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.

[Williams43]

I’m on medication for anxiety and depression which is most under control but  comes and goes. 
I get a really tight chest, can’t catch my breath, feel I need to yawn and feel really panicky. Tension in neck / shoulders, need to be on my own in a quiet space, adrenaline building up inside like I need to run away. I can’t think straight - my mind turns to mush. I find it hard to plan things and it affects my family 😞 Physically I feel like my brain is broken.  I describe my mind like a washing machine, tumbling thoughts, catastrophising. 
This year I’ve started experiencing suicidal thoughts which I’ve not had before. It’s scary and hard to admit. 
I’ve had a good few weeks then had a couple of triggers at work and now I’m back in the depths of it. Going to book a GP appointment today and call my EAP at work. It’s hard admitting I can’t cope 😞

I champion mental health for others but it still feels like a huge weakness. I’m in a senior role at work, I’m in my 40s, I should have this under control. It’s hugely debilitating.

[gloria10]

Hi Annabay. Not sure if I've replied to this one before. Physical symptoms that I get for anxiety are shortness of breath, a feeling of panic, clammy skin and sometimes a shivering feeling.  I'm slowly learning to acknowledge these symptoms and to rest when it starts, but they can be scary.

[Bob_22]

Hi Williams43,

Thank you for posting your experience and I'm so sorry anxiety has worsened this year. It is great that you have contacted your GP and set up an EAP at work. I can empathise with you in that I also have mixed depression/anxiety with occasional suicidal thoughts. My anxiety symptoms typically include, increased HR, breathing, fear, worry and guilt. I also have medication to help keep my anxiety and depression under control in conjunction to some CBT techniques that I use. I typically try to use relaxation strategies to help during a panic attack like the ones listed here: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/staying-well/relaxation-exercises 

I can imagine it must be hard to shoulder all of this while trying to support others with their mental health also. I hope you can find some support here on the forums as well as through your GP. Perhaps it may be even be worth seeking help from a psychologist for techniques to help manage anxiety at work. Regardless, please keep us updated and thank you again. 💙

Bob

[blondguy]

Hey gloria10 and thanks for being a part of annabays' thread topic 🙂

The symptoms you are experiencing are the same as I used to have...I understand your symptoms and yes they are horrible to have

Good on you for having the strength to slowly acknowledge these symptoms. Nice1

Once we practice ongoing 'acceptance' of these symptoms they do dissipate over time especially with seeing a good GP for regular support too

my kind thoughts

Paul

[gloria10]

Thanks Blondguy, nice to know we're not alone on this site. I am trying to accept them more for sure by trying to be mindful, it has taken a very long time though 🙂 Hope things are going well for you.

[blondguy]

Hey Gloria10....no worries at all. Its great to have you as part of the Beyond Blue family 😀

Depending on our individual situation...anxiety feelings can sometimes take a while to reduce in severity. Just for myself I was in a senior corporate job that didnt help my anxiety at all. My job was only making my symptoms worse unfortunately. 

I think that reducing our symptoms can be helped by being aware if our work/personal lives are having a detrimental effect on our ability to function on a daily basis. I have learned that the more frequent we see our GP/Counsellor the better we can cope with these awful symptoms

Thankyou for caring gloria10...things are getting better...with the usual ups & downs

my kind thoughts

Paul

[Carmysaurus84]

I understand. I’ve been also good for a long time and prolonged worry about my health turned into a panic attack and I haven’t been the same since. Been so deregulated and was in hospital for 3 weeks. I was getting better but have gone back into a chronic anxious state with derealisation. I constantly am either in flight, fight or freeze mode and it’s exhausting and debilitating. I truely believe there is hope for us though and we will be able to return to a peaceful state again. I’m trialling different meds so that’s a journey in itself. 

I have anxiety a lot lately which presents as shallow fast breathing and just a real deep seeded fear, my eyesight also get effected and I find myself wearing glasses more. I struggle to get motivation to do things, I also get derealisation when it gets so bad which In itself can exacerbate the anxiety so it becomes a vicious cycle. 

[Guest_9141]

Hey Anna 

Hope you had a good day today. You are not alone with chest pain it was my worst and most scary sensation related to anxiety and i used to actually think i was having a heart attack lol ....no joke it was awful! Anti depressants really helped me reduce chest pain as did learning warning signs such as feeling irritable or being restless. I now try to reduce anxiety as it is slowly increasing before it effects me physically (easier said than done hey). I think my most common anxiety symptoms are feeling dizzy and headaches. I hope you feel better with your chest pain, never be afraid to get checked out by the doc, dont feel silly and no you arent alone x

[anonymous_username]

Nausea, definitely. I often feel like I’m going to throw up when I get anxious.

[OpenThought]

Hey Annabay,

My physical symptoms tend to range but I usually get headaches, nausea and my heart rate increases. I also find it makes me loose sleep if prolonged but I think that’s also a general stress symptom.

Thanks, OpenThought