How do I calm down?

[Mumma1984]

So 6 years ago I had the most awful health symptoms, I had started to have health anxiety a few years earlier and focused on HIV ... then I moved to Ms and I had everything - burning skin, headachey feelings, joint pain, weird numb feelings in my joints, smell of smoke for a bit ... just odd stuff I'd never experienced before. My doc kept saying anxiety but finally referred me for a brain scan. It was fine. Symptoms went.

I had a bit of a relapse 3 or 4 years ago but forgot about it I think. And then now I am starting to get some of them back and starting to panic again, I have been under some strain the last year with a breast lump and abnormal smear and a 1 year old to look after. I had almost a panic attack Thursday - would you still say anxiety? I'm working my way back to thinking I have MS :(

Clearly anxiety without a doubt. This however doesn't make it any easier to deal with though!
What relaxation techniques do you think may help you calm down? What do you like doing?

I've had the same so I really do sympathise as has a friend (also female mid 30s). Its scary but I've noticed that when I'm distracted and relax I'm not symptomatic which helps dispel the anxiety. CBT can be helpful. I also use a guided meditation app, drink plenty of water and try to eat well.

The problem with health anxiety and anxiety in general is the physical symptoms which feel very scary and the more you worry about them the worse they get. It’s a vicious cycle. And then you start questioning if the symptoms are real or not and think you’re going mad. (As I constantly do) I have a real aversion to the doctors for many reasons but the times I have gone and been told I’m fine, it’s SUCH a relief. If I’m genuinely worried I do go the doctor but distraction also helps massively. What never helps is googling ANYTHING. It’s a rabbit hole to hell.
Anxiety techniques are helpful to try and then rationally assess what’s actually happening.
My heart goes out to anyone with health anxiety it takes over your whole life and is just crap.

@T1gerEye @blackcat86 @Spoonsmum thank you so much for your replies - I've felt rough today - I keep thinking .. what if the MS just didn't show 6 years ago but now it's full blown etc ... my symptoms were WAY WAY worse 6 years ago though but I keep panicking I'm slipping back and they will get as bad. I've bought some saint johns wort today to try and I'm trying hypnosis and CBT - I just can not get MS out of my head - I watched a relative deteriorate from it and I also was poorly as a child til I was 10 Ish and that was misdiagnosed so my trust in doctors is low. I just hate feeling poorly like this, they are not normal poorly symptoms to me either - id love a good cold or flu right now!

You havent said your age OP but watch the st johns wart if you're on the contraceptive pill as it can stop it working. I was also poorly as a child and have a bit of 'white coat syndrome'. I found generic counselling helped to.

I'm 35, feel like I've been dealing with this anxiety since I was about 23 ish and the MS stuff all came about when I was 27/28 I think - I researched everything else it could be, lymes/vitamin deficiency etc had a private lymes test - fine, MRI, fine - I never did get vitamin testing - it's just I went through my whole pregnancy and everything without any of this! I'm just miserable feeling ill :( I want to enjoy life with my fiancé and son x

I have anxiety and have had for a long time

The things that work for me are meditation, walking every day, writing a to-do list every night do I park my worries and sleep properly. I try and drink less too which helps my sleep which again helps my anxiety .
I have a brilliant counselor too who reinforces all these things and helps me find a way to pause my panic and anxiety and cope better

@Pagwatch thanks! Do you get physical symptoms?

@blackcat86 did you get similar symptoms to me? X

Do you think you'd have so much anxiety specifically about MS if you hadn't had those experiences with your relative?I

It almost seems like a trauma response on top of the anxiety you already had.

If you haven't made headway with CBT for anxiety, it could be worth considering Cognitive Trauma Therapy or another trauma treatment instead/as well and seeing if it helps.

One of the symptoms of PTSD is intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the past experience. The way you describe reacting to symptoms that remind you of what you went through with your relative (and probably as a child) made me think of that.

Sometimes the reason mental health interventions don't work for people is because they're using approaches for anxiety or depression when the actual issue is trauma.

Maybe have a little read about trauma and see if you can relate? (The Mind website isn't bad.) If you can relate, then involve GP etc for help accessing the relevant pathways.

