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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

Hi i myself reading your post ,have most of your symptoms aswell.When ive had a day of high anxiety the following days are usually days where i feel so tired to .i feel anxious at times for no reason and then the vicious circle of anxiety takes over . i see professionals for this ,im trying mindfullness its hard to train myself but i keep at it .i find walking the pool helps me .yes i love the good days when anxiety has gone then the days its there yes it can be very challenging .One thing that may help is what i was told by dr ,is stay in the moment right now .dont look back what happened few hours ago or dont look ahead to the next day .whats in the moment right now im safe and nothing has happened .i keep telling myself this when anxiety panic attack is happening .i wish you well and i understand how you feel .

I’ve been experiencing similar symptoms. I’ve always had anxiety but never physical symptoms until about 3 weeks ago I had smoke some drugs as a birthday celebration and all was good but then I got this tingle on my face which turned into this unexplainable feeling that went down through my jaw and neck into my chest and I instantly stood up and was pretty much in shock thinking I’m having a heart attack so I called an ambulance and they said it was simply anxiety. I was good for the next 5 days except for some chest discomfort then again it happened and I couldn’t wrap my head around it being anxiety so I called 000 again back in hospital and once again anxiety. They ran echocardiograms and found my heart was completely healthy so sent me home. I felt weird since then like chest discomfort numbness and weakness in my arms and hands mostly on the left side. And since then I had 2 days where I felt completely fine and normal then it’s happened again but I just took deep breathes and reassured my self I wasn’t dying and went back to just having some chest discomfort and weakness I have had blood tests including for my thyroid they’re all clear. This past week though I’ve been having a burning feeling on the left side of my chest that pops up maybe twice daily and this burning feeling on my forehead which I assume is me perceiving the wind from my ceiling fan incorrectly and I’ve also had constant migraines, headaches and fatigue and when that mixes with the random rushes of dizziness and shortness of breathe from chest tightness I always think I’m having a heart attack or a stroke which then worsens the symptoms. I’ve been watching John Peterson and this person called the anxiety guy on YouTube and they have helped a bit. By the way have seen some people mentioning being scared of it happening outside and I believe that could be related to agoraphobia which is: The Fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness or embarrassment.
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that often develops after one or more panic attacks.

I would appreciate if anyone else has experienced the burning sensations as it’s truely terrifying.

Azza56
Community Member

Here is a list of all the symptoms I have experienced over the past 3 weeks. I’ve been keeping a diary to show the doctor if need be.

Palpitations
Elevated heart rate
Light headed
Dizziness
Bit of vertigo
Random burning sensations in chest and forehead
Sharp chest pains mostly left sided
Headaches/migraines
Hot and cold flashes
Weakness in arms and hands mostly on left side
Some weakness in legs but nothing that stops me from walking
Random pains all around body including ribs and abdomen
Joint pains
Muscle tension
Pressure in left eye
Eye irritation
Some pins and needles here and there
Chest tightness and breathing difficulty
Heart flutters on the verge of falling asleep I assume from stopping breathing
Loss of appetite that later leads to increased appetite
Clouded thoughts or inability to think straight
Occasional ball in throat feeling
Constant fatigue
Tingles/shivers
Trembling/shaking


Note some symptoms are only when having an actual attack the rest are just there and come and go quite frequently.


Symptoms have persisted for 3 weeks


All typically resolved by deep breathing and a walk
Nicotine and caffeine sometimes can trigger but definitely not all the time

Aurora9
Community Member

I've just signed up as a BB member and this is my first post on here, thanks everyone for your replies below and talking about your experiences. Reading about others' experiences with anxiety is making me feel less alone!

The physical symptoms I experience are wide-ranging and can include:

  • Heart and chest pain, heart beating really fast, and feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack (which has led me to the emergency room a couple of times despite me not realising it's anxiety).
  • Bad sweating and clammy hands
  • A really red face whenever I'm in most social situations. I can't help myself from flushing so I wear makeup a lot for that reason, even though I don't really like wearing it.
  • Shaking and tremors. I used to work in retail and customers always used to comment on this and make jokes about it, saying I looked like I'd had too much caffeine- embarrassing!
  • Clumsiness. Tripping over and dropping things.
  • Mind fog and forgetfulness- whenever I've had to do public speaking I'll either forget what I'm meant to say or I'll forget what I've said immediately afterwards
  • If I'm having a panic attack, I often start hyperventilating.

