Health anxiety and panic attacks

[Anxious2befree]

So after my reaction to MSG last week I haven't been able to go far from home as it brings on my anxiety. I reassure myself I'm ok but sometimes it's not working and I don't like leaving the house or the safety of my bedroom. Does anyone have this problem? Every little pain, ache or twinge I feel like I'm scanning my body and then thinking the worst but I'm worried it might not be anxiety but something else so how do you differentiate between anxiety and something that needs attention? Please help I hate being like This I want to go back to work

[chibi1309]

Hi Anxious2befree, I've suffered with Health Anxiety for a while and its a really scary thing to go through. Mine has been much better lately through getting therapy support and talking to friends or people around me.

I would suggest that when you 'tune in' to something you notice feelings in it. That is natural, it is our brains responding to our thoughts about the part of our body we are thinking about. For example, an exercise I was shown, if you close your eyes and place your hands on the floor then think about each finger in turn you can feel tingling in that finger as your brain connects to it.

The key for me was getting to know my body better and what was cause for alarm and what was not. If you have genuine health concerns I would suggest going to your doctor, although I know sometimes this can be hard to differentiate from the anxiety.

Try to keep positive and try different things to help you work through this - I don't believe there is a one size fits all when it comes to our mental health. For me the recipe to working towards recovery has been a combo of therapy and mindfulness techniques, for example.

I wish you all the best and hope that you are able to work through these difficult anxious thoughts and feelings.

[Anxious2befree in reply to chibi1309]

Thank you for responding xx

[Nicki1984]

Hiya have you been checked for any food allergies or sensitivities? I have IBS and with anxiety it's a viscious cycle. At my worst I would have constant anxiety and I realised a lot of this was down to what was going on with my body IBS symptoms or anxiety symptoms. I sometimes feel anxious if I feel too full after a meal or a back ache or sore throat starts. However now that I now this and know that I can work on this it is easier to work on it. I can suggest various things: counselling, a book called Anxiety Panicking about Panic by Justin Fletcher, Mindfullness and meditation - lots of free videos on YouTube. I have just started an 8 week Mindfullness meditation programme (recommend by NICE) I bought it as an audiobook so I can listen anywhere on phone/headphones only on week 1 so far so will see how that goes. There is hope it's all about working out your triggers, acceptance and breaking the cycles once you have identified them x

[Anxious2befree in reply to Nicki1984]

Thank you and good luck with your programme I would love to know how you go x