Anxiety about my body

[Bo11]

I have anxiety about my body. More so much about how I don’t feel certain parts of my body. I am constantly scanning my body to make sure I can feel it and i can’t stop thinking about that I can’t feel my bones and organs. I can’t feel the shape of my body like my arms and legs and because I can’t feel my body as a whole and just the part i move it freaks me out. I’ve now started to freak out about my body as a whole as if I can’t accept it. I don’t want to move cause it weirds me out that I can move it without feeling all of it. I’ve spoken to so many drs and spychatrists who say it’s normal not to feel these parts of my body but I can’t stop. Has anybody had this. It’s starting to get worse where i think I don’t have a body. They said dp can be a symptom of anxiety but I’m having it when I’m calm. How can I accept that I move my body with out feeling it all the time and how it works. I have this 24/7 and it’s affecting my life. I feel like I’m going crazy.

[Doolhof]

Hi Bo11,

Welcome to the community here. I've not experienced my body quite the same as you, my issue has been that I disassociate from reality at times and feel like I am in a movie playing a part and have trouble feeling like I am really here.

I realise this is just my mind bending reality. I have taught myself with some work to just accept that is how my mind is sometimes and there is nothing wrong at all. I just start to think more about what is happening around me and then I soon return to feeling better about myself and life.

I'm not really sure that I am ever much in overly concerned about my body parts unless they are hurting for some reason. It is a bit like breathing, I do that automatically without having to concentrate on trying to breathe in and out.

Have the psychiatrist or Drs talked to you about relaxation exercises, mindfulness or visualisation? Some of these might help you to feel more at ease with the distortions your mind is relaying to you.

It can be hard to accept the opposite to what your mind is trying to tell you. Can you listen to the words in your mind, then tell yourself that is not reality. The reality is that your body is just the way it should be. Maybe if you repeat that, your mind will decide there is no point in telling you otherwise.

Hope this helps in some ways. I find I need to be strong and consider what is truth and what is not.

Cheers to you from Dools