@quincejamplease yeh I guess I mean it was horrible watching someone deteriorate until they could only blink and I remember that quite clearly. I don't even think I'd know what MS was if I didn't have that relative and of googled my symptoms tbh, there are only 100,000 people in the country with it which is fairly low - there are just slightly more with HIV. So why should I have it - I sometimes try and say that to myself but then ... I'm sure there are plenty of 30 somethings that do and my dads cousins daughter also has it actually - which stresses me - she's only about 40. Seems to of been all very close to me for a fairly rare illness ! :( even though the relatives are actually pretty distant as such they are people my family have been close to growing up!

Mumma, I am so sorry. Acute anxiety is terrible and it does of course have a knock on effect on your physical health, however it won't give you MS. If the anxiety can be brought under control you will feel physically better too.

Counselling will help, find a good person-centred psychodynamic counsellor.

Yes, I've had symptoms that are similar for about 8 weeks. I was diagnosed with PND and PNA after a traumatic birth about a year ago. This manifested as periods of intense low mood, suicidal ideation, crippling anxiety that I would still lose DD, and an overwhelming guilt and shame about the whole experience. I went back to work when she was 10 months and it has contributed to my stress and tiredness. I noticed that my tongue and mouth started to feel weird and a bit numb although I could still feel pain and taste. I had a few strange aches and pains, and everything felt more laboured like texting and speaking as if there was a bit of delay between my brain and body. I was struggling to concentrate at work and fell over a couple of times. I basically self diagnosed generalised anxiety disorder and that in itself drastically reduced my symptoms. I noticed after meditation or taking time out for lunch I also felt a lot better that reassured me that it probably wasnt anything too serious. Oh and I wasnt sleeping well and felt really tired. I noticed during meditation, a spa day, and a meal out when I was less in my own head I wasnt symptomatic at all.

Hi op, I can totally sympathise. I have had bouts of health anxiety throughout my adult life and it’s hell on earth. Funnily enough, I also focussed on HIV and MS type illnesses. In both cases I developed symptoms which I believed to be symptoms of the above and went through testing etc. It seems like it was acute anxiety all along.

Last year, I was convinced I had MS or some other horrid neuro thing-and had symptoms similar to you. This developed after a very stressful couple of weeks where I was told I may have breast cancer. The weird symptoms started soon after I’d been told my lump was benign.

I can easily link my health anxiety back to some childhood trauma-my dad died very suddenly when I was a child and I also have 3 fairly close relatives with MS, so I am at some increased risk anyway. My anxiety centres around being debilitated so much that I can’t look after my children and they will be left traumatised.

I had some EMDR treatment last year and also went on anti-depressants and am now well. Whilst I’m well, I can think more rationally and reason that the chances are low but if I did have MS, I would handle it and cope the best I can-lots of people do.

It’s really horrible when you’re in the midst of it and yes you lose all perspective on what is anxiety and what isn’t. Seek help from your GP-I found mine very supportive-and perhaps ask to be referred for therapy (perhaps some EMDR)

I hope you can get some comfort from the fact that you are not alone and I for one know what you’re experiencing. There is help out there. Best of luck.

@Cloudhopping is MS hereditary? I darent google that - well my relatives are one mums side - her dads cousin I think and dads side his cousins daughter ... so barely relevant right?! Why is there is only 100,000 people do we know so many with it!

Funnily enough I've just been referred for the breast clinic again after having found a fibroadenoma in pregnancy I know have some bruised feelings which the GP said she isn't worried about but any breast changes qualify for a referral - it was after that app I had my first 'MS Symptoms'

I have no idea how MS works really and again I refuse to google but my thought was it 'flares up' so I keep thinking these are flare ups even if only every 3 years. The symptoms are miserable and I'd like to lie in bed all day and hope they go but I have a full time job and a baby so not a chance - I'm trying my best to distract me but the rising fear and skin burning feeling are there atm :(

I tried to self refer on the NHs for CBT but they said I wasn't anxious enough ... I really am!

It's good to know we are not the only ones feeling like that. I can share much of what I've read here. Google is the worst thing we can do as we all know it will highlight nasty stuff yet we do it! Do ask your GP for a CBT referal, we have to try everything that's available to help us.

Hi op, MS isn’t hereditary as such but there is a familial link in some cases but as I understand it, it’s a complex picture and there are many more risk factors with regard to what makes an individual susceptible. By what you’ve described of your relatives who’ve had it, I would not have thought that increases your risk.

I had many of the same symptoms as you and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It can be fine for a while then flares up and I have burning pain over my skin as well as muscle pain and balance problems.

I do also think my symptoms are partly related to my mental health though, when I am in a bout of depression then they are worse. It's hard to untangle the two.

