Hey everyone.i will try and keep it quick as it will take forever to cover my last 12 months in detail so I will just add my feelings/symptoms.
Head pressure/lightheaded (not dizzy though)
Dull ache in my left arm, left side of my chest under the armpit and lower left stomach.
Weird breathing like I'm fully aware of every breath
Eyes feel weird, kind of different to what they used to be. Eyes test showed nothing at all wrong with my eyes.
Tired all the time with it weak legs
Lack of enthusiasm to do things I used to love doing
Stomach ALWAYS feels tense (could that be what's causing the breathing issue)
Palpatations from time to time which scare me as I then get breathless.
Sometimes feel I'm shaking inside.
Very tired after eating.
Anyway - all this started after my one and only panic attack April 5th 2016 (my birthday) I don't feel anxious about doing anything, I still work, although I find it more difficult now as it's a mentally demanding job. I've had a chest x ray, thyroid check and ecg/heart beat check and all are fine. I noticed that all my symptoms would go when I would go out socialising in the early stages but now they don't, they are constantly there (not all of them - mainly the arm/chest/stomach pain and lightheadedness remain)
Doctor says it's anxiety but if I'm not anxious about doing anything then how can it be.? Can aniexty effect you subconsciously.? If it is anxiety will it just go away eventually if I continue to do everything I would normally do.?
I can get by with the pain, but the lightheadedness and weird eyes are horrendous. Tiredness is most likely caused by not doing as much excercise as I used to maybe.
Thanks for listening
Andy
Hi I had anxiety since childhood and only really figured it out age 32 after developing high anxiety levels and panic attacks. I do think anxiety can be subconscious I find it's worse now that I know and realise I have anxiety. Have you worked through what your panic attack was related to or what triggers might be? X
Hey Nicki, I was out with my 32 year old brother in law the night before celebrating. He went to bed that night and never woke up. When I found out I was in my car on the motorway, as I was driving home I became short of breath so I had to stop at every service station to get out the car and walk around. By the time I finally got home, I was convinced that I was going to die in my sleep that night. Then the panic set in. It scared me like ide never been scared before and I haven't seemed to have felt the same since. I can't seem to shift whatever it is that's making me feel "not normal" if that makes sense
Hi Kel4781, Anxiety doesn't come out of nowhere. That's always been my belief. And yes, we can harbor our anxiety, our fears in our subconscious. It waits until we are most vulnerable and then hits us.
Losing your young brother in law that way shocked your mental and emotional state. After all if it could happen to him, then whose to say it won't happen to me. And the thought is then processed in your mind waiting for the physical symptoms to appear and start the fear cycle.
The symptoms you describe have to due with tight muscles, yes even your eyes. The tiredness you feel after you eat is a most normal feeling in that your body is working on digestion and not anxiety. Breathing is a most important function of the body but when we are tensed, we can tend to hold our breath or shallow breathe. Those 2 things can give us that lightheaded feeling as well as feeling like we cannot take a deep breathe.
Our body is well prepared to take over when we feel we can't. These are automatic functions of survival. Let go and let your body and not your mind take over. Finding different ways to release your stress, to calm your fears and negative thoughts will help immensely. Short term therapy addressing the sudden death of your brother in law may be the key to turning your anxious thoughts around.
Remember we may not be consciously aware of what we fear, but deep within our minds that fear hangs on until we are ready to release it. Better days, feeling better are coming for you.
Hi Agora. That makes a lot of sense thank you. I had the worst year last year. That happened to my brother in law in April. Then in July, my 11 year old nephew who I adored sadly passed away from an anaphylactic shock. It broke my whole family. As I was already suffering this, it had a huge impact on my health. I was off work for a month feeling as if I was dying myself. I couldn't sleep, eat, go out the house or anything really. With time it became a little easier and I went back to work. I know for sure I'm not over it as I still get upset when I think of him bless him. I'm hoping time will bring better times and these feelings I'm having will disappear as quickly as they came.
Oh Kel4781, I am so terribly sorry for both of your losses. I feel sadness come over me when I hear things like this. I can only imagine the impact this has had on you. Well time does help with healing although we never forget those we loved and lost.
Is there something you can do to keep the memory of your nephew alive in a positive way not filled with sadness? For instance, plant a small tree and watch it grow. Release balloons in the sky on what would have been his next birthday. The list can go on and on and a therapist may be able to help you in releasing the sadness you feel which in turn will calm down your physical symptoms which are stress related.
I can only wish you well as you go forward in life. Hold the happy memories in your heart, your nephew would want that.
We had the biggest funeral for him. He was already planning his prom as he was due to start high school this year. He wanted a lamboughini as his prom car so we got him one to lead the procession. He would have loved that. We are to play a charity football match in July to mark his anniversary against a cancer research team (he was a massive football fan) the hospital donated a big trophy with his name on so that we can play each year for it against other charity teams to raise money for anaphylactic research and other charities. Really looking forward to it. Just hope I feel ok on the day. The excercise will do me good I guess ☺ we all meet up as a family and all his friends from school still come round to see us. They've been amazingly strong. He will be remembered at every chance we have. Sorry , I'm going on a bit here. He was beautiful though and I miss him greatly.
Kel, That is beautiful. You have more than started the healing process. I have a special place in my heart for Anaphylactic Research since I almost died from that years ago. I'm glad you have the support around you from family and his friends. Hang on to those wonderful memories. God Bless...
Sorry to hear that and glad you didn't.. I have looked into it and was amazed how little research there is on it. We will have the local news and newspapers at the match so with their help it will highlight the importance of it. If it helps a little then atleast that's something. Thanks again for your kind words
Wow you have been through so much we never stop grieving and there is so much to process anxiety is a result of all the stress and emotions. I guess try and find things that work for you ways to relax etc keep looking after yourself x
Thanks Nicki. X
Great reading x
There Agora1 goes again. Someone give this person an OBE for their services to Anxiety Disorders. "Agora1 OBE" sounds good doesn't it
So sorry to hear of your experience your stress/anxiety will certainly be stemming from this experience you will also be grieving as dealing with death can be traumatic. Would really recommend counselling to work through feelings and process what has happened. You may not be having anxious thoughts but your body responded and is still dealing what has happened. Has your doc suggested some counselling? X
I was sent to a CBT clinic. 1 hour per week for 4 weeks. As it was a group of around 15 people not one to one there was no interaction at all and I left at the end of 4 weeks without them even knowing what I was dealing with or even my name for that matter. A complete waste of time really, but worth a try I guess
That's the problem they throw everyone into the same pool without making it personal or constructive for you. I went to a private therapist as the waiting list was long and NHS seems to treat all the same x
I went back to the gp afterwards as he wanted to know how it went. I told him exactly what I thought of it and he had heard the same from previous patients who had been to it. Hopefully they have listened and will change the process. It needs to be one to one or only a couple at a time.
Subconscious! That is a VERY key word, as I have had anxiety, panic disorder, and depression for 10 years. And I truly feel that 90% of all my mental related things are subconscious!