Hi! I'm 23 and I've struggled with mild social/health anxiety for probably most of my life. I've had moments when they were bad, but I was always able to get through them, and move on. A little over a month ago however, I strained my back lifting something. After that, I started getting really worried that it was something else. I started googling symptoms, and then somehow convinced myself it was my kidneys. Googling symptoms and convincing myself that I have something wrong with me is not something new to me. I've been doing it for years, and normally, I can ride it out (normally visit my GP and get some tests done), and it'll go away. But the morning after that, I woke up sweating, and my heart was so loud. I don't think it was a panic attack because I didn't feel out of breath or any other symptoms, but maybe an anxiety attack? I just felt hot all over and this dread, like something was wrong with me. The following week, I would get these same anxiety attacks (maybe 2-3 more times), and it would make me feel so weak and out of energy, as well as a burning sensation under my skin. It was like I could FEEL the adrenaline running through me. I stopped leaving the house because I was so afraid that my legs would give out on me. Since then, I don't really get hot anymore...but sometimes I get chills (which are the WORST because they make me feel like I'm buzzing out of my skin), IBS symptoms, muscle twitches, joint stiffness, and these weird jolts/pains that run up and down my extremities. I also get pins and needles very easily, and some days, my left arm goes numb (this usually goes away the next day). My appetite also fluctuates. Sometimes I can eat, but other times I just look at food and can't do it. I also think I get derealisation because I'm so worried all the time. Though I don't really get the anxiety attacks anymore, I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY worrying and dreading something, and so the anxiety is always there, and I always feel so weak even just getting out of bed. Sometimes I just feel this worry/hollowness inside of me that I don't know how to fix. I've had a blood test and everything came back normal...my GP just said anxiety, and I've gone for my first session with my psychologist, but it's just so hard to convince myself that all these physical symptoms are anxiety. Especially since I don't tend to get the main anxiety/panic attack symptoms like chest pain, breathing problems or heart racing. How did you end up accepting your anxiety??
