Hi everyone I have been experiencing some symptoms!! Please comment if you have been through this and how you did!! Thank You

[Sam001]

Has anyone ever experienced random brain fog and just feeling faint 24-7 lightheadedness I should say??

What were the cures and how long did this last.

I can't seem to go out in sunlight at all because it bothers me to a point where in lightheaded.

Also fluorescent lights are bad as well.

It's not as bad at night or dark areas but it's still there

[Jeff1943]

Hi Sam001, it sort of sounds like it could all be anxiety related but I do advise you to see your doctor because it might be something physical, something simple, it's always a good start to get the reassurance that a talk with your doctor can give. Your doctor won't think you odd, about half the people they see every day are suffering from stress in some way. Brain fog, feeling faint and dislike of bright lights can be symptoms of anxiety disorder and most probably are in your case.

There's no set time about how long it can last and the only cure I know of is to recognise there's nothing organically wrong with you (if that's what your doctor tells you) and that these symptoms are caused by sensitisation of your nervous system through stress, that's what it is. But it's quite common and not life threatening - whatvyou must avoid is getting too obsessive about the symptoms and constantly testing yourself and thinking about it all the time. If you don't just accept these symptoms for the time being then constantly stressing about them causes more symptoms which causes more stress which causes more symptoms which causes more stress and that's a vicious circle you don't want to get into.

So do see the doc, just accept your symptoms as the product of tired nerves and get on with your life confident in the knowledge that the way you feel is quite common and not a harbinger of your demise!

[Sam001 in reply to Jeff1943]

Thanks for the reply Jeff

Well after many blood tests and EKGs and chest X-rays all of the above tests lol and many more

The doctor says I'm absolutely healthy.

My last resort is a neurologist. Because lights and sunlight causes most of this.

I'm not a anxious person and never have been so idk where all this came all of a sudden.

[Hardluck]

I do. I've been in a constant state of anxiety now for approximately three months. Ongoing for 15 years. Peaks and valleys as they say. Unfortunately I'm in somewhat of a downward spiral. Honestly only benzodiazepines help me. I'm really going to start focussing more on CBT. I guess one of the positives. I can take out of this is that some portions of the day I feel fantastic, while other portions of the day it's like hell on earth. Stay positive and keep breathing.

[Sam001 in reply to Hardluck]

Hmm have you had panic attacks and do you notice light makes it worse for you as well??

[Jeff1943 in reply to Sam001]

Sam, you say you're not anxious and you may be right but many, many years ago when my anxiety disorder first made itself known it affected my eyes, couldn't stand fluorescent overhead lighting, always insisted on desk lights where I worked, outside always used sunglasses and drove with the sun visor down. Anxiety had sensitised my nervous system and had sensitised my eyes to light, your case might be different of course. Darkness be my friend and all that.

I also experiencedca type of detachment from reality as if I wasn't really there, watching everything on a big screen, I still get that sometimes in supermarkets where they have super powerful lighting. As I say in my case it was anxiety maybe something else in your case.

[Sam001 in reply to Jeff1943]

Yes exactly how I feel Jeff

How did you recover from all this??

[Jeff1943 in reply to Sam001]

By practicing the teachings of the late Dr Claire Weekes based on Facing, Accepting, Floating and Letting time pass I recovered, she wrote many books about her treatment but the best is 'Self Help with your Nerves' in the UK and 'Hope and help with your nerves' in the US, available on Amazon as new, kindle downloads or used for one pence plus the postage. It's easy to read, not too lengthy and it was written 50 years ago though that shouldn't put anyone off because it's as effective today as then and during that time has cured hundreds of thousands of people including many on this forum. Look Sam, it's a bit late where I am, I will give you a brief run down tomorrow, I promise.

[Sam001 in reply to Jeff1943]

Thanks Jeff sounds good

I will be here!!

[Jeff1943 in reply to Sam001]

Hi Sam and Hardluck too, I didn't think my life was particularly stressful but one evening out of nowhere had my first and only panic attack. This was followed by feelings of high anxiety and photophobia which is sensitivity to light. I went to see my doctor, optician and a specialist and they all said Nothing physically wrong. I was given some diazepam/valium and Vroom they did the trick like a magic bullet. Back then nobody understood diazepam could be addictive and they were handing them out like Smarties/M&Ms. I stopped taking the valium after about a year and felt dreadful, realised they were addictive and slowly weaned myself off them over 3 months gradually reducing the dosage.

The valium showed the symptoms were all anxiety. Despite their addictive tendencies Valium is still useful but only for very short periods or as a one-off in response to a really bad day.

So how did I recover and overcome the photophobia? By luck I came across that book I mentioned by an Australian doctor, the late Claire Weekes: 'Self help with your nerves'. Not the sort of title you'd want to be seen reading on a bus but in my opinion she got it spot on, she'd experienced

[Jeff1943 in reply to Jeff1943]

Sorry pressed the wrong button, I'll continue, she'd experienced anxiety disorder herself when young and worked out how to overcome it. In the past 50 years her method has cured people with all kinds of anxiety disorders. She explains that our nervous systems can become sensitised if we experience too much anxiety causing all sorts of symptoms that mimic real organic illness and put the fear of sh*t in us. When our nerves are sensitised everything is magnified, small problems seem enormous, our stomach can begin to play up and although she didn't mention photophobia that condition is clearly a case of the optic nerve becoming oversensitive to light.

Her solution is simple but it's not a quick fix, it takes practice and persistance. I followed her method and eventually desensitised my nervous system and the sensitivity to light and other symptoms went. Don't ask me how long, it was a case of one day looking around and noticing the sensitivity to light had gone (though I still do feel slightly strange sometimes in brightly lit supermarkets).

So how does her system work? I'll give you the short version but if you seriously want to try her method you have to read the book. First, she says stop fighting the symptoms (such as photophobia), stop constantly testing yourself and learn to temporarily ACCEPT the bad symptoms whatever they are. You can do this because you're no longer worried or bewildered that it may be sonething life or sight threatening, you know these symptoms are fake, just blips in your nervous wiring. By total acceptance when you experience symptoms you stop generating more anxiety which causes more sensitisation which causes more anxiety etc etc andvyou breakthe vicious circle that's prolonging your symptoms. After a while your nerves quieten down and stop sending out false signals. And if by chance it happens again years later, well you know what it is and you know how to see it off.

That's the story, it's all about acquiring the ability to ACCEPT nervous for the time being. But if you're serious about using this method to heal you, which it will do, you have to read (and reread) the book.

[Hardluck in reply to Sam001]

Yes I do get panic attacks. However my sensitivity to light is Constant. Also while in a state of anxiety I find my hearing to be hypersensitive. According to the professionals this is all completely natural and to be expected. I know I have to be more excepting of my physical feelings, as should you. Please pay close attention to Jeff1943, that fellow speaks words of wisdom. God Bless.

[Sam001 in reply to Hardluck]

Any cure? And how did you overcome all this??