help. idk. i just always feel like something is wrong with me.

[Jeff1943 in reply to molli88]

Molli, from what you say your doctor appears to think your bad feelings are caused by anxiety. All the symptoms you've described here can certainly be caused by anxiety.

If you are able to take advantage of the help that a therapist can bring that would be one good way forward, maybe talk to your parents about your need for therapy.

I think the impact of your sister's diagnosis has caused your nervous system to become over sensitive. In this state our nerves begin to play tricks on us like your feeling that you're underwater.

None of these tricks and bad feelings can harm you even though it may feel that they can. The power of anxiety is limited. My advice is to stop concentrating on these fake symptoms your sensitised nerves are sending you and concentrate on de-sensitising your nervous system. This means coming to terms with the fear you feel everytime you feel the symptoms. Fear is what sensitised your nerves in the first place and fear is what is keeping them sensitised. If you could free yourself of this fear then in time your nerves will return to normal and all these bad feelings will pass.

You know that none of the feelings can cause you permanent harm so no need to fear them.

The secret is to accept the bad feelings for the time being without adding second fear to the flash of first fear. Accept them totally for the moment, let them come knowing that because you no longer need fear them you are hastening your recovery.

Acceptance is the key to recovering your peace of mind by eliminating the excess of fear hormones that have been sensitising your nerves.

You will need to practice acceptance for some time before your nerves recover. But recover they will if you cultivate your ability to Accept rather than to generate more fear hormones.

[molli88 in reply to Jeff1943]

this is definitely probably a problem. i have lots of fears that something is going to happen. like a stroke or bleeding in my brain causing my head to hurt. i already have high blood pressure and idk if that is caused by anxiety or if my high blood pressure causes the anxiety. i dont know and it just scares me

[Jeff1943 in reply to molli88]

Molli, you say you have high blood pressure, did your doctor suggest a blood pressure med? Can you say what the reading is, as we know bp often gives a false high reading in a doctor's surgery/office due to white coat syndrome.

If your doc put you on a bp med then there's no need to worry about a stroke. If he or she didn't then they clearly don't think you have high bp so once again no need to worry.

High anxiety makes us worry about all sorts of things that are no threat only figments of our stressed out imagination. The worry about your sister could have triggered this but either way you are no more at risk of stroke than anyone else.