Balance issues just from anxiety?

[T26]

Hi,

This is my first time posting on here so I'm not sure if I'm in the right spot but hopefully I am!

I have suffered from anxiety for years, as a teen I had depression and anxiety and really bad OCD. So I'm pretty use to all the things that come with it and I know how powerful the mind can be over the body and the symptoms you feel but over the past 2 years I have developed a symptom that is hard to believe is all from my anxiety. I developed a panic disorder around 2 years ago and at the same time I was incredibly dizzy and off balance. It's hard to say if the panic came as a result of the dizziness or the other way around but it has been pretty constant over the past 2 years and today I just saw my 2nd ENT who told me that my inner ear ect is fine so there's nothing they can do to help me. That's great obviously but it doesn't help that I constantly feel like I have just gotten off a boat or like I'm falling over when I'm standing still!

i have a young child and I can't even play with him which breaks my heart. When I feel dizzy I do panic more which I know is a vicious cycle but I just find it hard to see how all day constant off balance feelings can be from that. I know when I have a panic attack or when I breathe too fast I either feel light headed or like I will faint but this is different.

I guess I'm just looking for personal experience from others who might have felt this horrible symptom of anxiety. My panic is related a lot around health so of course when my body feels terrible it's not a fun time for me! So if anyone has any tips to overcome it that would also be amazing!

Thanks 🙂

[Steggles]

Hi stroppy, I have tried that and they still came to the conclusion that im anxious i have seen multiple GPs. i have had my ears checked by 2 ENTs and 1 ENT specialist all hearing tests were fine and all other tests were fine.. I am really starting to think it is anxiety and stress tipping me over the edge and im leaning towards trying their medication very soon if all else fails

[thatbelinda]

Hi everyone. I know this thread is super old, but I hope OP or someone else sees it and finds it useful.

I have had the same symptoms (feeling like you're on a boat) for about nine months now. I have an official diagnosis from a neurologist of Mal de Debarquement System - visit https://www.webmd.com/brain/mal-de-debarquement-syndrome for more information. One of the main diagnostics is that the feeling goes away when you are in passive motion eg when you are driving a car. It's a relatively rare disorder so it took me a very long time and a LOT of different GPs to get diagnosed. Mine came on from a flight, but a lot of people get it after a cruise, and some people get it spontaneously.

I hope you see this, and if it is MDdS, read up on it and visit a neurologist. There's no cure, but it is manageable.

[Guest_672]

I know this is super old but just wanted to say that i had vit b12 injections as i was realy low and ive been nearly dizzy free since. I used to keep feeling like i was falling sidewards. This went on for yrs.

[Treacle22]

Iv suffered anxiety for 4 years now...tried meds after meds...came off them arpund 9 months ago and while i thought i was doung fine, im not really...i have so many physical symptoms that trigger my mental anxiety but just keep getting told the physical symptoms are from anxiety ..one vicious cycle...my biggest issue is the off balance feeling, feel like i need to lean or hold onto things to stay upright, feel like im not walking straight...maybe ill look into tgis b13 injection, maybe im deficient in something

[Knash]

Omg this is my worst symptom and really causes all my anxiety not knowing if its the anxiety or the off balance that comes first.]

Ive been on medication for 20years doctors alway telling me to increase the dose but I hate taking medication and know its only a band aid - my anxiety is all health related - Im fine until I feel dizzy or unbalanced then I panic - If I didnt have dizziness or unbalance feelings I would be fine - Problem Im always scanning my body to see if I feel dizzy or unbalanced

Ive had every test imaginable all perfect - I feel better if i carry something heavy strange but true

But every morning as soon as I wake up I scan my body to see if I feel dizzy light headed vertigo or unbalanced

My neck and shoulders always tense.

I just wish I could lose the fear of feeling dizzy

[Tally81]

Hi Steggles, my symtoms mirror yours. This condition whatever it is is so debilitating. It is now affecting everyday life and I am in aviodance of situations where it can be triggered. For instance, standing in a shopping centre waiting for a coffee (feels like a might drop/pass out). It so strange because its not a vertigo/spiining feeling but off balance strange sensation. Mine has now started happening at work while sitting at desk....sometimes i feel like i will fall off the chair!! Lying down is fine-no issue.

Did you ever get a diagnosis or relief? So over this feeling, its creating extreme anxiety/panic episodes for me.

[Tally81]

I know this is so horrible!! I am having to lean against things or hold onto things too due to fear of falling. My head also always feels like its 'buzzing', neck strain/stiffness and I am now getting right side of back of head migraines 1-2 times a week. These symtoms then trigger panic making my symtoms worse. This is so debilitating.

[Tally81]

Hi thatbelinda, i read the link and it may be a possible diagnosis for me. I was on a flight in December 2017 and my symtoms may have commenced around that time. The symtoms are currently at their worst as they have begun to affect my work. Sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day is exasperating the symptoms a lot and its causing bad anxiety and panic due to feelings of off balance and neck and migraine like symptoms. They sypmtoms wax and wayne and stress apears to be a trigger too.

Did you find a therapy or treatment that helped or cured?

[Mike50]

Hi! I have been suffering off and on of these issues since 2013. So, that's 6 years now.
First it started in 2011 with tinnitus and then in 2013 I started to notice my balance was "weird".
It is not an dizziness like the one you have when having a panic-attack or a spinning sensation.
But more or less it is like you're drunk without ever having one drop of alcohol.
It waxes and wanes during the day/week. Objects seem to move or are tilted sometimes.
Even floors can feel "weird" sometimes.
I had two balance tests done in 2015 but both came out clean with no particular disorder.
My neuro says I am hypervigilant for sensations in my body which is true. I am a hypochondriac and a perfectionist. I have anxious thoughts of the future. And what disease will present itself ie dementia, alzheimer, cancer.. you name it.
The unsteadiness is different though. I feel like I'm falling over or something is pulling at me.
I do not know which came first... the anxious feelings or unsteadiness.
People don' t understand what I feel and it is struggle most of the days to keep calm in my head as this unsteadiness CAN bring on a panic attack.
I know I'm not alone thanks to the internet while on the other hand dr Google is not a good place to be most of the time. But I do understand people coming to it because the drs don't have a clue.
I went to a ENT last january and he told me I am 'sensitized' which means my nerves are tired due to prolongued stress. Read the dr Weekes book 'hope and help for your nerves'. It will explain a whole lot.
Sometimes I do get a random panic-attack but I have kind off gotten used to it.
My body feels like a buoy, sometimes the water is calm and one hour later there is a big storm.
I'm trying to cope with and tell myself it could be worse. At least I get to be here in life and I CAN walk around.
But still, it can be hard sometimes. Hang in there.

[AnotherOne12]

Hi Amy, did you use any meds to help with this? Any SSRIs or similar meds? Mine started out of the blue after a panic attack in March of 2019 this year. I've been working with a psychologist using CBT and somedays its more persistent than others. Would love to know more about how you overcame this ?