I hope this helps anyone experiencing similar symptoms. Before reading these posts I didn't realise how different anxiety can be for each individual!

kody_love
Community Member

Mine are these:

- Laboured breathing, often a precursor to a panic attack

- Feeling of iciness throughout my body, especially my abdomen

- Nausea (making it difficult to eat - lost 9kg this year this way)

- Inability to take deep breaths

More voluntary things I do when I am having an anxiety attack:

- Click my fingers, typically near my head

- Pull down on my hair or pull hair at roots

- Shake my head

- Rock back and forth

- Beat hands on head if my thoughts are flurrying too overwhelmingly

I have the exact symptoms good to know I am not alone

thanks for sharing

Anna90
Community Member
First time posting feeling anxious about sharing but here I go. I have lived with anxiety for as long as I can remember and I have seen professionals for help in the past which did help. The last 4 years I have been really struggling since I had my workplace accident. I have had 3 spinal surgery's the last one was Feb this year for a spinal fusion. I have had ongoing chronic pain since the accident which lead to subscribed heavy pain killers which I have since discovered I have an intolerance for and had a serve reaction to one specifically. It lead to a seizure and I had passed out with my eyes open. I remember feeling sick in the stomach,dizzy and like a wave had come over me followed by a high pitch noise in my ear but only on one side. My heart was racing and I was sweating like I has just got out the shower. I was shivering but felt hot around my head neck and face. I remember calling out to my partner during the night from the bathroom because I felt like I was going to pass out then the next thing he is in front of me freaking out calling my name like I had been unresponsive. I was taken to hospital and admitted for the day for monitoring but was fine later that day just felt exhausted and weak. The experience scared me so badly I have panic attacks when ever I get any of the same symptoms and it just gets out of control and I feel like im having a heart attack. I find I panic before I even go to bed and have trouble sleeping because my heart is racing and I sweat right through my clothes and sheets.

Hi,

I get this all the time especially when having conversations and it gets frustrating at times out of frustration I throw things. I find myself lost in a conversation forgetting what I was saying or what I was about to say. Does anyone have a plan or technique to avoid looking stupid or acting out?

Azza56
Community Member
Update on my anxiety attacks. The past few days have been really good in fact after I read some other people’s stories and symptoms and posted my own I felt a feeling of comfort like I’m not alone in this. But just a couple hours ago out of no where my face started getting burning sensations and I got really hot then the palpitations started but it’s like one non stop palpitation so I took some slow deep breathes and it resided. Then I got chest aches and my legs and arms got really weak specifically on the left side so I went and walked it off and did some headspace meditations. It’s scary when I feel any symptom of it although most I can come to terms with and get over them but the burning sensation on the chest, cheeks and eyebrows is the scariest by far.

bluemoonbluesky
Community Member

Hello everyone, first time posting here. I've had constant anxiety and panic attacks for about 18 months now. My first panic attack was just over 2 years ago and took me to Emergency. It was one of the most frightening nights of my life. It didn't really bother me until I had a second major panic attack on an international flight in April last year. I always loved travelling, this was a crushing blow. I had a major period of stress at work and probably always had anxiety in some way, but the physical symptoms began to manifest in major and frightening ways that actually changed my life.

Since then, my body and mind have never been the same. Despite the physical setbacks which I outline below, I've learnt a lot about myself and appreciate the little things, even if I'm not smiling much. I've been through many tests, doctors have never been able to figure out anything physically wrong except occasional high BP.

Frequent symptoms (at least once everyday):

- Chest pain, lower rib pains, occasionally stabbing, dull burning chest pains (by far the most frequent and annoying symptom)
- Shaking
- Feeling of disassociation
- Fast, hard heartbeat
- Hot flushes
- Extreme fatigue and exhaustion (massive for me)

Non-frequent symptoms (come and go):

- Palpitations (I had palpitations for basically 2 or 3 months straight late last year, thankfully they are not nearly as bad now)
- Headaches (I had a stabbing headache for 4-5 days a few months ago that magically went away)
- Forgetfulness, inability to articulate words as before
- Muscle twitches/spasms, in all parts of the body. The most recent twitching part is the left side of my left hand. This has largely gone now. I have had twitches all over my legs, arms, back, chest, absolutely anywhere
- Feeling of falling into an 'abyss' when falling asleep or out walking

I avoid overly sugary or fatty foods but still have a cup of coffee almost everyday and some beers occasionally - sorry anxiety but you are not going to take those away from me. High % alcohol drinks on the other hand are Russian Roulette these days, probably for the best though.

I no longer am able to go the gym, but I do walk daily which helps so much. In 18 months I've probably had maybe 4-5 weeks in which I've felt quite good. I've tried a lot of things. It's been a bloody long, hard road, but one I am committed to going down further and beating this thing.

I've read here from time to time recently so it's nice to finally contribute, we are not alone.