Sudden sense of dread today and trying not to panic

[AlwaysAnxious32]

Anyone else get a sudden sense of impending doom? I've had this wash over me today suddenly and it feels horrid. I just have this sudden sense of dread and I'm finding it really difficult to explain. I have suffered anxiety and panic in the last and I have OCD. But this doesn't feel like the kind of panic I would normally get. After a quick Google, it says could be a heart attack or PE. I don't have any chest pain but not I feel like I've got pain iny shoulder but I don't know if I'm making that up. I've started to really panic some more. Anyone else had this?? And been ok?. Working myself into a right state, also feel.silly going to A and E and I saying "I feel a sense of dread". On the brink of a massive panic attack. Can anyone calm me the hell down. Hand hold needed.

HRTFT but I had this both times I had sepsis. Ds also gets it very shortly (seconds) before going into anaphylaxis.

Ive suffered panic attacks since I was a young woman. At that time I didnt know what they were. Some panic attacks can be so bad that they resemble a heart attack. The classic symptoms are📧

An overwhelming feeling of dread or terror often inexplicable
Pounding heart
Difficulty breathing
Chest pain
Trembling or shaking
Nausea
Sweating or hot flushes
Faintness of dizziness - feeling that the room is spinning
Stomach pains or churning
Feeling that your limbs will fail and you will fall
Loss of control of speech
Inability to think or reason

Only one of which matches the op's symptoms.

I've had panic attacks too and have never felt cold or shivery. It's the opposite - feeling like I'm burning up.

It's good the doom feeling has lessened. I won't comment on your own symptoms but will compare my own. I have at times felt like it is heart attack, and in my own mind, known it is (but it wasn't) and once had the medics called out to me from someone else at work and my symptoms presented very much like one even to the attending medics. But it was my first and major panic attack. Afterwards qnd for months later the feeling of doom you describe for me was anxiety but I didn't know it. It presented as checking my pulse regularly. I don't Google anything because even that would worry me and push me over the edge. I thought I was dying, constantly worried about every little thing, especially what that would mean to my baby.

The thing that has helped me massively is therapy. It's ok to worry, but I was living in imagining and catastrophising "What's the worst that can happen" or "what happens when" thinking. When I learnt how to stop catastrophising and live outside of that anxiety it changed my life.

If you can do it, or see your GP for advice I would seek some health anxiety therapy. (It is not always just associated with health as I found out- but anxiety talked through does help).

I think that cognitive defusion would help you a lot. Check out ACT, which is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (there are good Youtubes about it) and the book The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. There's lots of free stuff to download.

The sparks notes version of it is that you learn to identify your thoughts as natural processes and responses to your situation, rather than 'struggling' against them. This 'struggle' is compounded by the bullshit of the happiness industry that squawks if you don't go round radiating pure joy like a guru on ecstacy there's something wrong with you.

We tend to struggle against intrusive thoughts, and that makes the thoughts worse and we get a vicious cycle.

ACT and cognitive defusion arms you with tools and techniques that train you to understand that your thoughts don't define you.

The techniques are very powerful tools that would be a good fit for you.

Hi @AlwaysAnxious32 I have had these experiences, but more recognition than illness. It sounds like you might be coming down with something if you have a cold fever.

I personally would take something, like paracetamol and then settle down with a hot drink and meditate. Find a zen meditation on you tube, it's the quickest way to calm the mind ime.

Hope you feel better soon x

Oh lovely, I really hope you’re fast asleep and not in A&E because this is anxiety.
It is so absolutely awful isn’t it?
At my absolute worse, I can hardly bear it.
I have just come out of such a severe episode.. I was actually being physically sick, my temperature regulation was all over the place. Either freezing cold or boiling hot, shaking and shivering.
I really couldn’t believe it was “just” my anxiety I felt so ill.
Woke up every morning with such a strong feeling of dread.
But it was anxiety, I know that now, because miraculously it’s gone and I don’t feel sick all the time, I am no longer throwing up, my temperature is normal.
To many posters I would say I agree about going to A&E if you suddenly felt like this but others have said this is a regular health anxiety thing for you so, please don’t go and sit on an uncomfortable chair being ignored for hours.
You are ok lovely x

@AlwaysAnxious32 I hope you're sleeping and feel a lot better once you wake. It sounds like you have a very stressful life.

OMG I just wrote the following notes in my journal... tonight...
.."When I have an ocd trigger set off the spiral of self torture, it feels just so weird d. There's a lot of physical symptoms. You feel sick. You feel hot in parts of your body. You feel rushes of heat. Come up your neck and your chest in your face. You feel tingling, you feel nauseated. You feel like this feeling. It's like a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach. It's it's the pains in the back like I get this particular pain in like the back of my heart area. On my back, I get tense shoulders. Sometimes I get shakey when I'm really anxious that un controllable kinda, whole body feels like it's shaky, I get moments of relief, but mostly it kind of lost the whole day off and on and yeah, I guess it comes and goes with the thoughts......."
I then I just read your post! I would recommend you contact an ocd specialist or coach. A great place to start would be OCD Recovery on YouTube... they have a ton of amazing videos. I've had many episodes like this. I truly was having chest pain once and convinced myself I was dying... it's crazy how anxiety can affect you. If you're really concerned get checked out but only once... after that you start to get into reassurance compulsions. I've been on my ocd recovery journey for several years now but having a bit of a lapse at the moment, but it's just a sign I have more work to do. Have to sit with the discomfort and let it wash over you. Best wishes.

