Anxiety Support

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pressure feeling in head when straining. please help

for three months i've been experiencing this pressure feeling in my head when i laugh, sometimes bend over, and other movements which might involve straining. it feels like an extra rush of blood to my head, and then i feel pulsing inside my head in sync with my heartbeat. it gives me so much anxiety. i also get daily headaches in my eyes and temples, and am almost always off-balance. i'm hoping someone can shed some light onto this for me cause i haven't been able to find much help on the internet and those of you with anxiety know how much searching i've done. i had a ct-scan and it was clear, and didn't find any sinus issues. My doctor denied me an MRI.

can this actually be caused by anxiety?

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Go to a sinus specialist in your area. It sounds like a sinus infection to me. Harmless but very miserable to live with.

I got that done also, and always have trouble with my ears...so yes very true also. Couldn't hurt to get your sinuses checked. 🙄😊

I considered that as a big possibility but my doctor cleared me for a sinus infection too because he said blocked Sinuses and whatnot would show up on a scan. Feels like so much more

Yes, it surely can be caused by anxiety. We produce a lot of energy, and sometimes it can get stuck. Let it ease out of you. I believe in you my friend.

Just look at the posts over the past 12 hours - nearly half of them are about head pressure/ head symptoms. This is an anxiety site and its clear these symptoms are very common.

You have excluded a brain tumour so try and stop worrying, but need to work on the anxiety management - psychological/ distraction techniques

the reason why i asked my own question on here is because i wasn't sure if other people experience these types of pains as a result of anxiety. i see posts about people getting headaches and head pressure, but nothing about it being due to strain or bending over or laughing or coughing. that's the part that freaks me out and the part i'm losing sleep over. i can't imagine anxiety alone being the reason for me getting pain due to movement or strain. doesn't always have to be a tumor- could be increased intracranial pressure, chiari, and tons of other health problems. want to know if anyone has experienced pain with movement as a result of anxiety alone even if i am distracted and in a completely calm state, the pain will still be there and pop up unexpectedly. it's really strange and doctors have not been much help

It sounds like you are winding yourself up with worries about unlikely causes. Teh more serious and likely causes have been excluded by your CT Are you really going to be reassured by hearing of others commentating about similar symptoms?

that's why i posted on here. so that someone that's been through the same thing can share their experience and reassure me so i can relax. i'm sure if this was happening to you you'd be a bit concerned and search for answers too.

other causes have not been ruled out, mri's and lumbar punctures rule out things ct scans can't, but my doctor denied me one unfortunately

This is something that doctors are trained for and accountable for and have to use health resources appropriately.They presumably do not feel it is appropriate to investigate further as they consider you low risk. This should be reassuring for you, but anxiety can play tricks with our head and convince us otherwise

you're right but it's hard when i know what i'm feeling does not feel normal at all. i know anxiety is powerful just did not know it was capable of causing head pains that are aggravated by movement. scary stuff to deal with

Health anxiety is a terrible thing that gives us all manner of symptoms that with the internet can lead us down a very anxious path looking for unlikely rare explanations. Good judgement is what the doctors are employed for and trained for.

If you have health anxiety, your judgement will by definition be poor and not to be trusted!