Hi everyone! I know symptom naming and sharing isn't a helpful way to recover from anxiety but after seven months of going through this and starting to feel healthy again, I wanted to share all the sensations I experienced during my worst phases of anxiety. I want you all to know you're not alone in this fight and it does get way better! Here's what I went through and you may also be able to relate to:
~Increased heart rate, pounding heart which I felt in my head, backbone and all over.
~Dizziness and shaky legs, arms and torso.
~Fuzzy brain or feeling like something attached to my brain making a numb feeling.
~Major stomach problems, pain and loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation.
~Back soreness, rib soreness, neck and tight muscles.
~Lack of sleep and focus, fear of being alone.
~Pain in jaw, shoulder and wrists.
~Pain in heart region. Quick stabbing pain when bending over.
~Loss of muscle and concentration.
I knew I was becoming a hypchondriac when I started doing this:
~Looking at my bowel movements for color and shape.
~Constantly checking my heart rate and using an app.
~Scheduling too many doctor visits and seeing specialists for every ache and pain.
~Googling any symptom for hours and hours trying to diagnose my pain.
~Not accepting my results from doctors and not trusting them. Thinking they don't understand what I'm experiencing and finding new doctors.
My greatest panic symptoms:
~Fear of leaving the house (comfort zone).
~Driving any significant distance away from my home. Fear I would have a heart attack and crash.
~Fear of living alone and no one around if I passed out or worse.
~Turn down any invitation to parties, events or vacations.
~Stay away from crowded events and too many people.
~Not eat because food hurt my stomach.
~Constantly weigh myself because I was dropping weight fast from not eating and depression.
~Avoid any flights due to fear of attack at 30,000 feet.
~Avoid dating because who the hell would believe I'm a man in my current state of emotional stress.
~Get anxious at large traffic intersections and waiting for the light.
You see, I can go on and on. It's been a rough year but I honestly have made huge improvements and don't experience most of these fears or sensations any longer. There was no overnight cure or magic pill that helped. It came down to believing in myself, believing my test results and doctors. It came down to me changing my lifestyle for the better(quit smoking and drinking) and improving my diet and exercise slowly. I had to regain my confidence and accept that this anxiety, panic and health anxiety was a sign my brain is forcing changes. You may be just starting your journey or in the middle or closing in on the end. Whatever the case, just know it does get way better and you will live a full, happy life! Thanks for listening. Stay strong!
Written by
Titan4757
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Hi Titan. I can't say thank you enough for your post. I feel like you wrote almost exactly what I've been feeling. In particular, the stomach problems have been really a source of anxiety for me the last few weeks. I've had anxiety since my early 20s and just turned 55. I also have GERD and gastritis which were diagnosed 7 years ago. I just went through a very stressful 4 - 5 months recently looking for a house, a financing nightmare even though we were pre-approved and finally moving in and getting settled over Memorial Day weekend. We were stressed to the hilt but two weeks after moving, as things settled, my anxiety kicked in and stomach/gut problems in particular. I've had them in the past but not to the degree they have been the last few weeks or lingering this long. Dr things it's part of the anxiety since stomach is a huge responder to anxiety and stress but I'm not convinced especially since my grandpa died from stomach cancer. I have a follow up with her today since I'm scheduled for screening colonoscopy Monday. Health anxiety is definitely all consuming : (
Thanks for this Titan, you have basically described me to a T, especially the ‘turning into a hypochondriac’ bit! I would say I’m right in the middle of recovery. I’m still working on accepting that it’s all anxiety. Hopefully I’ll get where you are sooner rather than later xx
Thanks, Titan. I truly appreciate your comment. It said exactly what I needed to hear right when I really needed to hear it. Please don’t delete it, I may need t re-read it several times today to reinforce it. You made my day easier and brighter. 🙂
Yo bro, I understand what you are saying... It's been a year since I developed health anxiety and was going to start switching my self into hypochondriac situation. I started getting a lot of body aches, pains, weird sensations and everything you can imagine. 85% of the symptoms you listed I was getting them all. Also I quote exactly the point where you said " Fear of leaving the house (comfort zone). " I spent 3 months into this situation and used to think same things you described. Home > Work > Home( this was my daily routine for 3 months ). The only thing I hate is that when ever that I start the day on positive note then I get an ache/pain somewhere round my body and it puts me into a panic mode and the saga continues with the panic attack symptoms. Few months ago I had a strange pain in my left arm( still getting it now a days but this time I think I have a damage nerve from the neck in which 75% is yes) that the left arm radiates to chest. I googled, and the google answered me that it is a heart attack. I started panicking > more symptoms, I slept don't know how and when I woke up, I woke fine like just nothing happened. I was still confused a bit and started to google again. I started doing some research and google was answering me that it can be an angina or a heart disease. It heightened my ANXIETY and everyday I started thinking only negative that YES it's a heart disease or angina and again every symptom I used to get it puts me into a panic mode. i've decided to do a blood test and when I received the test, my doctor told everything is fine, perfect nothing to worry about it. I found peace, but only lasted for a 1 week and again I started to feel strange pain, sensations in that place. I started thinking that the doctor has missed something and again I've felt my self again trapped into a vicious circle of anxiety attacks, panic attacks and a lot of physical pain, sensations. About 1 month ago I felt the same pain and my mum rushed me to ER they kept me for a night under surveillance. They did me ECGs, Blood tests, Chest X-RAYS and nothing was wrong( thank god ) everything was good. I started thinking that yes it can be the anxiety was messing with me but still was getting the pains and other stuff and putted me into panic attacks. I heard people from here that they started reading Claires Week book( hope and help for your nerves) and they found a big relief from it. I bought it and read it all and all she said is TRUE. It's about the sensitised nerves. Our nerves are so sensitised that it creates all sort of pain/sensations/aches and because they are sensitised they keep feeding our nerves with adrenaline and we keep panicking. You should not fight the symptoms and it keeps the vicious circle. I can say that I'm in the recovering mode right now. Still the anxiety sometimes keeps messing with me with the pain/aches/sensations and trying to put me into panic mode but I don't fight it, I float with it. It takes time to fully recovering, there is no time to recover it can take days, months and even years. Hope I gave you some courage and don't let the anxiety rules you. You rule the anxiety by not fighting it I know it's hard but you gotta keep your head up believe me.
