Once we feel a certain symptom,how does our brain make it the centre of everything?at the moment I feel constantly lightheaded.and honestly when I say constant I mean constant.then sometimes I feel as though I will faint.its all I think about.from the moment I wake till the moment I go to bed.
I have two small children who haven’t had a mum for a year now because I can barely get up off the sofa.my partners had to quit an amazing job to look after the children and generally things are as low as they could be.all because of anxiety?i just can’t fathom it.how can it take so much?have I let it?
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Minnie87
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No one chooses anxiety so you certainly haven't "let it". The trouble with mental health problems is that there's nothing visible. If you could say, for example, "Look at my injured leg! Of course I can't get up and do things," it would be simpler in a way. You could prove to yourself and to others that you're genuinely ill. Mental health issues aren't like that, but they are still an illness, and you can't get well just by choosing to. If you could, there wouldn't be millions of people struggling with them.
I wish I knew the answer to your other question. When I get anxious about something it's exactly the same, I think about it constantly, and sometimes it's something quite trivial so even if it happened it wouldn't matter very much. Usually it blows over after a few days but a couple of times in my life I've got stuck for longer, which is really unpleasant.
(I just realised a funny thing. There was a bump on my skin and last year I was convinced it was cancer, and worried about it for a while. Just while writing this message I noticed that it's gone! I don't know what it was but it certainly wasn't cancer. I've sometimes wondered about keeping a diary of all the stupid things my anxiety predicts, so I can go back through and see that actually none of them come true.)
I totally agree with everything you have said and really appreciate it.
It so helps knowing you aren’t alone.
Hi Minnie, I didn t post on here for a while because I thought nobody wants to hear the same old same old. But I guess I m just one of many. I have the palpitations back. They were gone with the beta blocker but now they re back... not as bad as before but constantly there. And yes, I think we let the symptoms in. We re watching, feeling, checking and comparing constantly. That s what I believe. By giving our symptoms so much space and meaning we nurture them. My counsellor asked me last week to let them be, acknowledge them and be curious about them. Sit with them and have a virtual cuppa with them. They will be less intense. We'll, I m too scared yet to invite the enemy. But that seems to be the problem:acceptance. And I haven t a clue yet how to learn and practice acceptance. I m with you Minnie, really. My kids were so young when I had the first attacks many years back. We tend to feel guilty... that adds to the symptoms. Hope you ll manage better than me these debilitating symptoms. hugsxx
Oh please don’t ever feel bad about repeating yourself.i put the same posts up all the time as I seem to need reassurance.
Some days I’m utterly convinced I have a brain tumour.then a bad heart.and then Whatever else my symptoms resemble.its torture.
I totally agree with you about checking and feeling and comparing.its a vicious cycle of crap.
Acceptance really is key.some days I think I am accepting but then I can’t be.i know and have all the tools but am too weak it seems to apply them correctly to fix the problem.my family are at their wits end.
Thank you so much for your reply.if you ever need a chat then message me.i really hope you start to feel better.palpitations are my second awful symptom and I know how scary they are.you are not alone xxx
Thank you so much, that made my day. Same to you: you can always message me. Maybe it is time for us to look at what we ve achieved and what we re good at instead of focussing at all the bad stuff. I m sure you are a wonderful loving mother to your children!
Hi Minnie I suffer with bad health anxiety had it years anything medical I automatically think about somethings wrong or terminally ill I’ve literally gave myself vertigo “6” times since having health anxiety because I’ve got my head in such a spin over anything... I overthink everything I turn everything into a huge catastrophic situation my therapist told me we have to re-train our brains to think differently me personally will say this is what anxiety does to our brains it will make our body’s react to fear the fight or flight reaction so it will constantly keep thinking over and over and then back to square one again it’s a vicious cycle like you said it’s horrible to live with I hear ya
It does help but I find it tricky at night when I’m overthinking as I need that quick fix but can’t talk to my therapist then so have to sort of cope best I can... therapy does work but I don’t think the session are long lasting every therapist I’ve been too have been for like 6/12 weeks I think we need longer personally xx
I have this same question, Minnie. I have moments when I read what others have said or talk to my therapist or read Dr. Weekes and think "Okay, lots of people feel these same things from anxiety." Then, out of nowhere, I lose the comfort that brings and start convincing myself that it HAS to be something worse. I convince myself that nobody has anxiety symptoms like I do, despite reading people describing EXACTLY what I'm feeling. Then I get very mad at myself for being unable to stop the cycle. For me, it often begins in the early, pre-morning hours, when I lightly wake up at about 4 in the morning. I feel a bit of anxiety set in, and it's off to the races the whole rest of the day. My big fear is a brain tumor lurking somewhere, despite my doctor telling me repeatedly that I do not. At any rate, you're not alone. None of us are. I do believe that things only get better when we learn to accept these symptoms and stop the cycle, it's just FAR easier to understand that's what needs to be done than to actually be able to do it! I'm glad it sounds like you have a supportive partner. I do too, and I'm very thankful for her, despite my feeling like I'm letting her down by not yet conquering this anxiety.
Well..... I’ve been there for you! And this really upsets me that you can post on here but push away someone who’s in the same boat as you. Really hurts
And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. But we was supporting each other. Now it’s made me feel like it’s my fault because you got rid of me on everything but stayed on a site like this
I go thru the exact same thing except all I think about is my heart. I think about it from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. My daily palpitations make it much, much worse.
Sorry to hear what you are going through, I've been there too! Please read a book by Claire weeks, she's brilliant, she explains everything about anxiety and what to do.
Personally I think health anxiety is a form of OCD because we become so obsessed with symptoms. I find myself constantly checking for things such as heart rate, palpitations, feeling light-headed etc. As soon as they inevitably pop up, I start overthinking everything. What's worse is the fact that I'm aware of all this and still do it anyhow. SMH vicious cycle that I'm working very hard to break. Coming here helps a lot!
No you havent let it. Anxiety is a plague inflicted upon us. We have some control but i am thinking noe that it is a constant battle from which it is very hard to win over. I thought i was doing better two days ago then last nite just sitting on the sofa on my phone like i am right now...here comes full blown dizzy..almost passed out..been light headed since. I wish we could just wish it away...Time heals.
I’ve happened across quite a few of your posts and wanted to say hello. It sounds like you’re having a terrible time at the moment and I’ve been there too. Are you in the UK? I ask because obviously the healthcare systems vary from country to country; I’m in the UK so that’s the system I experienced! Assuming you are in the UK, have you been referred for counselling? Or seen a psychiatrist? What meds have you been prescribed besides propranolol you mention above?
Please don’t ever feel like you’ve let this terrible anxiety happen to you, you wouldn’t have chosen this and it happens to so many people.
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Dizzy and lightheaded 
My Anxiety and the NHS
16 year old male health anxiety 
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Does anyone else experience the same
