Dizziness

[savgresh4]

Hello, I recently got diagnosed with anxiety. I have been tryin to get through it without taking medications. I have been feeling better mentally and not constantly worry. The issues I am having is I’m always dizzy. I will wake up and feel fine and then when I get to work or out in public I feel so dizzy. My neck tenses up and the left side of my head hurts. Please help with any recommendations. I am struggling a lot because I feel like something more serious could be going on. The doctors says it’s related to my anxiety, but why am I dizzy when I don’t even feel anxious?

[Julie_z]

Hello! If your doctor has cleared you then it’s probably just anxiety. I would suggest seeing an ENT if it continues to bother you. They can refer you to a neurologist and can test you for vestibular disorder. However if you only get dizzy during certain times it may just be anxiety. I’ve dealt with this for years!! It’s so annoying and frightening. I recommend the dare application to help you cope. Hang in there.

[Meg22_NP]

When you start to feel dizzy, try to pay attention to your breathing. Anxiety or panic attack can be triggered by different things, person place situations or even conversations. Medical issues and symptoms can also be a cause of anxiety, chicken or egg type of thing. Having a thorough medical history and detailed physical exam is also important to make sure to rule out any other possible underlying conditions. Being evaluated by a neurologist and seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist would help you. Until then, look up mindfulness training which is very helpful for anxiety 🌷

[savgresh4 in reply to Meg22_NP]

I have been to the doctors about 4 times this month. I have had a physical, a ekg, blood work and they still say it’s my anxiety. It’s just hard because I feel like it’s something else. But that might just be my anxiety talking to me.

[Meg22_NP in reply to savgresh4]

Try reading and applying mindfulness exercises and practice breath training. There are some great websites, videos and even apps that can help. Talking with a psychiatrist and psychologist is still a good idea regardless of the cause of the anxiety

[Jpsurf760]

Been going through the same thing for 4 months. I think it's because even when we don't necessary feel nervous, our nerves our still on alert. I'm hoping with lasting recovery from anxiety that the dizziness will fade. I've heard of the same problem from a lot of people. Tests for vestibular disorder come back negative, but the dizziness is persistent... I personally am trying SSRI's for the dizziness. Still haven't helped, but it's still early in my treatment.

[Miniwheats]

Wow you sound exactly like me 5 months ago..."why am I dizzy when I don't even FEEL anxious"? Well, when I look back and compare how I feel now vs when "I didn't feel anxious", there is definitely a difference. I no longer am constantly thinking about my physical symptoms where 5 months ago I was. And yes the dizziness came on whenever I went out in public...not so much while at work but more when outside walking around or in a mall - open spaces. At home, nothing. Later I started to get it at home too, but a different quality to it. I had experienced a panic attack in a park and I think the fear of having another one set off the dizziness. Saw a vestibular therapist and did therapy but didn't really help much. ENT found nothing wrong either. He said in order for it to be inner ear related it had to be a room spinning type of dizziness, not the whoozy type I was experiencing. And if it were a brain tumor I'd have hearing loss and the bedside neurological test would show something as well. Having said that, anxiety does tend to have an effect on the vestibular system, causing you to feel unbalanced. I had the royal workup ( head MRI, bloodwork, heart, lungs, sleep study...all normal). Breathing exercises finally helped me, as well as challenging my fearful thoughts and accepting that it was anxiety. Often we unknowingly hyperventilate and that causes dizziness - try breathing meditation ...try "Breathe" by Ryan Taylor (YouTube). Do it every day and then when you feel yourself getting dizzy outside-just breathe like in the meditation and tell yourself it's only anxiety. If dizziness is due to hyperventilation then It can take up to 30 minutes for it to subside once you've corrected your breathing and balanced your thoughts. The breathing exercises also help raise your parasympathetic tone which is the nervous system responsible for feeling relaxed. Your sympathetic tone is likely through the roof right now and it needs to gradually come down. Give "Stress Proof" by Mithu Storoni a read. It's all evidence based explanations and advice. Good luck! 😊

[savgresh4 in reply to Miniwheats]

Thank you so much for your detailed response! I appreciate it. Did you ever get headaches on one side of your head and neck tension? I feel like my headaches are caused by the neck tension.

[Jpsurf760 in reply to savgresh4]

I do for sure.

[Miniwheats in reply to savgresh4]

No headaches, but I was experiencing all kinds of other weird symptoms that led me to fear that I had MS or Parkinson's. We each experience different symptoms with anxiety and I read somewhere there is almost no point in trying to compare them to other people's symptoms in an attempt at reassurance (but boy it DID help me lol). ENT told me "anxiety can cause any symptom" and I now believe him, although I didn't at first. My remaining symptoms are nocturnal head shakes when I wake up and a generally shakey feeling that comes and goes. I still get very brief, mild and tolerable whooziness at times when I go outside. Re: the shakes, my neurologist thinks I might have essential tremor which is made worse by anxiety, or it could be anxiety on its own. In fact, the second question he asked me was "do you have anxiety?" 🙄 I guess it's pretty common....

[Miniwheats in reply to savgresh4]

Oh I forgot to say "you're welcome" 😁 Also you should try the hyperventilation test to see if the dizziness it causes is similar to your dizziness that you are experiencing. If it is, then you have your diagnosis (a doctor friend explained that to me). Google "hyperventilation syndrome test" - it's to test for hyperventilation syndrome caused by anxiety. You basically breathe deeply and quickly or shallow and quickly for about 30 seconds and then wait for the feeling to come on. It kinda feels like when you blow too hard and long on hot soup...