First time anxiety at 43

[Dan172]

G'day beautiful people. I just wanted to see if anyone else has/had something similar to myself.

5 weeks ago contracted covid, 5 days later I got shortness of breath and its still lingering but 90% better, I didn't go to hospital but I wanted to a few times, I did go to a respiratory clinic a couple of times and they said I'm doing fine.

About 3 weeks after my shortness of breath started (and it was still a struggle), I had dinner, all of a sudden like a light switch had been flicked I got this overwhelming feeling of what I guess now was anxiety, never experienced it before so it was scary, I had funny silly thoughts that lasted 3 days. 2 weeks on my mind and thoughts are pretty good, however I get jitters and sinking feelings most of the time, unless I'm distracted.

I feel my head listens to my body's feelings which keeps me thinking about the anxiety, if my body wasn't releasing stress hormones I would be as I was post covid infection.

All this was at the the time the war started, and during the floods, I'm a pretty sensitive caring and relaxed kinda dude but never had anxiety, major stress, traumatic events, depression or the like, which I feel blessed for, my heart and feelings are with all of you that have though.

My question is, is this a temporary covid thing? What can I do to stop the body's anxiety symptoms? Cheers all.

[Ggrand]

Hello Dear Dan172,

A very warm and caring welcome to the forums....

Im really sorry your got covid...and now struggling with feelings of anxiety....

My support worker contracted covid a couple of months ago and still is being affected by it with fatigue...I think it can effect people in many ways...even anxiety..

In a way, you’ve answered your own question...distracting our thoughts when we start having anxiety symptoms or that constant nagging anxiety promotes is one of ways to help....Our brain is very complexed, but can only think of one thought at a time.,,if your doing something that uses your concentration to do it...anxiety thoughts are pushed to the background of you mind...,giving you a break from them...

Can I please gently suggest that you have a talk to your Dr. about how your anxiety started after covid...it could be of help to you...by ruling out any underlying conditions that covid could have triggered..,,also if your Dr.. thinks it will benefit you..they will start you on a mental health care plan...which gives you some free sessions (I think 12) with a psychologist...to help with your anxiety and teach you some ways of coping with it....

Please talk here anytime you feel up to it..

My kindest thoughts with my care Dear Dan..

Grandy..

[tranzcrybe]

Our body is our temple, and once invaded by viruses (or even people, by word or deed), we naturally become more vigilant to threats - real, imagined, or far removed from our present situation (compare with peanut allergies, hayfever, etc).
It's our defense mechanism in overdrive, 'Once bitten, twice shy' response that keeps the fear of recurrence uppermost in our minds. And when our susceptibility presents itself, other risks pose greater trepidation.
Reminding yourself that, for you, Covid has come and gone, and you have emerged unscathed, resilient, and recovering well should calm this irrational activity. That's not to say you can simply dismiss it as the feelings can still linger and, if unaddressed, start to fester into something bigger than it ever was.
Also consider if there are any residual medication effects which may contribute to your uneasy feelings as this might be a false association which can equally manifest itself in anxiety.

[therising]

Hi Dan

This sounds so incredibly challenging and pretty stressful. I really feel for you as you're trying to make sense of something doesn't entirely make a lot of sense.

From what you say, you do sound like an all 'round sensitive dude. Personally, I used to think 'sensitivity' was simply a thing compassionate or caring people experienced until I came to understand more and more about sensitivity. With sensitivity basically being about the ability to sense, the question becomes 'What am I sensing at any given time?'. While it's fairly easy to get a sense of where care and compassion are needed in life, not so easy to get a good sense of what the heck our own body is doing and/or trying to tell us. Would be so much easier if it could just talk to us in a language we fully understand. Learning a kind of 'body language' becomes one of the greatest challenges in life. I smile when I say I can feel my nervous system screaming at me at times 'That's way too much caffeine for you sister? You've seriously overdone the stimulant here' 🙂

You mention stress hormones. Could it be you're feeling the release of stress hormones and them interacting with your nervous system? Could you, at times, be feeling sound even? If you were out having dinner, did the sound of your environment suddenly become too much to tolerate (too much audible stimulation)? Sounds a bit weird but could you be feeling your body's attempts to repair itself after covid? Could you be feeling your immune system doing what it's doing? Would be interesting to hear of what you regard as silly thoughts. Perhaps they're actually quite significant/telling in some way.

Being one of those woo woo mind/body/spirit gals, I tend to look at emotion from 3 different angles. With emotion basically being 'energy in motion', the question can be 'Where is that energy coming from?'. Is it excess mental energy (hyper thinking) interacting with my body, is it physical energy (ramped up chemistry or biological bursts of hyper activity, for example) or is it natural energy?

Natural energy involves the most simplistic take on things but I'll throw in a bit of quantum physics for interest sake. Just say you're naturally super excited about something. On a quantum level pretty much every energetic cell in your body is raised to excitement, vibrating at a higher rate or frequency. If you're seriously tuned in, you'll feel your body subtly vibrating or 'buzzing'. Naturally, your 'vibing high' or 'feeling the buzz' 🙂