Chronic sinus issues with anxiety?

[PhishFace09]

Hey there,

Last year I started a new extremely stressful job, as well as college courses and literally a week after I started there, my anxiety/depression had come swooping in full force. It had otherwise remained dormant after I got it under control in highschool and I was able to get off meds. Now I'm back on 50mg Zoloft and have had an MRI, tons of blood work, a trip to the ER, ENT, chiropractors, neurologist, etc, and everything always comes back fine. This whole past year I've had sinus issues (I've never had sinus issues before), and just generally feel ill ALL THE TIME. I used to love going out and having drunken shenanigans with my husband and now I have two beers and I feel super fatigued and yucky, usually end up getting a headache and go to bed early. I also feel like I'm out of breath all the time and am very aware of my heart beating. I am an active person that is not overweight, non-smoker, and I work out 2-3x a week. I constantly have sinus issues and always feel like I'm fighting a cold. I've gone through 5 rounds of antibiotics this past year, I'll feel a bit better for about a week after and then it comes right back. All my lab work, and MRI have been clear/good. I have a follow up with the ENT tomorrow who will prob just tell me my sinuses are dry and send me on my way more frustrated than ever like last time. I've had quite a few panic attacks lately too all stemming around that I think I am dying and that having a cold/sinus infection for the rest of life is just who I am now. Or that it's not a cold/sinus infection but something way more serious. Is this all anxiety? I guess I just have a hard time believing that I feel like I have a cold 24/7 because I have anxiety 😕😒 I didnt experience these as a kid when dealing with this, why now?

[Cristina554]

I go through the same experience minus the constant sinus issue. I truly believe it comes from stress and over thinking. I also used to go to happy hour with my hubby and I can't no more... I feel like I'm loosing it. I have been doing lots of self control and positive meditation (you tube) and I have been making baby steps, but I feel better and better.

[Lavelock67]

Bodies change over time and sometimes you get new sensitivities. I had this same thing many years ago, but the major problem that came out of nowhere was gluten and dairy in food. I was fine with them and it seems over just a few months they became a big problem (GMO, Pesticides, reaction to eating them during stressful times?, idk). Once I got off them my sinuses issues went away. But if you have bad anxiety it affects your intestines and the tissues in your intestines are connected to your sinus tissues and in some people much more than others so I'd start looking at what you are eating / drinking and start a food diary (easy way is to take pictures of everything you eat or drink with your smartphone) and make a change ever 4-5 days, anything shorter doesn't give you enough time to get things out of your system. As far as anxiety you have to avoid all the "what if" thinking because it escalates into more anxiety and just observe the symptoms and let them go. Don't think about what happens if they get worse or how long they will last. Let them just be. If they aren't stopping you from doing something then they don't need to be dealt with as if they are an emergency. It's near impossible you will stay the same so if you change things up I think you will figure it out. Look into mindfulness such as simple breathing focus as this is a major counter to anxiety. And a big tip on this is think of fixing your brain to be less anxious you do these mindfulness exercises the same as a physical workout. Doing them a few times a day (like reps) doesn't make you strong, but doing the reps multiple days a week over a few months absolutely makes a big difference. One thought training session at a time will help rebalance you one bit at a time and before you know it there will be a noticeable change. As far as mindfulness training and guided meditation you can't overdo it like physical muscle training, so do it as often as fits your schedule. I suggest scheduling it after waking and before bed for starters.

[PhishFace09 in reply to Lavelock67]

Thank you for your thoughtful post! I never thought about taking pics of everything I eat for logging purposes. I've tried keeping a food diary and I get bored with it really quickly and it's quite frustrating sometimes when you're on the go. Thanks for the idea! As for the meditation, do you have any apps you can recommend, or downloads?