Anxiety and Muscle Weakness/Shaking/Spasms

[EC123]

Hi all, I'm still fairly new here, but just need to explain what i'm feeling as i currently feel like i am going insane. I've had anxiety/OCD/health anxiety for most of my life, but recently this has escalated a lot. For the past few weeks, for most days, i feel so incredibly weak and shaky in my arms and legs. When i stand they tremble, i get muscle spasms, i feel like i cannot hold myself up properly and this just sends me into a spiral. Of course i've googled and googled and googled and have made myself believe that i have every condition out there, but i just want to know if other people experience this?

The weakness and trembling is particularly in my upper legs and forearms and tends to get bad when i go to bed and right before i fall asleep. I know anxiety can cause many physical sensations, but these are not letting up and i am so concerned. Please let me know if you have felt this way before! Super distressed 😞

Thank you!

[Petal22]

Hi EC123,

Sorry you are feeling this way today I know it’s really difficult and distressing.

Please stop googling I believe it’s a compulsion to try to bring down your anxiety it will only make it worse in the long run…

Have you tried to challenge your thoughts?

Please try to do a guided meditation for learning to watch your thoughts…..

You can try mindfulness….. instead of putting your attention on what’s in your mind you need to bring your attention out of your mind and into something in the present moment…….

I know the OCD cycle is a very vicious but you can learn how to break free of it..

I have written two threads

Someone who had ocd and recovered and another - effective treatment for OCD… metacognitive therapy……

Have you an appointment with your psychologist soon?

im here to chat… try to slow down your breathing..

[HappyHelper88]

Hi EC123

Thankyou for sharing and welcome, has anything significant happenend recently that could have triggered this? Have you ever used a thoughts and feelings journal to track for triggers?

Have you seen a doctor? Googling symptoms definitely does not help with anxiety from my experience it makes it worse 😞

i think practicing breathing, relaxation and meditation before bed could benefit you

i hope this helps!

[EC123]

Hi Petal22,

Thank you for replying! Sorry I haven’t replied sooner, life has been really full on. I definitely need to stop the googling. Some days are better than others. I try to challenge my thoughts but I find it really difficult. I have been going through some genuine physical health issues which has spiked my health anxiety terribly.

I have an appointment with my psychologist over the phone tomorrow. It’s so hard dealing with physical health issues let alone when you have health anxiety. Not only do I feel anxious I’m starting to slip into really bad depressive symptoms (all made worse by meds I’ve been on for my health condition). I don’t feel like talking to anyone, I feel dissociated, I feel sad, like I can’t be happy or enjoy things. Just feeling so physically unwell is making my mental state even worse. I am so lost 😞

[EC123]

Hi HappyHelper88,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me.

This bad bout of anxiety spiked when I was diagnosed with pleurisy and since have had a range of health issues thag doctors are still trying to figure out. All of this coincided with lockdown. I am not able to be vaccinated yet because I am so unwell, so all of this is just making my health anxiety and depression get so much worse. I have felt myself slipping and slipping and am so concerned. I just want to get better 😞

[isabelle21]

Hey, I can relate. The feeling where you feel like your legs are going to fail on you and you will just fall? I experience that so often. It's not painful but just a weird weakness sensation? For me I feel panicked...
I've made an apt with a neurologist to get checked. Maybe it's best speaking to your GP. I've stopped googling because it just makes things worse. Keep us in the loop with how you're going.. take care

[EC123]

Hi Isabelle21,

Yep that’s exactly what the weakness feels like. I get it in my arms and my legs, and lately I’ve been having the weirdest feeling in my upper spine and back. It’s so hard to describe but it’s like a severe discomfort (not pain) that makes me wriggle around and want to vomit. It’s awful. I hope you appointment and tests with the neurologist all go well! Let us know how you go xx

[Petal22]

Hi EC123,

Im sorry that you are going through some genuine health issues I hope you are ok..

I understand thought challenging can be hard at times, maybe your phycologist can help you with this?

Im sorry that the meds you are on are making you feel this way, have you mentioned this to your gp?

How did your appointment go with your phycologist? I hope they were able to help you in some way.

[EC123]

Hi Petal22,

Yeah it definitely hasn’t been easy. I speak to my psychologist about it a lot given it’s currently the biggest stressor in my life and she’s recommended some strategies and resources to use which sometimes help. I’m off of all meds now but side effects can last a while.

I’m praying I recover soon enough to be able to get on top of my anxiety. Thank you for replying and checking in xx