Anyone else relate? Surely can't be anxiety

[mumsnetter123]

So I struggle so much with anxiety/health anxiety. A lot of the time I feel so weird, like I need to lie down, when I get up am so scared of falling or being dizzy and light headed, sometimes I end up feeling "weird" n I just wanna run and lie down. Sometimes when I'm distracted I'm ok, soon as I think about it again, that's it I'm back feeling off balance , panicked and scared and just want to run back to my car. Does anyone else have these symptoms? Or what anxiety physical symptoms do you get? Scares me thinking that I have a brain issue. I have to have a brain scan soon for a total different issue because I have some sort of visual issues thinking visual snow syndrome but they can't say unless I have the scan. Terrified. I am getting help for it too I'm waiting for therapy I'm well supported too, but it's just draining I want to feel normal and not feel these weird feelings n panic over nothing..

Yep. I have these symptoms EVERYDAY ALL DAY. I've had major anxiety especially health/death anxiety for 12 years. Just today I've had a huge relapse. Chest pains, shaking, sweating, dizzy, my whole body is aching and hurting. It is the anxiety. Trust me. I have been so physically unwell so many times with countless issues and nothing has ever been found. I wish I could feel normal too. I'm in tears tonight because I just came carry on like this. Sorry no advice but didn't want to read and run. Just wanted to say your symptoms are absolutely consistent with anxiety.

I really really appreciate you replying, I wish it on absolutely no one and really hope it goes away for you, but it's nice to know I'm not alone because I feel so alone with it! I was just lead here n I felt so strange was breathing weird n felt abit tingly and panicked for no reason and I end up checking my pulse i feel embarrassed talking about it sometimes it's like I feel loads of different sensations in my body at the same time randomly and think the worst and panic :( I feel your pain, I cry a lot too it's terrible I always think there's something more I hate it :( thanks again for your reply

I've had it since I was 18 and I'm now 32 next month.. yes I know how you feel. I've had a time with it today, feel like I'm suffocating. I can't sit still because I can feel and hear my heart racing. I check my lukse constantly. I take my blood pressure constantly. I'm always in fight or flight. It really is the worst. Im alone with it too. My DH didn't understand and my neither do my family. I've got a toddler and I struggle so much because my attention is always so focused on my thoughts of being Ill or dying.

Yep at it's worse my anxiety had me constantly dizzy (even repeatedly went to the doctor), my brain wouldn't work right, I kept forgetting stuff, I could feel my heart beating, and ringing in my ears. Upped my anti anxiety meds and it all stopped.

I understand I really do. I started on propranolol at 16 I'm now 24 been on and off it since 16, it takes the edge off at night but nothing amazing, I had my daughter when I was 18 and felt like it got worse because the last thing I wanna do it's leave her it's terrifying to think. My partner also doesn't understand sometimes I think that's good though, he reassures me constantly but it does get on his nerves at times. I really wish you the best and all the healing in the world because nobody deserves to go through this, it's horrid! Please try self refer to talking therapy, give it a try if you haven't, I found that it helped till the sessions stopped I'm now waiting for another lot of it, I'm struggling to go to work too, and I'm the same I end up having "flair ups" for months I was fine then like this for months, It's draining really is. My grandad died Christmas 2022 n I've not been the same since, my anxiety got worse started with horrid panick attacks what have sent me to A&E a few times, constant rollercoaster :(

Yes this is literally me, I hope your are ok and coping with it well as it is such a draining mental illness, wishing you the best

I've done four rounds of talking therapies. I finally got referred to step 4 intervention with CMHT and waiting on an appointment with them. Talking therapies couldn't help me as they said we've tried and I'm too complex and need more in depth care.
It is horrible. I wouldn't wish it on anyone either. It's debilitating.

I really wish you the best and hope the next steps you take work, it's so good you're trying to help yourself, that's the best we can do! I tried sertraline and it just didn't agree with me, taking tablets sets my anxiety off so bad aswel, so taking them was enough to cause a panic attack and I felt worse and I didn't think I could feel any worse than what I did. I couldn't deal with that for 4 whole weeks!

Same. I'm so scared of taking meds because of side effects etc

I have struggled for a good few years with anxiety, mainly started when I was furloughed during COVID. I was paranoid and would fret over everything (still do now) but for about 9 months before I got pregnant, I had this horrible fuzzy feeling in my head. The only way I could describe it was like feeling tipsy (and I don't drink because I hate the feeling of it). Used to feel like I couldn't walk in a straight line and couldn't focus on anything. It was triggered by the stupidest little thing but affected me for months. I went to the doctor's and was fobbed off with eye tests etc even after mentioning I thought it anxiety related and was eventually prescribed amitriptyline but had to stop when I found out I was pregnant. I still get it every now and again but not as bad as before.

