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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

blondguy
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi kpxl....isabelle21..Dwarfstar and everyone !

Welcome to the forums and thankyou for being a part of the discussion too! I used to have exactly the same symptoms as you do when I was in my 20's and they are awful to have...ugh

Just a tip.....If our anxiety starts to have a detrimental effect on our ability to function on a daily basis the best help is from our GP. The earlier we seek some basic assistance the less severe our symptoms will be 🙂

Anyone can always start their own thread topic if they wish to

my kind thoughts and appreciation for being a part of Beyond Blue

Paul

l'm in the middle of trying to decide if l should explain to some of my family that l get anxiety. My family is huge and scattered so l don't see most of them very often and so when l do it's all so weird for me that l don't function as myself at all. l know all of those parts of family scratch their head and have zero idea about who l really am especially these days. The person they see isn't me and l leave later feeling that messed up and it stays with me for the year or 2 or 3 , until l see them again.

They have no clue , pretty sure they just think l'm one very weird slightly strange brother these days.

rx

Hey RX

Im going to find my ancient 'Do You Like Yourself' thread on this so we can leave room for new posters here.You have mentioned an excellent point. How do you know that any of your other relatives dont have anxiety feelings?

Approx 2.5 million Australians have an anxiety related issues.....Always a bonus to have you 'on the air' RX

Paul

Hey Paul no worries and thanks for that my friend.

Funny really l do know because l recognize anxiety having it myself and the funny thing is one brother in particular never bats an eyelid l know he just knows and that l know he has it too. But l rarely see him this last 10yrs . We've never told each other. The rest are pretty good so just scratch their head and wander off thinking whatever they must think.They would not believe what l see in them though, oblivious has it's benefits l suppose because with some it's lucky thy can't.

Take care mate . rx

jemma09
Community Member

Hiya everyone, hope you're all staying safe.

I haven't been here in a little while. Oddly enough, I had physical anxiety symptoms this week that I haven't had for a long time. I don't know if they are panic attacks or anxiety attacks.

The other day, I felt my mind was very busy and I was quite aware of how my body was feeling. I was breathing very quickly and my heart was racing/pouding. It felt as if I couldn't get enough air in my lungs no matter how I breathed. I tried doing deep breaths, didn't work. I felt very on edge. 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe' feeling. I went into the smiling mind app on my phone and found a guided 'SOS breathing exercise' for 3 minutes and the change was almost instantaneous and the feelings went away. Felt as if I could breathe again.

I think I was also having one the other night too. I was in bed and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Again, heart racing/pounding, fast breathing and felt on edge. Took my BP/heart rate - they were within normal range.

I am not sure why these are happening out of the blue. They are not short lasting, it could go on for 30+ minutes if I don't do a calming exercise.

All the best to everyone! 🙂

posvibe
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

Hi Jemma09,

I'm so sorry that you are feeling that way- must be horrible.

I have experienced anxiety for the past few years now, it was at its worst near the end of high school when there wasn't an awful lot wrong with my life. These attacks that you are describing resonate greatly with this time, and so does too the frustration in not being able to explain why they were happening.

I would get into these vicious cycles of having an attack, worrying about where the attack came from, and then having another attack due to this.

Something that helped me in these times of heightened anxiety is the acceptance that they were happening for no reason at all- and that it was okay for this to occur.

I know it is hard, and accepting the fact that your just having an attack out of no where is difficult in itself, but at least the worry of where it is coming from is at least sorted.

Overall, sometimes by trying to figure out why your having an attack when the answer is not obvious is only feeding into what your anxiety wants: for you to be fearful of something.

Keep going- I think it is great that you are aware of anxieties presence in the first place, that's a huge step!

Stay well.

Hi Everyone (wave to RX and welcome Posvibe!)

Hey jemma09! I remember you when you were online..its great to see you again! You mentioned ' It felt as if I couldn't get enough air in my lungs no matter how I breathed. I tried doing deep breaths, didn't work. I felt very on edge. 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe' feeling'

I hear you loud and clear jemma09....taking deep breaths can sometimes make our anxiety worse due to excess oxygen being absorbed. Panic or anxiety attacks are the same...just different labels! They can happen 'out of the blue'.....mine were exactly the same and yes its a horrible set of feelings to have

Note....If the physical symptoms have a detrimental effect on our ability to function on a daily basis its always a good idea to see our GP as they have better training/awareness where anxiety is concerned in 2020 🙂

Hey Posvibe....thankyou for providing your valued support with these horrible feelings of anxiety!

Posvibe mentioned 'Something that helped me in these times of heightened anxiety is the acceptance that they were happening for no reason at all- and that it was okay for this to occur. Thankyou for mentioning acceptance as it does take the fear out of anxiety/panic...(with ongoing practice and seeing our doc)

my kind thoughts

Paul

jemma09
Community Member

Hi posvibe

Thank you for your kind words. It has been very comforting for me!

I appreciate hearing your experiences. There are some worries I am having in life at the moment. Even today I think I had a panic attack of some sort, my heart rate was high. I could feel it coming on starting with my heart rate and there were absolutely no triggers around me. This then caused me to feel upset as to why it was happening. I almost felt myself detaching a little bit at the peak of the attack. I went and did the guided breathing on the app again which helped. So yes, I agree, it comes out of nowhere and for no reason.

Again, thank you so much for reading and sharing! Take care 🙂

jemma09
Community Member

Hi Paul, yes, it is good to chat with you again!

I am glad to hear about your thoughts and experiences, thank you very much for sharing. It is nice to hear people's thoughts on this, helps me feel not alone. I will keep GP in mind. I need to find a new one actually, my current one I feel does not understand my situation. So I may look into this. I still see my therapist.

Yes, it was some very comforting support from both of you.

Thanks again, take care 🙂

Hi jemma09...Posvibe...RX and everyone!

no worries and thanks for the super kind post too!

I hope today has been good to you as anxiety symptoms are horrible to experience

my kind thoughts....Paul