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.

[TahliaF]

My hear starts pounding rapidly and i can't sit still, i often fiddle with whatever's in my hand.My body gets all tense and i feel as if i cannot breathe,in some cases i cry or just dont talk and sit there and suffer in silence.

[onthefence]

Nausea is my biggest symptom, it comes in waves and can make it hard to do my mindfulness exercises or breathing or meditation as I can get a big wave of it that knocks me off track. It usually fades with time it's just trying to stay calm (and near a bathroom, sorry if TMI!) until it passes.

I've found I get really hot if I'm starting to panic as well - like what I imagine a hot flush to feel like, sweating and wanting to cool down. But that's rarer.

[Jill_G]

Hi Onthe fence

I can totally relate to the nausea it was one of my horrible symptons. I got it like clockwork every morning for months. Eventually it got better as l stop fearing the anxiety.. l totally understand its so awful. Hope you start feeling better soon...your not alone

[Jasjit]

Hi Everyone!!

To be quite frank, dealing with anxiety has been the biggest challenge of my life since childhood and up til now. I have fully accepted this as a fact! I used to suffer from social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and fears of animals! It was too much during my childhood and into my late adolescence. I absolutely agree with all the physical symptoms that everyone has shared, I experienced all of them.

But just a tip on how I fixed?! It was simple, I started eating clean, exercised vigorously, and started yoga every single day!! I reversed all my anxiety problems! I can now speak in front of 100 or even 1000 of people. I believe this is reversible!! We can fix this!! I simply had to change my lifestyle and connect my body/mind.

[c#ristine]

It depends on the severity of the anxiety. It can range from quite mild to more severe. You hear a lot about flight or fight mode but the third one freeze isn’t always mentioned. When things are really bad, I tend to go in to freeze mode. My mind could be racing and my heart pounding but I physically feel like I cannot move. This is particularly unhelpful in a true emergency. I have had trouble in the past knowing if a situation is urgent or just feels that way.

One way I’ve learnt to become physically unstuck is to ring a relevant person (example the vets when my dog was sick, poisons information when my ex flatmate took an overdose of his prescription meds )and then just do exactly what they tell me to do. I’ve also rung trusted people in my life to ask for their assessment of a situation.

Other physical symptoms are a hot band around my belly, tightness in my chest, heat that starts in my fingers and moves up my arms. Shallow breathing.A feeling like I am in a play and I’m going through the motions but none of this is really real.

cognitive symptoms include the inability to think clearly, to make decisions to remember things. writing things down really helps with this.

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone and thankyou for helping others by being a part of the discussion!

Hey TahliaF.....I feel the pain you are going through with these awful symptoms..I used to have the same symptoms too...The good news is that they do lessen over time...especially when we have a talk to our GP to discuss these awful feelings. Everyone is always welcome to start their own thread topic too...If you wish!

Hey onthefence....the nausea can be a pain for sure. Our digestive system is the most sympathetic to anxiety feelings.....and our stomach does let us know

Hey JillG.....always great to see you on the forums...I hope you are doing well!

Hey Jasjit....Thankyou for your super helpful feedback! Its great to have your feedback on how you have dealt with your anxiety symptoms....You have done really well with the lifestyle changes...Good1

Hey c#ristine....Welcome and really appreciate you sharing your experience...

c#ristine mentioned " It depends on the severity of the anxiety. It can range from quite mild to more severe"

My own anxiety symptoms are listed on this thread in the first couple of pages if anyone wants to have a look

kind thoughts

Paul

[Sickofeverything]

Wanting to run away...I complained about this today to someone. I just can't be left with my own thoughts. Things just too much to handle

[blondguy]

Hi Sickofeverything

I just replied to your new thread topic...I really hope you can have a look

just a note...If you want to have a chat we have super caring people 24/7 on 1300 22 4636...Its private and also non judgmental too!

Paul

[PanicButton]

This year has been the most challenging of my life. I have suffered from mild depression, panic disorder and health anxiety for 10 years. It has been controlled on-off with medication and therapy but for a couple of years now it has been steady decline, now hitting the bottom where I just feel totally helpless and incapable at times.

A close family member has been really ill and it has fed my anxiety. I experience symptoms out of the blue, always different. I have had severe tiredness, breathing difficulty, vertigo, paralysis, stomach issues... I have been in several blood tests, specialists, ECG, head CT, vertigo clinic. Never found anything too alarming, yet I constantly fear that the next thing will be real.

I am just exhausted of the mental and physical drainage. Especially during COVID. I am experiencing the main symptoms at least once a week. Not that I want to. And it is always the same fear, anxiety, inability to sleep, uncontrollable emotions.

Not that it always shows, I am able to keep up the facade most days. Smile at work, do my share. But it is starting to crack and I am struggling keeping it together.

[Mattw]

i love this thread makes me think im not alone in these feelings i get all the damn time.

My problems started a few years ago when i was watching a horror movie, my head got super cold and i felt terrified that has never happened to me before in my whole life, im currently 36.

Then i started getting these chest pains from sitting in front of the pc all day, sometimes it just happens out of the blue and makes me go into a semi panic attack if i focus on it all the time. After i went to the doctors and got reasurance it wasnt related to my heart i manage to push the fear away....until it started manifesting as something else like the feeling im not breathing properly even though when i focus on my breathing i feel like im getting proper air coming in, but the more i focus on it the worst my breathing gets until i feel whoozy, i find if i can distract myself good enough and i stop focusing on it it goes away.

But lately it started manifesting as another symptom again, vibrations in my chest. this scared the hell out of me, this one feels like im about to die at any moment,

I managed to get into the cadiolgist a few weeks ago for a video meeting and talk to him about it he went over my ecgs and holter monitor report and said it was most likely from stress, im booked in for the pschologist on the 25th, im praying to god that will help me. im sick of waking up with panic attacks of my heart racing/vibrating with the flight or fight feeling overwhelming me and shaking that last for 5mins. it just seems like a vicous circle this anxiety shit.