what physical feelings of anxiety do you get?

[annabay]

hey there, what physical symptoms of anxiety do you experience?

I often feel very alone in my experience of having physical chest (what I think are heart) spasms and was wanting to create a space for everyone to list their physical feelings that come hand in hand with anxiety so we can all feel less alone.

hope everyone is well.

[beader]

Well Kavanna this sounds just like me. Have tried many medications and none work and some make me feel worse, My left hand is weaker on the keyboard now. Anxiety is my constant companion. I avoid lots of places and people. It's one hell of a ride, right!

[Ekc]

Thankyou for your kind words it means so much.

I've never had anxiety this bad before. The good thing is i have a referral now to see a psychologist. I have spent every moment for the past months constantly accomodating everyone except myself. I don't want it to be too late healthwise before i set my priorities straight.

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone (New posters too!)

Hey Ekc....Beader....A warm welcome and thankyou so much for speaking from the heart too! I am only a temporary caretaker of this excellent thread topic that was written by Annabay in 2019

Hey May Tee Tee....thankyou for your support and being a part of the forums

my kind thoughts always

Paul

[TheBigBlue]

I’ve had anxiety for years. Mostly I suffer with the pounding/racing heart, sometimes shortness of breath, nausea, sweaty palms etc but I discovered a new physical reaction to a situation on Thurs.

i had an appointment with the psychologist & had taken my sister along for support. However this in itself was anxiety inducing because I was a bit nervous about my sister hearing about all my issues (PTSD, complex trauma, depression, anxiety & all the other fun things).

Anyway, the tension inside me just kept building & literally after 10mins in there we had to stop so the psychologist could talk me through some breathing exercises.

Anyway, my heart was racing but the psychologist kept saying she could see it in my face. She said my face was trembling. I don’t know if this has happened before as my attention was never drawn to it. it happened again in the car on the way home. I looked at my face in the mirror & was shocked to see my chin trembling, my lips trembling in a very obvious manner.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? There is definitely no hiding this reaction from the people around me. My anxiety is causing me anxiety! 😢🤣

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone and thankyou for being a part of Annabays thread topic!

Hi TheBigBlue...I hear you loud and clear on these symptoms....I used to suffer from these awful symptoms too

You are spot on when you mentioned your anxiety is causing you anxiety...Anxiety does feed off anxiety for sure

The trembling is very common as our adrenaline is working overtime (anxiety + anxiety = shakes/trembles)

Its taken me a long time to understand that the earlier we seek frequent help from our doc the better our recovery will be..I didnt know this when my anxiety was chronic in the 1980's..so my anxiety symptoms exacerbated.

Hope your weekend is going okay......Paul

[Kdee09]

Hi I’m new, my first comment so Quite nervous about posting anything I’m not too good with my words lol but Ive have had pretty bad anxiety for a few years, I’ve never been to a doctor about it. I keep telling myself I should but never do. I suffer from the trembling, It can get pretty bad, I’ve always felt like there was something wrong with me. For a while I thought it was just around new people or people I didn’t feel totally comfortable with but it also depends how I am on the day.
It feels like my whole head is trembling, and my face is hot. I break eye contact because it makes me feel like I can control myself, but then that makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable that I’m always looking away when someone is talking to me and they may be able to see me trembling. I feel It’s also effecting my speech, like I go blank and I stutter and the words don’t come out right 😔

[TheBigBlue]

Hi Kdee,

welcome to the forums. It does sound very much like you may have anxiety.

i know it’s scarey, but I spoke to my GP first about my symptoms. From there she referred me to a psychologist. I actually found this really helpful, although I still have slip ups along the way.

but a psychologist was really helpful in learning how to manage the anxiety (in most situations).

Feel free to read some of the other posts in here. You can post again here if you want to talk more about your situation or need some advise.

Take care

[TimCB]

Thanks for all the posts, it's reassuring to see a lot of how I feel reflected in your blogs. I feel for you all as it’s been a nightmare at times. I'll read more about everyone, but to put my side out there;
ME:
I'm just about to hit forty and breezed through life without a worry...until the last 5 years. I have a stressful job, lots of kids, etc but increasingly over a few years had...
SYMPTOMS:
Heart issues/palpitations. Went on blood pressure tablets for a bit that helped. Then was in London last year and woke up with H/R >200, ended up in A&E was terrified, couldn't sleep for weeks after as was scared.
That was 9 months ago and now mental health issues have ramped up; feeling confused, dizzy, trapped, like I’m going to fall over when I’m walking or forget speech mid-sentence. Constant headache. Leg twitches as I fall asleep then wake up feeling really anxious. Constantly exhausted.

GETTING BETTER:
My GP has tested everything (MRI, bloods, urine test) and always come back fine. Nice to rule things out though.
“Western medicine”. I got a bit better on another medication but stopped due to headaches (maybe interaction with antibiotics). 6 weeks on and headaches continue - wake up endlessly. Arrrggg! I THINK I’m only anxious about being anxious, but I know I over think things and try to fix them as opposed to accept them. I’m probably annoyed at “not being able to cope” given I had been able to for so long.
Mediation. Try 20 mins mediation everyday (Headspace) which I think helps. Even tried Acupuncture and Reiki (the Reiki lady was great to talk to)!
Have made decision to make big lifestyle choice (long service leave, maybe step back from stressful job). Stepping back from a career I’ve worked hard to build which is part of my identity is hard, but I’ve realised not at any cost – happiness and family come higher than status and money. I think the root cause of all this for me was thinking I’m superhuman and just doing more and more. The frog in the saucepan of water who doesn’t realise it’s warming up. My Dad passed away 18 months ago and I think that triggered a feeling of fragility, then not dealing with that, working ever harder – something had to give.
There’s times when I’m terrified that I’ll “be stuck like this” and other times (like just now in reading your blogs) when I realise this is just part of being human – and talking and sharing is a huge way of coping and reducing the anxiety to a manageable sized thing. Thank you all for sharing, chat soon!

[TimCB]

Hey Bookish - just reading this entire thread (newest to oldest for some reason...) and I have had exactly your shopping list of symptoms. They haven't gone away, and I haven't found a magical cure (message me if you do!) but reaching out to say I'm here with you.

[blondguy]

Hello Everyone...and thankyou for being a part of this very helpful discussion 🙂

Hey Kdee09 ...Hey...TheBigBlue..(thankyou for jumping in and providing your support!)

Hey TimCB...great to have you here and thankyou for sharing your symptoms...You are not alone in any way with the heart palpitations and anxiety feeding the anxiety...Good on you for the helpful post Tim..not to mention being so proactive with your well being!

People are always welcome to write their own thread topic too as there will be more replies to your own specific set of anxiety symptoms 🙂

my kind thoughts......Paul