The anxiety when I was pregnant and now I've had my baby is just on another level altogether! But I don't think I have many physical symptoms this time around.

Me too, wish we didn't feel like this. Absolutely draining the life out of me, but we got this and hopefully one day wont be dealing with this panic and worry anymore. Being positive is so hard. Not going to lie one thing I do worry about is a brain tumour (because of the weird symptoms etc) so you can imagine the reaction I had when he wanted to do a brain scan because of my eyes... Im worried they'll find something when they do it ugh!

Oh I feel for you, it's horrible. I'm glad your a lot better now thankyou so much for replying to my post, wish you all the best x

I also convinced myself I had a brain tumour or something. Even reading up on symptoms and convincing myself and I had every one of them.

I often found the more distracted I could keep myself the better I was. I do a lot of cross stitch which I find helps me although I haven't touched them since little one was born!

For those of you suffering this video on the sympathetic nervous system - the fight or flight response - might help you to understand what's going on in your body (and why it's completely normal);

NatiBarden97

I relate to this so much, my 5 year old is quite demanding so I do keep busy as I can but find myself just zoning out a lot overthinking :(, I'm waiting for a ADHD assessment because the doctors think this all could be related back to that with the health anxiety etc, being able to relate to someone as much as I hate to think others deal with this too it's nice to know I'm not alone

Thankyou for posting this 🫶🏼

Always know you're not alone!

I suffer terribly with intrusive thoughts! And they are never nice ones. Mine started one night watching TV and this stupid thought just popped up in my head that I didn't love my husband (then fiance). I knew of course I did, we got engaged the month before but no matter what I did, I just couldn't get the thought out of my head! My husband was still working during lockdown and I used to find myself alone at home with the dogs looking at photos on the wall actually questioning our relationship and I felt awful for it. I did tell him and he supported me through it all and said how proud he was of me for talking about it 🥰

I've had a lot of these thoughts, one of them I can't even bring myself to talk about. But it's always good to know you're not alone ♥️

Honestly if I didn't have my dogs I would have ended up severely depressed!

Sending hugs 🤗 if you ever want to talk feel free to message me 😊

Just a quick message to say thankyou for everyone's messages on here, it's made me feel abit eased because I felt so alone and like it was only me who felt this way. I wouldn't wish anxiety on my worst enemy! Wish you all, all the best and all the happiness possible x

NatiBarden97

I know the feeling with terrible thoughts, ruins your day sometimes, it is so good to be honest and talk about how you feel, so glad your partner supported you! I hate being alone too don't know what I'd do if my partner worked nights! Thankyou so much I really appreciate you saying I can message anytime, same goes for you. It's so difficult dealing with this everyday. Thanks again so much for this ❤️

@NatiBarden97 I suffer with intrusive thoughts also. When it's bad my mind constantly jumps from one thought to another all day. When its constant like that my head feels sort of fuzzy and it's like my cognitive processes slow down. Maybe it's our minds way of trying to get a break.🤷‍♀️

@NatiBarden97 how do you manage your intrusive thoughts?

Honestly I have no set way to manage them. I can go months without one but then have a really bad one. I just try to keep myself busy and when it does rear it's ugly head, I just talk myself out of it. I constantly tell myself it's not right and it's just a stupid thought. I do find talking about it really helps, whether it to be to the girls at work or my husband.

Touch wood I haven't really had any (except major baby blues) since little one was born

Got home today and just started feeling strange, abit wobbly n just not fully "with it" sort of like in my own head, next minute I feel panic and my heart was racing, I'm sweating HR went to about 130/140 I tried calming down it took so long to come down, took a propranolol I'm feeling abit better now, am sick of these symptoms i hate doing things because of it im scared of having heart issues

It might be type of Dysautonomia given the dizziness and pre-faint feeling Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome does seem to be more common in people with ADHD/ASD perhaps as can be secondary to hyper mobility/ Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which many have. There's also been an increase in people developing PoTS after having covid.

if you do have ADHD the medication can sometimes help to reduce anxiety as makes mind less hyperactive and quietens the buzz of thoughts.

Just want to add that my symptoms like yours were def related to hormone sensitivity and PMDD, which has luckily subsided with sertraline.

This may sound odd but some of my weird turns were down to a late life fish allergy - about 12 hours after eating any I had full on panic attack symptoms, only with extreme nausea, fainting and diarrhoea. It doesn’t show up in tests so I’m not sure if it’s a histamine thing.

Basically worth looking into hormones (just even tracking period and symptoms) esp if you started this anxiety at 16, and also keeping a food diary.

Another thing which helped me was upper cervical chiropractic- look it up!

Best of luck, there is hope - I was calling 111 and almost 999 and now ok