Tips for easing symptoms?

[bia_blue]

Hey guys, thanks for reading!
Just had a quick question about some symptoms I have. Firstly, does anyone know about experiencing chest tightness slight dizziness and feeling worried and anxious randomly out of no where? My anxiety gives me these symptoms when I'm least expecting them, and a lot of the time there's no trigger for them that I know if; it just happens. I'd love to know if anyone has ways of dealing with the chest tightness mainly, but also the being short of breath leading to slight dizziness, and the anxiety. I've tried rescue remedy, deep breaths etc and can't seem to find anything that gets it under control.

 Also, any tips for getting anxious about time?? My anxiety makes me allow way too much time for things and in trying to save time, I end up wasting more time. I feel like everything's a race against the clock and I get easily frazzled and anxious trying to fit things in, even though I know deep down I have tonnes of time. I turn things down and stay inside bored and waiting for things to happen because I feel like I have less time than I do and I drive myself mad with it. I just want to feel like time is on my side, because in doing this, I waste more.

Finally, there are the bigger things that anxiety prevents me from doing. I find it impossibly hard to eat in public, particularly alone or with people I'm not close with. I am self conscious about my body and get anxiety about wearing things (even though I know deep down I have nothing to worry about really) and find it hard to go out to certain places or with certain people because of this. I also get anxiety about drawing attention to myself and walking past people. I have huge issues about people judging me and avoid doing every day things because of it; eating, using the bathroom; talking about food; talking about my body; my opinions; sitting or standing in certain ways in fear of looking fat; wearing certain clothes (even not revealing) and just walking past groups of people. I'm starting at a new school in about a week, and would LOVE more than anything to be able to go in with less of these worries, and working towards a more confident and less anxiety-driven life. I don't expect a quick fix, just some tips I guess.. My rational mind is no match for my anxiety, and they're little things, but they're everyday things I don't want to find as difficult as I do, and I don't want to get so worked up about them anymore. Stay safe everyone, thanks for reading this far!

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Bia_blue!

Thanks for reaching out.

Sorry to hear that you've been dealing with this anxiety and I'm really glad you want to work on it! It's definitely not an easy thing to 'fix' because it takes a bit of time and practice but certainly coming and asking for help is a great start.

One of the things that helped me with anxiety is learning that anxiety never really 'comes from nowhere' even if it seems like it's out of the blue!   All of our thinking can either help or hinder our anxiety.  When we start saying negative things to ourselves like about body image for instance, it can get worse and worse until our body starts reacting - and that's usually when we get symptoms like dizziness, chest tightness and stuff like that.  Some people might even start sweating, their heart might race or their legs might go wobbly.  Rest assured is that it's all normal, but it's our body's way of coping.

So if you can, try to be aware of what you're thinking when this happens.  You mentioned that you worry about drawing attention to yourself.  This is also really common (and pretty much my everyday thought in high school) but chances are people are worrying about themselves anyway.  One of the techniques that they teach in therapy is about challenging our thoughts, so that could be one thing to work on - 'why does this matter so much?' 'why do I care so much about other people judging me?' 

The truth is that your opinion is the only one that matters, and that other people in public are really not too fussed about what other people eat/wear/do, and those that are generally aren't nice people anyways! 

Hope this helps a little (and isn't too much info!).  All the best with your new school 🙂 

[Lori]

Hi bia_blue,

The answer to your first questions about the tight chest, dizziness and the worry, i have experienced the exact same feeling when i was in school i had that all the time and it really would just come from no where didn't matter whether i was sad or happy it would just happen and it is awful. What help for me to cope with it is i would sit down take deep breaths, sip on some water and sometimes listen to some music to take my mind off of what i was experiencing. 

With time you said so yourself that you know deep down there's plently of time and you know what ? Your absolutely right! There is always time and even if you miss something the first time there will always be another opportunity around the corner, also i found that worrying and stressing about something that we as an individual cannot change like time is not worth the mental pain we put ourselves through.

Never be ashamed or embarrassed of yourself, do not worry about what other may think or what they are saying the ones that can sit back and judge other people are the ones who should be worried about what other people think. Be true to yourself and don't let your anxiety take control you dress in what you feel comfortable in and when eating in public just remember that people aren't sittinf there watching you or judging you their all simply doing the same feesing their hungry tummies 🙂 

Be proud of yourself, and keep your head held high.

Stay stong

- Lori 🙂

[Macshack]

Hi bia_blue,

I know all about the pain in your chest, along with all the symptoms. I've had anxiety a long time and what I find is that you've gotta find one or two things that make you feel completely relaxed, whether it's music or reading or anything. About the chest pain, with me it stops when I don't think about it, so maybe when that happens make sure you do something to take your mind off it. About the anxiety, you need to find your limits inside yourself, and maybe start eating outside once a week or a fortnight, as long as you're comfortable. The moment you know your limits, the moment you can start testing them and becoming your best self. I hope you feel better soon, good luck at school x

[bia_blue]

Thank you so much for replying to this @romantic
Challenging my thoughts has helped with depression in the past, I'll definitely be giving it a go! Thank you for your support 🙂 All the best

[bia_blue]

Lori thank you so much for replying yet again! Means so much to have your support. Deep down I know everything you said is true, so I'll definitely start telling myself more often! I've also given meditation a go and tried to keep myself busy so that there's no opportunity to worry about people's opinions, and just keep busy with friends etc. 

Thank you again! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes 

[bia_blue]

I'm sorry to hear you have had the same experiences 😞 thank you for reaching out and replying! I love the idea of slowly stretching the boundaries and eating outside every now and then! I'll try it out and see what happens 🙂 Sending my best wishes to you!

[Prufrock]

Hi Blue, 

I had the exact same symptoms, I think for me once I really accepted that it was my anxiety that was causing it and that I am fine and my body is healthy the symptoms eased up enormously. It's easier said than done though! It took me about a month to really accept it and even then I still have doubts. I think that you might need to really look at yourself and see that you truly are beautiful the way you are. People are lucky if they see you! Again I know it's easier said, especially in high school. High school is a very difficult time, for me it was about having fellow queens (amazing girlfriends) surrounding me and knowing who I was. Don't feed your fears, instead tell them you are strong and exactly where they can go! Take it slow, in every day there is a victory even if you don't see it. You will get stronger, can I suggest seeing a counsellor one specially designed for anxiety and maybe body image. Be kind to yourself xxxx