Titan4757,
Thank you very much for this informative post! Like many others, I’d say I am/have experienced about 98% of everything you described. I am in the military about to retire in two months and was overtaken by anxiety, panic disorder/Health anxiety (hypochondria) in March of this year. It feels so good to hear a story like this from someone who has experienced almost to a T everything I am experiencing and made it through it. I am 40 years old and never had any health issues until I had my first PTSD/Anxiety Attack event in July of last year. Went from July of 17 to Mar of 18 without having another event. In Mar I had another anxiety attack, went to the ER and this time one of the ER personnel told me they THOUGHT it may have been a mini stroke. This diagnoses sent me into the downward panic disorder spiral. I went to several other doctors for a second opinion two weeks later to include neurologists and cardiologists and had extensive testing done. EKG’s, echocardiograms, heart monitor belts, heart bubble study, blood work, neurology exams, CT’s, MRI’s you name it. EVERYTHING came back negative, all the doctors said I was healthy however the damage was already done. That doctors diagnosis saying he THOUGHT it may have been a mini stroke sent my brain into a state of thinking I was going to die everyday from a stroke until I was able to get in for some second opinions which was over two weeks time. Even after I got the second opinions and all the testing done it was too late, something in my mind had clicked and I was in the downward spiral into hypochondria. I do not fault the doctor at all, he was giving his expert medical opinion in an attempt to diagnose what was going on with me, and I am grateful for all the medical personnel who have helped me out in my numerous ER visits since July of last year due to this disorder. I have made some progress in trying to decrease the worry, stress, panic, monitoring of every body sensation, and constantly being in my thoughts about all of it everyday but still have a way to go. Hearing your success is definitely the type of motivation I joined this group to hear. What was key for you in getting rid of the constant brain fog/dizzy/lightheaded/blurry vision sensation? Also, did you have any muscle twitching/spasm and ringing of the ears during your experience?
Thank you again for this motivation and encouragement
Hey brother, I just received a notification that you replied two months ago. Weird. Anyway, I found my brain fog and light dizziness went away when I started to get more than three hours of sleep and didn't have panic attacks when lying down for the night. Weeks before I wasn't allowing myself to fall asleep because I actually thought I wouldn't wake up. All those sleepless nights added up and shut down my body. Walking actually helped a lot. I'd walk around the neighborhood after work. Slowly increasing the distance. I found having my feet grounded and using my muscles and breathing kept my focus away from anxiety. As far as muscle twitching, yes. I still do. My left pectoral muscle, my triceps, back muscles, forearms and abs. Nothing serious just enough to fuel the fire of panic. I had an occasional ringing in my ears and went to the ear doc. He flushed out a large ball of wax that was probably causing it. I get it done every five years and it's always a ball of impacted wax. I hope you're doing better than you were two months ago. Thank you for your service and congratulations on your retirement! Happy trails.
How did you get rid of the dizziness, lightheaded spaced out foggy brain feeling
Hi Chris, the one thing that will help reverse the dizzy, lightheaded, spaced out foggy brain are two fold. Making sure you are well hydrated each day as well as learning how to deep breathe naturally and properly. x
Oh thank you so, so much for posting this! You have given me hope that there is light at the end of this tunnel... Can I just ask did you take medication or do it by yourself? I think you will help so many people with this post who are suffering xx
Thanks! I never did use medication. I'm stubborn that way and wanted to improve without it. I was prescribed xanax in January but only ever tried one. It made me nervous at the time and slowed down my breathing. Some people say meds have helped them so if you want to give them a try don't shy away from it. Best wishes.
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