Why do I have physical symptoms of anxiety when my mind is calm?

[Username_9]

I've dealt with anxiety most of my life but thought I'd had it under control.
It's taken a while to get into yoga and meditation but now I cant live without either so why am I still getting the physical symptoms of anxiety?
My mind is calm, I have no stress or no reason to be anxious yet my body has been going crazy for weeks now. I am shakey, sweaty, cant seem to breathe like a normal human, my heart is almost always racing.
I have medciation which calms it down but I am on such a restricted dose so i cant often take it unless it's 100% unavoidable.
As well as the yoga, I run daily which helps at the time but as soon as I stop moving to sleep or relax, the physical symptoms come back immediately.
Has anyone else ever dealt with this?

[stormcloudz]

Yes, definitely, and I'm interested to hear that you had that issue too.

I felt calm and was resting a lot and doing meditation. I went to the doctor with physical symptoms which I had assumed were related to a separate underlying condition I have. I had tremors, breathlessness, chest pains, exhaustion etc. The GP said it sounded like anxiety, and I assumed she wasn't taking my other condition seriously - but she was right. The test for me was when the anxiolytic medication she prescribed took away many of the physical symptoms - but in particular gave me my energy back.

I still get anxious and get physical symptoms, but not the all-consuming, full-body experience that I had before.

Basically my poor system had suffered long-term chronic stress and was worn out. In particular my brain function wasn't quite working (the theory is that serotonin gets depleted), and that led to all sorts of issues.

The medications vary in effectiveness depending on what's going on for you physically, but it's worth speaking to your GP about this. I also had a panel of tests to check that nothing else was going on.

I realise now that although I felt calm, I was so depleted that my brain had basically shut down to give me a rest. It took a while to realise that there were some stress triggers that were making me very anxious, but the feelings and thoughts were subconcious - I had to really pay attention to identify them.

Next I'm getting some counselling advice to help me manage the thought processes that sit behind the anxiety. I wouldn't have been able to do that while I was so depleted.

It's great that you are doing yoga and exercise and meditation - all those things are meant to help (and it sounds like they work for you, at least for the duration). I'm going to try yoga as well.

[Rob_Leslie]

I can relate to your anxiety problem and suffered similar symptoms.

I regularly had "episodes" until a year ago when I was prescribed medication by my GP. My psychiatrist is opposed to this medication and I am currently uncertain about the treatment which I have and will be given.

I have back problems which prevent most exercise options and as I am on a DSP my alternatives are limited.

I do have 100% support from my GP and this combined with musical meditation keeps me stable.

[blondguy]

Hello Username_9. Welcome and yes I have too and its a pain

Good on you for having the courage to post...It takes a strong desire to heal...which you have!

I used to have the same symptoms/feelings as you and they are awful. You are amazing for being so proactive with your health with doing Yoga and the meditation and kudos to you

Stormcloudz has posted great advice above...and I hope its okay if I quote just one sentence from storms post

Stormcloudz mentioned "I'm getting some counselling advice to help me manage the thought processes that sit behind the anxiety".....Storm has just provided a huge key that unlocks the door from these awful feelings"

I used to have acute anxiety for a long time. I tried to use self help techniques thinking I could self heal and they never really worked as my anxiety kept coming back

It took 12 years for me to understand that I needed frequent counseling to find some serious peace in my life. What I didnt know in the 1980's was that the earlier anxiety is treated the better our recovery will be.....The longer I tried to self heal the worse my anxiety became (just in my case)

I was anti meds and wanted nothing to do with them....until my 2 GP's 'firmly' told me that I will lose my home...my career and what was left of my mental health. Then I started on a small dose of meds (antidepressants) which provided me with a solid foundation on which I could use counseling meditation and various coping mechanisms more effectively

Like Stromcloudz mentioned...we can have a 'false calm' which explains why the awful symptoms of anxiety still present themselves.

The Good News! Anxiety levels can be reduced in severity with regular counseling (even with your GP) as long as we are truthful (and yes...that hurts) and lay our past/current problems on the table.

If you have any questions or thoughts the forums are a safe and judgement free place for you 🙂

It would be great if you could post back when convenient for you

My kind thoughts

Paul

[stormcloudz]

Thanks Paul, that's encouraging to me too.

PS I was also very anti-meds initially. Now I see things differently.