Physical anxiety symptoms without mental anxiety?

[TheWorstWeek]

I've suffered from anxiety since I was about 11 years old and I'm now in my mid-thirties. During my teen years and early twenties social anxiety controlled my life - with a healthy dose of general anxiety thrown in just to keep things interesting. I mostly managed to get a handle on it in my twenties and didn't struggle too much until recently. Now I have a really hard time with health anxiety with a little social and GAD mixed in.

Every month, every little niggle, every ache, every virus, I convince myself that I'm gravely ill and if I go to the GP they are going to tell me I have cancer/MS/some other horrible disease. It scares me so badly. I've noticed that it seems to be in the later half of my cycle, during the luteal phase, so I have wondered if my hormones are maybe exacerbating it. Once my period starts the anxiety lessens and it all feels more manageable again until ovulation kicks in.

For the last couple of nights I've had stomach cramps and heavy, tired feeling legs which have left me with that feeling of doom in my chest. I've convinced myself I have multiple things wrong with me but what I am actually beginning to consider is that this is all just anxiety/stress. When my brain allows me to be calm that is!

I am very easily stressed. I have two energetic children who keep me on my toes, especially while they are off for the Easter holidays. DH is in the process of trying to secure a new full-time job (change of career, he's still currently working) and I've just lost some income while also trying to get my small business up and running properly. Then there's just general family and life stress. Plus my monthly worrying caused by health anxiety. I feel like for the last two or three years (possibly even since the pandemic!) I've essentially run on stress and now my body has had enough.

Could physical symptoms of anxiety like stomach cramps, tingling etc. present without necessarily feeling overtly anxious? Like I'm so used to feeling anxious and stressed that I don't even register the mental aspect of it but my body still feels it? I just don't always feel anxious in the moment but will notice the stomach cramps, tingling, headaches, nausea...

Have a look at this video on the physical side of stress;

s

Yes they can, you're probably stressed but you don't realize and stress is the worst for your body. I'm like you I have health anxiety and I feel so tuned in to my body, I feel every niggle and every pain and think the worst. Except I don't go to the gp I let it fester and worry about it instead, when I'm not due on and anxious I stop worrying I don't notice it anymore.

Exactly what @Countrygirlxo has said. I'm the same with health anxiety (recently come off Sertraline and is was no longer agreeing with me) and because I'm so in tune with my body because of my health anxiety, I feel everything and worry.

I'm currently on dose 1 of 6 b12 injections for low b12 (since my first pregnancy in 2019 I've been on tablets on and off but never injections). I googled them and now I'm worrying. I had a sinus headache/migraine Sunday which is still lingering, so I've googled brain tumours. It's a spiral.

Physical signs for me right now are my right eye twitching, ears whistling, and I'm clenching my jaw subconsciously.

No advice op but a handhold, it's horrible

I don't go to the GP either, @Countrygirlxo I have a rule in my head that if something persists and worries me for two weeks then I'll make an appointment. It very rarely does but I end up on to worrying about something else instead and start the cycle again. I'd never be out of the GP if I went for every worry.

Far too tuned into my body for my own good. And then Google is the ultimate evil for checking symptoms. I always tell myself not to and can manage for short periods of time but then I'm back there, googling and fearing the worst.

Thanks for the handhold @merryandbrightdelight I appreciate knowing I'm not alone

@TheWorstWeek @Countrygirlxo

There's a saying in the horse world that if you watch a horse moving for any length of time you'll become convinced that it's lame, possibly on every leg. It isn't.

So it is with our bodies. The human body is very imperfect; it creaks, jerks, clicks, gurgles, thumps, twitches, wobbles, smells, and spasms ALL the time and it's all completely normal. When we focus on the things it does - or one specific thing - it does, the Reticulating Activating System in the brain decides that that 'thing' is important to us and draws our attention to it disproportionately. What can then happen is that we become afraid that something is seriously wrong which sets off the fight or flight response and that, in turn, produces all the physical reactions in the video I posted upthread and bingo, you're in the anxiety loop.