OP, the symptoms of a heart attack in women include a feeling of doom or unease, and pain to the neck and shoulders, and cold sweats. You need to go to A&E.

Hope u are sleeping op and wake up feeling better! Please update us!

Shoulder blade pain is a symptom of gallstones and if you haven't eaten for a while that would be why your gallbladder is flaring up. I hope you did get yourself some food and that it settled down. You MUST eat regularly if you have gallstones because you need to keep emptying your gallbladder. Having bile sitting around stagnant in your gallbladder is one of the things that causes gallstones.

I would suggest the book self help you nerves my Clair weeks

It sounds like anxiety, what a previous poster said about your body interpreting it as a threat is right and you need to sit with the uncomfortable. It will pass. If you really feel like you can’t cope contact gp or 111 to get an out of hours appointment. They can give you a short term sedative because it can be very uncomfortable.

The problem with this advice is that my brother died unexpectedly of Sepsis last year and had no idea that he was unwell until he felt shivery and didn’t eat that day according to his flatmate. He went to bed and was found in the morning. The postmortem showed he had a UTI he was unaware of. The OP probably is fine but being anxious doesn’t make you immune to real problems that can also occur. If nothing else, the OP should go anyway and get some help for this crippling health anxiety so they can lead a happier life and be able to spot real problems when ones do happen.

Hugs OP! I also have OCD and anxiety and get waves of dread sometimes. The worst one Ive ever had was actually a surprise pregnancy. Hope you’re ok ❤️

It's not often I get it, but when I do, it scares me!

I just put it down to maybe having a nightmare, and it's still sticking with me while I'm awake!

Or a migraine!

I can see sepsis has been mentioned a couple of times already - one of the red flags is feeling cold/hot, and another is an impending sense of doom. I think I would go and see someone (even GP, they can refer onwards) to rule it out. Sepsis is a response to infection in the body so it could be a uti or something straight forward as the original source of infection. How are you this morning?

I second ACT. After years of awful anxiety, low mood and periods of burnout, this was extremely helpful for me.
Are you diagnosed with migraine? I get a sense of doom and go really cold before a migraine attack. You go cold because the blood flow diverts to your head.
Your description of a debilitating ‘headache’ may actually be a migraine. I have medications that help but the key is taking it as soon as I get the early warning signs.

I am sorry you went through this. I have anxiety and the sense of doom comes with it at times and feels awful.
I hope today is a better day.

I bet this has a lot to do with your vitamin D levels. Mine was 50 and it was the most poorly I have ever been in my life until I got cancer. In fact, I’d say cancer and symptoms from low vitamin D have been very similar for me. If yours is half of that (!!) that’s quite alarming. I was so unwell I could barely walk up and down the steps some days. My guess is this is possibly combined with some endocrine issues and maybe a bit of an infection. You absolutely need a thermometer though, especially with a baby, so go buy one today.

How are you doing this morning love?
Interesting you mention the eye/head pain coming on - doom feelings can be part of my migraine aura, can be hours/days before the head pain comes on.

Yes I get this, and 99% of the time it’s linked to hormones for me. Not even just when period due, can be when they’re dropping/surging at other times of the month too. Eg ovulation.

it is exacerbated by blood sugar crashes & stress for me

Hi everyone..thanks for all of your messsges. Well I made it through the night. I slept poorly and on and off. Woke up feeling terribly nauseous and achey. I still feel a bit doom like. My head and neck feels a bit better. I think it was strain from being hunched over for so long last night. Feel very tearful and just not great. I don't think I have an illness or anything, I'm feeling a bit more logical today but still can't completely shake the impending doom feeling.

Glad you feel a bit better today. Having read your posts it sounds like you had this feeling of impending doom which is different from your usual anxiety symptoms but then, googling that this could indicate something more serious, is what ramped it up and then it spiralled from there.

Health anxiety / anxiety in general goes along with that - but what if this time it is x,y,z. Have you had CBT or any other therapy to try and help with this? You need to be able to say to yourself that at age 33 it is unlikely to be a heart attack (or whatever it is) and the only symptom you have is also a symptom of anxiety which you are known to have and so that is the most likely reason.

It sounds like on some level you know this hence the feeling silly about going to A&E as you know the most likely answer is that it is anxiety and that this is what they will find.

It is a horrible thing to experience and the fear is real so be kind to yourself and have a relaxing day but do try and get help, or more help, for your anxiety.