To think this isn't normal anxiety?

[mynameisnotemma]

When I hear people describing anxiety or read about it it seems to be increased, heart rate, sweating, panic etc.

However, for as long as I can remember whenever I've been in a situation that makes me feel nervous, for example, presentations, interviews etc. I notice that I get a different experience.

It's almost like an out of body experience, the sound goes really fuzzy and my body goes jelly/heavy, I'm acutely aware of my movements and facial expressions and I find it really hard to follow conversations or understand what people are saying to me, it's like I become really spaced out and can't concentrate on anything. I struggle to make conversation, I can't think of a response so will mostly say nothing or what I do say doesn't make much sense.I have an overwhelming urge of ' oh my god I need to get out of this room' and there have been times that I really really had to fight myself to not run away.

Strangely though, my heart rate stays the same, it doesn't go up. So I'm thinking it can't be anxiety if my heart rate stays the same although it is still an unpleasant experience.

I think on the outside no one would even have an idea I was feeling this bad however, I do get the sense that people can feel my awkwardness when this happens.

It sometimes can happen even just when I've bumped into someone I wasn't expecting at the supermarket. Then afterwards I am left feeling really exhausted for the full day.

This cannot just be normal anxiety surely? And if it even is anxiety why isn't my heart rate increasing?

I think that sounds like anxiety. It can manifest in different ways and your sounds like the fight or flight response. I went through a phase of my face freezing when I was very anxious during meetings. It was really awful. CBT helped. X

That sounds like a panic attack to me, especially with the "flight" thing.
I'm diagnosed with health anxiety and my panic attacks sound like what you describe. Sometimes my heart races hugely, but not always.

That’s pretty much how my anxiety presents.

Oh wow really? I always just assumed that cause my heart rate was usually pretty consistent and normal rate that I was just some freak of nature 😂

I have a severe anxiety disorder and relate to your symptoms. You could maybe google high functioning anxiety to find out more. I don’t have obvious panic attacks etc and I do really well at work. If I’ve ever told someone, they’ve been really shocked, as I come across as sociable and friendly. Inside though, I have overwhelming doom and fear in my stomach, my chest is tight and painful, my head throbs etc, and my heart rate stays the same! I also sometimes ‘disassociate’ where it’s like I’m watching myself as a spectator. It’s so horrible and I really feel for you x

Some of my worse panic attacks my heart rate actually drops!

That sounds like the anxiety attacks I get.

I have had this. I always thought it had something to do with my social anxiety.

I have this too. When I am panicking inside, everything slows down. Strangely, colleagues have remarked that I seem calm in a crisis when actually I just freeze instead of flap.

My anxiety is under good control these days so under normal “stressful” circumstances, I notice this happening but my life is not really impacted by it -I just carry on albeit more slowly.
When I was going through a very bad time with anxiety however, I had a number of episodes where, although my breathing and heart rate were normal, I felt frozen and could not function or speak which was really distressing. I had memory loss from each of these times. During one episode I felt detached and floaty as though things were not real. I later read online about derealisation and depersonalisation and these phenomena seem to describe my experiences. They can be a feature of several mental illnesses including severe anxiety.
I wonder if this could be the type of thing you’re experiencing OP.

Anxiety can manifest in different ways. And anxiety doesn't necessarily mean panic attacks. It sounds like you are experiencing the former, but not the latter, to me, though you may want to check with your GP.

You've described perfectly how my anxiety shows itself. Because it is induced by the menopause so not even linked to a specific event, it didn't cross my mind that's what it was when I first experienced it.

It got worse and worse and also affected my eye sight, usually in one eye only quite a bit. My resting heart rate actually goes down and I passed twice, fit close to it a handful of times.

Of course these horribly frightening episodes would then trigger anxiety as I knew it!

It took a number of trips to the GP and tests to realise that these were anxiety attacks and I was perfectly fine.

These have receded ait but when they still happen, although uncomfortable, don't worry me anymore. I just wait for it to pass.

I really wish someone had reassure me sooner that not everyone experience the standard symptoms during an anxiety attacks.
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I guess it's like the fight or flight and we go into flight without moving!

I was wondering does this sound like anxiety? When I get nervous, for example, having to speak to a stranger on the phone (I hate it haha) during, not before, I go extremely icy cold, but my face is red hot, my hands shake too. This is a new thing, the last four months, it doesn't just happen in a situation where I could be obviously nervous. It sometimes just randomly occurs

@thebestcat

You've described it very well.
I kind of freeze and feel detached and floaty. It's like I can only focus on what's right in front of me and everything in the periphery is fuzzy.

The detached feeling is a form of dissociation, everything feels unreal and you become a bit disconnected from it all. Its a coping strategy so you don't get overwhelmed.

I didn’t realise the floatiness was anxiety at the time because it led to my feeling a lot calmer, but I suppose that is the point - it happens when very anxious as an escape mechanism.