I can’t deal with this anxiety.

[AEP123]

Led awake. Health anxiety in full motion. I keep waking up with an altered sensation in my left arm. Also like numbness but not numb as I can still feel it to touch.

it making me feel really sick with worry.

im on the waiting list for therapy but it’s a long wait and honestly I just don’t know if I can cope.

I just don’t want to die. I don’t want to leave my kids and not watch them grow. I genuinely feel like I’m not lucky enough to live long enough to see them get older.

You are not going to die. You have likely slept on your arm. Serious diseases are actually really rare. Despite what you read in the media.

Thanks. I think I know you’re right. But my brain just can’t get get around being healthy. I have to have something wrong with me. Otherwise I wouldn’t feel like this.

I hate this so much. It affects every single aspect of my life and I can’t stop it.

Citalopram.

I was you and it gave me my life back. I couldn’t see that, while I was worrying about having one illness or another, I was actually already suffering from a debilitating illness - anxiety.

Treat that, and everything will be better.

@LunaNorth
they prescribed me that but my anxiety about taking new meds (I’m terrified of stuff making me feel/be sick) is so high I couldn’t even take them.

Did you get side effects?

I was offered sertraline years ago but due to my anxiety over bad side affects/allergic reactions I didn’t take them, I just went to therapy.

It’s something I’d at least consider now even though it still scares me senseless that I’d have a bad reaction. But I genuinely feel like I’m too far gone to try tablets. I know they can make things worse before they get better and I’m already at the end of my line, I can’t cope anymore as it is. I fear taking tablets and risking it getting worse before it gets better will push me over the edge.

Can you afford private therapy? I'd far recommend it over NHS as you can choose someone you connect with and not limited by session numbers.
Are you using the techniques you learned in therapy before?
Stop touching your arm, stop googling.

None whatsoever.

Sertraline was awful, I think I took two.

Citalopram has changed my life. For the first couple of weeks you yawn a lot and grit your teeth (literally) but then it passes.

Different meds suit different people, and you might need to try different ones, and different doses, but once you’re on the right regime you can have your life back.

Do the therapy as well, of course. I did. CBT in particular helped give me strategies to deal with anxiety spirals (I still get anxiety, but it’s not crippling).

The best thing you will ever do for yourself is get on some anxiety meds. If you don’t want to try SSRIs for fear of side effects you can get beta blockers (non-habit-forming, non withdrawal symptoms, no ‘worse before it gets better’ business). They will take the physical symptoms of anxiety down to bearable levels, and you can make much better use of the therapy, once you start, when you’re not in fight or flight mode all the time.

Best of luck. (And tingling hands / arms is a very common anxiety symptom.)

Medication can set you free. It shouldn’t make it worse before it gets better, it just takes a week or two to work. And knowing it is going to work and that feeling is going to end is a help in itself.

Honestly it can set you free. Talking it out only goes so far if your body is primed to have an anxious response.

@LunaNorth
im half way through CBT right now. Thank you though I’ll keep it in mind x

I don’t think you have anxiety, it sounds much more significant to the point of delusion and paranoia. You should get medical help for your mental health, as opposed to the self-diagnosed conditions you think you have

When you’re anxious blood supply goes rushing to your head, leaving your extremities tingly. Then your anxious mind thinks ‘OMG something actually IS wrong!’.

There is a book called the Chimp Paradox, it explains the process of anxiety very well and you can then start to manage it, I thought it be genuinely life changing. Really recommend it.

Helpful.

Sorry to hear you are struggling OP. Having children adds new levels to an already anxious mind.

I’m on Fluoxetine for anxiety and it has transformed my life with no side effects.

OP, I listened to a podcast yesterday that was really interesting. It was 'Feel Better Live More' with Dr Rangan Chatterjee - episode #464. He was speaking to a psychiatrist, Dr Georgia Ede, and the impact of diet in improving mental health, including anxiety. There's a lot of evidence, so it might be worth taking a listen.

Obviously not instead of medication and therapy, but might be useful to experiment with diet alongside.

I realise therapy is almost impossible t9 get but could you call the Samaritans at 116123? They are available 24 hours. Someone to vent to to stop you spiralling.

You’re not too far gone OP. My health anxiety made me suicidal. How ironic eh. I can’t even begin to explain how distressed I was by my anxieties about my health. I started taking a medication called clomipramine which is particularly good for repetitive, intrusive thoughts and it’s been life changing. This is a treatable condition. Just try to remember it isn’t whatever physical health condition you’re obsessing over that needs treating, it’s your mental health

I have not taken meds myself but please don't rule them out. Very helpful for many.

This
I used to get panic attacks and my arms would feel numb and tingly. My breathing wasn't affected it was the weakness in my body as the blood rushed to my head. It was horrible. But understanding what was actually happening really helped as l could talk myself down.
It still happens a very odd time but knowing and recognising what's happening is everything.
Might seem a bit trite but being dehydrated would set me off as l would feel a bit weak and then panic and the cycle would begin. Also have your iron levels checked as that kind of weakness can set it off too.

Anti anxiety meds! Will help you see the wood for the trees and give you breathing space to think/ talk therapy/ put things in place to manage unhealthy thoughts.

The fear of taking the meds is your anxiety. Take them. You must be exhausted. You can stop if you can't manage them.

Everyone is different. Sertraline has hugely helped my dd and also myself I'm off them now tho. I started on a teeny dose of 12.5 mgs. Cut my tabs up. And increased every week till I was in 50mgs. they helped me cope in a difficult situation and I'd go on them again if
Necessary

As an anxiety veteran, it really DOES sound like anxiety, which can convince of all sorts, it’s fucking awful and can be very serious.

Just because the word anxious has been hijacked by people saying ‘omg I’m having a panic attack!’ When they’re just a bit stressed.

Anxiety disorders are horrific and exactly like the Op describe.

Absolutely.

I am a long time sufferer of anxiety/health anxiety and agoraphobia. I’ve been in and out of high intensity therapy since I was a teen.

Honestly since such a huge increase in social media like TikTok, anxiety and mental health has gone from needing more awareness, to being so over-exaggerated by people who are getting confused between normal, bodily reactions and actual disorders of those. It’s really sad to see as I feel like those of us who really suffer aren’t taken as seriously.