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what physical feelings of anxiety do you get?

annabay
Community Member

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.

797 Replies 797

I have the same symptoms as yourself except I lose complete speach, it starts with full body shakes followed by my hands clinging into a tight fist to the point my nails wanna cut into my palms (comes on real quick) then my jaw lock up and I lose complete speach, takes a good half hour to sometimes an hour to be able to even start saying a word, then its followed by heavy stuttering for another hour or so, until im able to fully unclinge my fists and start my breathing exercises to subdue the shakes.

Medication used to take it all away within minutes, but since my bi-polar diagnoses i cant be pre-scribed both a benzo and anti-psychotics at same time. Its insanely intense.

If you ever need to talk, please dont hestitate to message me or reach out on here. Easier said that done I know coz all i wanna do is be alone during and after. But know it WILL pass!

Take care everyone 😊

Hi Billichook

you have just described exactly what I’m feeling right now

lightheaded, headaches like a tight band in my head and the need for sleep.

only this morning when I dropped my children off to school I thought to my self how hard it would be to feel like this if you were a teacher dealing with a class of children

i feel for you , stay strong your doing an awesome job

Hi everyone and thankyou for being a part of this super helpful thread topic too!

Hi Kavanna....Your input is greatly appreciated and kudos for having the courage to post too. You are proactive with your health by seeking assistance from your health professionals with all the test...excellent

If our anxiety begins to have a detrimental effect on our day to day ability to function.. its a strong indicator that we may require some face to face time with our GP/Counsellor.

Just from my own experience with anxiety Kavanna....the tight breathing is a very common symptom. You are always welcome to start up your own thread if you wish (same goes for all the contributors here) By doing so you will have more responses that relate to your own set of symptoms

thankyou for your kind words

Paul

Hi Josh1245

Hi Josh....I remember having the same set of symptoms as you and they are awful to experience....Thankyou for your support for this (Annabays) thread when you mentioned "I feel like this is extremely helpful for people to list their symptoms".....really appreciate the support you have provided on other threads too...Nice1....Paul

New members are always more than welcome to post their own symptoms of anxiety

Have a good week everyone......Paul

Healthy_anxiety
Community Member

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, I’ve had some ok days but also some bad days. Which is common but the anxiety is what makes it feel bad. But does anyone get night sweats? It sounds odd but it’s getting colder and yet I find myself sweating bullets in the middle of the night.

Hi Healthy anxiety and everyone....New members are always welcome to post their symptoms too!

great to have you back on the forums

It doesnt sound odd at all....the night sweats are awful to have....I have changed my T-shirt a few times during the night and have to sleep under a blanket and take the doona off to avoid the night sweats

As you mentioned it seems to happen more frequently in the colder months..I feel your pain with having the bad days as they still seem to 'hand around' unfortunately

you are not alone at all......Paul

bookish
Community Member

I get so many, gosh! Finally a place I can vent about them all xD

as of late, it’s been that my vision taps out, everything goes blurry. I can’t focus on any one object for too long before it becomes out of focus!

The tightness in the chest is always there. So is the fluttering of the heart. This ‘fluttering’ sometimes leads me to believe I have a health condition, which according to google, is called an arrhythmia. When I’m having a panic attack, this seriously doesn’t help.

Headaches!!! Especially bad when I’m out of the house and I can’t just lie down!! They’re like, stabbing.

numbness, in any particular area- it’s not specific. Usually in the arms though. This makes me think I’m having a heart attack sometimes, that freaks me out.

Shaking and the jitters are terrible. Especially since they make me feel like I’m out of control.

And of course, just a general feeling of helplessness, like there is nothing else in the world but my anxiety and it’s implications.

Hi Bookish!

Welcome and thankyou for your post as sharing our symptoms helps so many people with anxiety know that they are not alone with their anxiety!

The tightness in the chest....the heart palps...the shaking and jitters are very common symptoms of anxiety (and our adrenaline working overtime)

You are not alone

my kind thoughts

Paul

funbot
Community Member

Well, the past few months of covid-enforced isolation has brought back most of the severe anxiety I spent ages getting rid of. I'm now afraid of stairs (heights/vertigo), for example, but thankfully not avoiding using them as I live on the third floor in a building with no lifts, so there's no choice unless I abseil down the facade, and I think that might cause too much attention.

Thankfully also I recalled things I had to learn from when I was in CBT to deal with this in the first place. I may have gone from a 4/10 anxiety to an 8/10, but at least I'm an 8/10 who knows how to deal with it; though it appears getting back up this high probably means not very well. I mean my resting heart rate has gone back up to pre-CBT levels (a bit too high for comfort), but I'm trying to convince myself it's all temporary and once we're allowed back into society and our offices, it'll calm down again. I'm also convincing myself it is for the greater good as many people would be severely affected if the pandemic hadn't been contained the way it is being contained at present.

So yeah, is there anybody else who became afraid of heights - including in photos and videos - and subsequently afraid of stairs due to their anxiety? It's a less-than-pleasant experience, but then so are all symptoms.

Anxiety highen my vertigo fear of heights couldn't do ladders and get on the roof. Covid gave me time to CBT to Reno and maintain my roof. 🙏🤗