Acute physical response to stress

[StressedAndObsessed]

Since I've been a child, when I get highly stressed I experience such extreme mental but also physical symptoms. For example, an unbearable urge to run away (which I have done many times), conversely becoming rooted to the spot and physically unable to react, sweating, tunnel vision, sometimes fainting, sometimes vomiting often severe diarrhoea for several days.

Rarely (but more so recently) I have had more traditional panic attack symptoms like choking and hyperventilating and in a recent episode numb / intensely tingling hands?? Followed by fainting (although I realise when I am about to faint after a lifetime of this so now tend to slither to the floor first which means I think I spend barely any time unconscious).

I obviously know people with panic attacks but I've never met anyone so pathetic they practically shit themselves and literally collapse in high stress - is this a thing? Is there a treatment?

Once a year most years, in periods of general exceptional stress as many as 5 times a year.

I’d be asking GP for setraline which is first line ssri for panic symptoms. Anxiety can have a massive physiological impact. Refer yourself also for talking therapy. It’s horrible feeling so physically ill but it’s really not uncommon with anxiety.

Oh sorry, also I faint pretty much every time at a very specific phobia I have, so I avoid that thing which is pretty easy.

Yes this is me.

drugs help.

Is stress different from anxiety? I do get anxious, but this seems to be only at very specific events of high stress.

SSRIs?

I have duloxetine.

it is a type of anxiety reaction but it’s not a traditional generalised anxiety disorder.

Sorry that was quite abrupt.

being in stressful situations tends to trigger the flight/fight/freeze reaction.

the being unable to physically move is freeze. I have experienced this.

the digestive symptoms are due to large amounts of stress hormones hitting your physical body. There’s variation in how people respond to this but there’s a reason for the phrase “it’s brown trousers time” as under extreme stress yes this is absolutely a thing.

what helps:

working out what causes that reaction for you (everyone’s triggers are likely to be different unless you encounter man eating lions regularly on your way to work) and either staying away from it (eg snakes, etc) or doing slow controlled exposure.

I totally get this too. I think I’m a mixture of flight and freeze and also physical symptoms just as you describe. It’s awful.

I would have made the most awful cavewoman, something comes to attack me and I just faint or stay there and wait to die!

I will ask GP for some kind of review.

It’s odd to see this thread here on MN.. this place is full of well ‘ard types giving people what for, going no contact at the drop of a hat, and barking ‘ why does it bother you? It’s none of your business! / don’t look/ go somewhere else!’

the fact is that stress damages the body and mind and that is why a considerate society is a wonderful thing.

I do feel for you, op. I tend to fawn and freeze and then have ptsd. It’s overwhelming.

What you're describing is the survival response, as some other posters have described often called fight/flight/freeze. A helpful way to think about it is that this response is very "old software" - it's a part of our brain development that we share with animals, and in evolution terms it developed in response to mainly physical threats, such as predators or physical disasters (earthquake, avalanche, fire etc) - to explain some of your physical symptoms, your heart rate and blood pressure increases in case you need to run away or fight off danger, which is what makes you sweat, your vision becomes more attuned to distance than detail, blood will flow away from your extremities to protect your vital organs, which is what makes your hands feel numb, processes like digestion which are not important to immediate survival shut down (which causes havoc with the food already in there)

OTOH the fainting and drop in blood pressure is called the vasovagal response, it's a separate thing although I think I read it can be caused by too fast of a return to baseline after the above fight/flight response (like the body tries to right itself but goes too far). Vasovagal response is a known response to certain phobias, especially needle/blood phobia.

Silly question but do you eat/drink/sleep enough? Do you generally have high/low/normal blood pressure? Have you experienced trauma in your life, particularly in childhood if this has always affected you? You don't have to answer obviously but those are things which might contribute.

Other than this it is probably worth speaking to a GP and having some general tests done, but SSRIs sound like they might be worth a try as well and a GP can prescribe them too. If it is possibly trauma related, it might be that talking therapies can help and you can self-refer for this in most areas with NHS. There are also techniques you can learn against vasovagal response especially for situations where you know it's likely you'll encounter it (e.g. if you have a needle phobia and you need to have a blood test).

Yes, it's a needle phobia. I just avoid blood tests as much as humanly possible.

I've always been like this. No, I don't sleep well etc. I'm a carer. Trying not to out myself.

A big positive stress (like a speaking event) gives me diarrhoea and very elevated heart rate. But it is rarer for me to faint. I am specifically anxious although not generally nervous or anxious, I can try new things, talk to strangers, don't generally worry etc.

Yup, had the diarrhoea for a few days now. Awesome. I have not done anything nice for myself for two whole weeks. Tried to go to the gym today and could barely breathe or lift anything.

What I don't understand is how this is a survival response? I'd be very dead if a neighbouring tribe attacked me and I was just rooted to the spot or flopping on the floor.

Yeah I have a very physical response to stress and anxiety. Vomiting, lightheadedness, tingling, needing an emergency panic shit. Only really nasty emotional stress though; I thrive in many types of stressful situation.

Fight - obvious survival response
flight - running away.
freeze - playing dead in the hope the lion won’t notice you are actually alive

Yes I am a bit like this. I too have felt really pathetic at times.

Yes when I am severely stressed I get a bad stomach, toothache, cold sores and weird boil/lumps popping up.

Oh yes, I suppose looking dead might have helped.

Feeling very pathetic. The incident that started this thread was public and humiliating.

I think the stress is making me ill again. Just spiralling.

Yes also to toothache!