Health Anxiety

[CJ1998]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, and I just wanted to see if anyone is or has experienced anything similar to what I am currently experiencing.

I have always been an anxious person since childhood, especially when I have a lot going on (Juggling work and study commitments). It has never affected my ability to go about my daily activities until recently.

One day I was driving to uni when I began feeling anxious which led to heart palpitations and caused me to almost pass out at the wheel. Ever since then my anxiety has spiraled out of control as I have a fear of this situation happening again. I am too afraid to drive most places as I instantly feel anxious as soon as I get behind a wheel. I also fear going anywhere in public in case these symptoms appear again. I have visited the doctors and had tests done and they have put these symptoms down to anxiety. I can't seem to get the idea out of my head that there must be another health issue causing such severe symptoms. Now it seems like everyday I am experiencing a racing heart, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and dizziness.

Has anyone else experienced these types of issues? What did you do to overcome these worries? I am constantly overthinking and it is affecting my ability to go about my daily life.

[JessF]

Hello CJ1998, welcome.

What I'm reading in your post is that the anxiety recently seems to be quite specific, and centred round a frightening experience you had when you were driving to uni. It seems to have stuck with you, and you're fearful about getting behind the wheel in case it happens again. The worry about this also seems to be spilling over into other areas of your life.

It's good that you've been to the doctors to try and get to the bottom of it, but it doesn't sound like you're satisfied or convinced by the explanations they've given you. Would that be fair to say?

I have struggled with anxiety throughout my life, and still do. Like you, there have been times when I've been able to manage it well, even when really busy. That's something worth reflecting on for a few moments. How were you able to manage your anxiety in the past? What were you doing that worked well?

[CJ1998]

Hey Jess,

Yes I think your right, because that one experience was so frightening it has caused me to lose confidence in anything that I do and make me overthink everything. I am just not convinced that anxiety can cause such severe physical symptoms like that.

I think in the past my anxiety has been more related to work, but I have usually just told myself that it's something that has to be done and I have pushed myself to just do it. I was also unhappy with my job so I actually resigned 2 weeks ago as I felt it was having a negative impact on my life. The problem now is I have more free time on my hands to worry about things and I am due to start a student placement soon for my course which is also causing me major anxiety.

[JessF]

Hello CJ1998, it is confronting when our own experience doesn't match up with what we're being told, doesn't it? If you have a look at some of the information pages on this site, you'll see that physical symptoms of anxiety are very common. But when you actually feel them, wow... there are quite a few threads on here from people talking about anxiety symptoms and literally feeling like they're going to die. It can be terrifying.

Coming back to your driving. You said that you are too anxious to drive "most" places. Are you still able to do some driving? What's different about those times? There may be a key in there to slowly regaining your confidence. You mention having a lot of time on your hands at the moment, that coupled with not being able to get around easily, I imagine is making you feel a bit helpless.

In the past it sounds like you have pushed through the anxiety by focusing on what's in front of you as something that has to be done. That's a good strength: there are always things in life that we don't want to or feel like doing, and pushing through when our minds are telling us to give up takes guts. But you also have good insight not to just keep doing things for the sake of it - your job was having a negative impact on you, so you've moved on. This also sounds like a smart decision for you.

Well done on getting a placement, I know good ones can be hard to come by. I understand you're anxious about it too. How did you come to be assigned, was it given to you or was it something that you chose yourself?

[CJ1998]

Hey Jess,

I have pushed myself to drive some places if they are local or if I have somebody with me in the car, but have still felt quite anxious as soon I start to drive and am quite worried as I will soon have to start driving on my own for longer distances.

As for my placement, I was assigned it by my university, but I did get some input as to where I wanted to be placed. I am excited and hoping it will be a positive thing for me, but I am still worried that these symptoms will come on whilst I am there and I won't be able to control it.

[JessF]

Hello again CJ1998, it's great that you are still able to drive locally, and when there's someone with you in the car, even though there's still some anxiety there when you do it. You're pushing yourself to keep doing it - you could have given up altogether but you didn't. One thing you might like to try over the next week: plan out some trips, and ask a friend to come with you. Start with the easy ones that you're already doing. Then plan out a few more that are *slightly* longer. Have a plan beforehand about what you will do if you feel the panic coming on, that way you can be secure in knowing that you can stop the car at any time. What do you think? Could you give that a try and see what happens?

It sounds like everything comes back to the anxiety and panic. You're really looking forward to the placement, but the spectre of the panic coming on is putting the dampeners on for you.

[JessF]

Hello CJ1998, just a quick message to see how you've been going over the past week. I have spotted you around the place providing lovely replies to others who are struggling, and mentioning some helpful things that have worked for you. It's frustrating when things don't get better overnight, and sometimes we're really hopeful that a magic answer might just drop out of the sky. It's easy to be hard on oursevles and forget that setbacks are not a failure, they're just part of the journey. If you'd like to give an update on how things have been going, I'll be keeping an eye out here.

[CJ1998]

Hey Jess,

Thank you for your previous suggestions. I took them on board and have actually driven 5 days in a row! I have had errands I have had to run, and I did not want my anxiety to get in the way of getting them done, so I had to bite the bullet and just drive. I have found comfort in driving in the left lane, knowing that if i become overwhelmed I can easily pull over if I need to. Also having water with me helps.

The anxiety has still been there most days and sometimes it feels like I will have a couple of positive days and then the following day I will get all of my anxiety symptoms again and feel like I am going backwards. It is a vicious cycle and I tend to focus on the times where I feel terrible and forget about any positive feelings I have previously felt.

University starts again next week, So I will have to drive there and also for a meeting for my placement. I am hoping my anxiety won't get in the way. Hopefully I can stay positive and try and push through as best as I can

Thanks so much for checking in! I am so glad I have found these forums as I find comfort in knowing I am not alone.

[JessF]

Hello CJ1998, that makes me very happy to read, that you were able to feel the anxiety welling and think, no - I have things to do and then go ahead and do them. I hope it doesn't sound patronising of me to use the word 'brave', but I really mean it; reading back to how you described the panic feelings in your first post, they were frightening and intense. You made a plan, and stuck to it. That's fantastic.

Keeping the positive vs the negative in perspective is a daily battle for those of us with anxiety, I too am very prone to ticking off all the items in the negative column while drawing a discreet veil over the positive column until good friends around me point them out.

Good luck for your placement next week. The anxiety may still be lurking, but you've worked very hard to prepare yourself for it, I look forward to hearing how it all goes if you have time. If not, I'm very glad you've found comfort in the threads here. Best wishes.

[CJ1998]

Hey Jess,

I thought I would jump on here and give an update on how my anxiety has been going. I completed my first two days of placement this week. I was so nervous and anxious but I made it through without having any full on panic attacks.

My health anxiety is definitely still there and i stress and worry about it most days still. My breathing has become more normalised but I am still experiencing bad tension headaches, dizziness and heart palpitations a lot of the time.

I am having my 6th psychology session next week and after that I will have to go back to the doctor to receive another 4 sessions. I am wondering if I should ask about going on medication when I go back to the doctor as I am still experiencing frequent panic attacks that are getting in the way of my daily routine and me getting things done.

I hope you are doing well yourself

Chelsea