I hope I've not given you another thing to obsess and worry about, but worth mentioning it to your GP.

@Gingerkittykat I don't think it's that one because I'm not in any pain as such, and pain is the main fibro symptom right? X

Dear op
HA is so debilitating. I have suffered with it for years.
After the birth of ds(11) I was convinced I had MS - I had numbness, difficulty swallowing, couldn't feel the ground when I was walking, ached all over, etc. When I went to the GP it turned out I had a b12 and folate deficiency.
Since then I have 'had' several heart attacks, various cancers eg ovarian, cervical, bowel, etc, parkinsons, rare tumours, hiv, blood clots, DVT etc.
Every test I've had has been clear.

Last week I started to get headaches and could smell smoke. GP said it was a bad sinus infection and I was reassured briefly but still worry it could be a sign of a tumour or stroke.

The only advice I can give is try to get cbt, keep busy (distraction technique) and avoid Dr Google. Also NoMorePanic has a great section on HA and why we focus on illnesses such as MS and hiv.

Good luck - you can get through it

@BunchMunch your message came at such a good time! I'm getting ready for work - panicking that inside my left shoulder feels numb and I have a random bruised feeling on my right foot (like I dropped something on it, which I may of done) I to had the smoke thing and it was awful, I think actually if all this is anxiety that is what triggered it. I'm trying to tell myself that's not an MS sign and actually (I know I shouldn't of) but I looked at the MS trust website and I only have one of the extensive long symptom list which is the numbness (although it's like in my shoulder) and the burning skin thing isn't mentioned, but I have no balance issues/hearing/sign/pain etc etc I'm trying to cling to that. I was worried about breast cancer before this and tbh I'm wishing I could go back to that worry because I had no day to day symptoms of that as such, this is unbearable it's on my mind constantly. I have a dr app at the end of the month (my surgery is useless for appointments) and I'll ask about some of fears and discuss my anxiety. I'm supposed to be chatting to a hypnotherapist today as well. I'm just desperate for someone to test me again and say I don't have MS, but I don't see that will happen, I persuaded a doc once to give me an MRI but I don't see it happening again, but my HA stems from doctors screwing up so them not referring me isn't reassuring! God knows if this will pass but I hope so so much - I want to enjoy Halloween, fireworks and Xmas with my family!

Mumma,
I can identify with what you mean.
Eg I had 3 abnormal smears in a row so got sent for a colposcopy last month, the Dr said all looked clear but she took some biopsies - had a letter to say biopsies were normal. I was so happy for a few days but then started worrying that maybe they'd missed something or an abnormal area - so I'm back to square one.
The only thing I've learnt is that reassurance from tests only lasts a short time and then something else crops up. I hate being like this - DH is supportive but he doesn't understand.

I think anxiety can cause pretty severe physical symptoms. When things get unbearable I tell myself as long as I can walk, talk, see, smell, taste, touch, and hear that I must be OK.

Good luck with your hypnotherapy today - and maybe check with your surgery to see if they have any cancellations before the end of the month.

Anxiety can have 'flare-ups' too just like you are experiencing. What might be helpful is to pay attention to these flare-ups and notice that they occur when other stressful events are in your life.
Taking steps to reduce how attached you are to these thoughts is useful too. Think of it as 'glue'. How strongly glued you are to the idea of MS when maybe last week you weren't as strongly glued to it.
Also noticing what in your day triggers these thoughts - eg. like reading this health forum! Does it make your anxiety worse or better? If it makes it worse reading about others health problems, then make a decision not to read or google health issues. The mindfulness apps, going for walks with music or podcasts, other activities can help put distance between you and these types of thoughts, thus making that glue less sticky and your brain won't believe them as much.

@Seaweed42 @BunchMunch thanks! I think the no more panic forum people speak of is one I've used for quite a few years but I am starting to find it less helpful, it's a lot of others who can be as irrational as me sometimes and then set me off a bit as well, where as this one not as bad because you get a mix of people who think like you and reassure you it's normal etc and then the others who are more rational and black and white and can give you a non HA view ! Sometimes I think to myself ' what would a normal person think if they had this symptom' as opposed to someone with HA !
Today I'm feeling ok but I have a bit of numbness in my arm and it feels on the verge of pins and needles and I keep getting hot and cold flashes come over me - I also have tired eyes today :(

Hope for a better day of symptoms tomorrow that don't panic me as much!

I did Yoga at lunch and omg I feel so much better - could be a coincidence but I have no symptoms ... for now