Imagine if you Googled your symptoms and the first 10 hits said "it's OK, it's all perfectly normal" would you be satisfied or would you keep scrolling?

Very true. The amount of times I have to ask my partner if I'm okay. I just need reassurance all the time, I always think the worst and I know myself I worry far too much but I can't help it.
I try and tell myself things aren't as bad as they seem it's just the anxiety but it takes over

@Countrygirlxo Anxiety is the emotion that brings our attention to things that are too important to ignore. Useful when we need to revise for an exam, catch a flight or switch the iron off - not so much when it's (erroneously) telling us we're ill when we're not. Two things you need to know about anxiety, firstly it's not trying to hurt you - it's role is to protect you and keep you happy - and secondly if you ignore that inner voice whispering in your head it will just get louder and louder until it's screaming at you.

So how to handle it? Firstly, listen to what it's saying but don't automatically accept it as true or accurate, because it has no superior knowledge about you. What it does have is access to all your memories, your core beliefs and your automatic thoughts and actions. So if your mum, or another significant adult, was a 'worrier' then that's a pattern of thought and behaviour you may well have assumed was natural.

As an example anxiety says "that random extra heartbeat you just felt means you're about to have a heart attack". Now, unless you are medically qualified your anxiety has absolutely no way of knowing this, it's just a thought that's flitted across your subconscious mind as a response to that thump. Your logical mind could reply by saying "I've just run up the stairs/ate a big meal or the cat jumped on my head unexpectedly, it's no surprise that my heart did that thing it does" and the anxiety will be satisfied.

Oh, and if you can't stop Googling, always go to science/biology sites such as crash course (above) or similar.

HTH!

I get physical anxiety symptoms before work even though I don’t mentally feel anxious about it. It’s maddening.

But the vomiting and IBS symptoms will not be told to fuck off. And I know it can’t be caused by other things because when I don’t have work I am absolutely fine. But I love my job 😔

I’m on medication plus have tried a lot of therapy (but it was too expensive and not really helping). It feels like a vicious circle now as I’m anxious from anticipating anxiety symptoms and it feels like a self fulfilling prophecy at this point.

@DoYouSmokePaul This video might help you;

@Eyesopenwideawake Thank you! I will give it a watch later 💖

Firstly, hormones DEFINITELY make a difference. I know mine do.

Secondly, you say you don't have mental anxiety, but running to the GP with worst case scenarios would tell me otherwise. That's not normal behaviour.

@ManchesterLu I don't run to the GP at all but instead let my mind run into overdrive. Also I mean I have physical signs of anxiety (headache, nausea, stomach cramps, tingling) which then allows the mental anxiety to creep in. I don't feel anxious until I'm aware of something physical.

@Eyesopenwideawake this isn't my thread but thanks so much for the advice you've been so helpful. I've screenshot your posts and will be taking your advice when my health anxiety is bad and I need to think logically x

Hi, I've just found this thread... another HA sufferer here and it's flared up again recently since my baby was born (3rd child). How are you doing @TheWorstWeek @Countrygirlxo ? X

It sounds like you’re going through a really tough time, and I’m sorry to hear that you’re dealing with all of this. It’s absolutely possible for anxiety to show up in physical ways, even if you’re not consciously feeling anxious. Our bodies often hold onto stress in ways we don’t immediately recognize, especially when we’ve been under pressure for a long time. You’re definitely not alone in experiencing those symptoms, and it’s a common thing to feel the physical impacts without always noticing the mental side.
If you’re interested in talking to someone about it, there are mental health organizations like Renewed Mental Health Group that offer a wide range of therapy options. They specialize in various anxiety-related issues, and they’ve helped a lot of people work through similar situations. It might be worth exploring if you feel like extra support could make a difference for you. Take care, and remember that it’s okay to reach out when things feel overwhelming.