What physical symptoms of anxiety do you experience?

[sparky]

MrG has panic attacks. Or rather..did. Doctor put him on lexapro. I have depression myself but take nothing for it. I just...deal with it the best I can. Usually by visiting cute animal/nature pics via google. Or, I sleep alot. It hasn't gotten better either over the years...and about 3 years or so ago I was diagnosed with ptsd due to the Paradise Fire. I can't go anywhere without having to come back home to make sure the oven is not on, or the burners. Fire freaks me out now. I have always loved wind and rain, but now wind makes me nervous. What if it blows another power line and it starts another fire? I have never been without a dog...but I haven't had one since Karma died just prior to the fire. She was my emotional support dog but I am afraid to get another one even if I could (where I live is one pet only policy and I have a feral cat I tamed). If I got another dog, it would die too eventually. Too painful for me to have to do what needs done. I had 3 dogs and 1 cat. All dead. Lost it all. Then lost it all again in the fire. Back to semi normal now, with a roof I am not crazy about (apt complex has dumb rules, is not clean, is noisy, but its a roof), but what if I wind back up homeless again? Paranoia. Fear. Despair. Disgust at what the USA is experiencing now. Dealing with MrG even though he takes his meds faithfully, etc etc etc.

I find myself withdrawing more and more and becoming more grumpy. Not sure if thats a good sign or not.

The hardest part of being a FF was always that look of despair residents had watching their lives go up in flames, it's a heartache most of us can't begin to even get our heads around, one i wish you'll eventually be free of Gracie....~S~

 

[Mindful]

Meanwhile...are you pulling a Tom Cruise on me? Isn't this thread to help each other deal with this malady, and not be questioned in such a manner that makes us feel...not better and almost loser-ish?

Guy goes to a doctor and says, "Doc, my arm hurts like hell when I do this".

Doctor says, "Don't do this".

That’s a Tommy Cooper joke.

That joke was inscribed on the pyramids.

So that’s where he got it from.

I’d wondered why he wore a fez.

 

[sparky]

I often feel very alone in my experience of having physical chest (what I think is 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.

SVT???

Supraventricular tachycardia - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

~S~

 

[JoeMoma]

I once had a job that stressed me out so much that it knotted my stomach to the point I was throwing up bile in the morning.

 

[playtime]

i had the same physical symptom as you. i have GAD ( generalized anxiety disorder ) & years ago, i went the route of anti anxiety pills / benzos for a while - they did nothing but kept my head in a fog & had some nasty withdrawals i vowed never to take them again. gotta admit that weed helps - not so much with the palpitations, but it helps to relax & i sleep better.

i haven't had the chest 'pain' for a very long time, but i suggest ' 4 square ' breathing when it happens...

take in a deep breath for 4 secs .... hold it for 4 secs ... exhale for 4 secs ... then wait for 4 secs. repeat as long as needed.

do this & ride the palps out; they will decrease after a short while.

 

[Andylusion]

I often feel very alone in my experience of having physical chest (what I think is 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.

I don't think I have ever really had much anxiety. I guess I just know that G-d is in control, and that whatever happens, eventually I'll be ok.

If the worst comes to worst, I go to Heaven, and no longer have to deal with this world.

So really, what is there to be anxious about?

Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith?" -Jesus Christ

As a Christian I pretty much have to decide whether or not I believe the Lord Jesus or not.

And.... I've decided that I do, and I'll trust the Lord in all things. Doesn't mean I don't get down sometimes, but it does mean that ultimately I am not anxious. I can worry for a short while. Maybe a day.

But at some point, I have to read that verse and decide... was he lying or not?

My view.... he will take care of me. Sooner or later, but at some point, the Lord will come through for his people.

 

[kseeding]

Hi, thanks for all the replies. sparky I'm not sure. I get constant sighing and yawning, trying to get the peak breath. Which ends up making my jaw and chest hurt.
And because my anxiety alters my breathing (in my mind) I'm constantly aware of my surroundings; where is the nearest hospital? Where is the closest door/toilet if I need to escape? etc
It's been happening for the past 2 months after I experienced a particular rough panic attack, and it's just exhausting.

 

[Gdjjr]

It's been happening for the past 2 months after I experienced a particular rough panic attack, and it's just exhausting.

Is a Panic Attack the same as an anxiety attack? I think they mean different things, so, a correct diagnosis requires a correct assessment-

I have no symptoms of anything other than age, but, I AM glad I'm 73 since I know I won't be around much longer, which lets me live my life the way I want to, which means I win, mainly because IDGAFF-

I did suffer depression when I got divorced 30 some odd years ago but my kids (very young at the time) kept me going, one day at a time.

Years ago I learned that happiness comes from within and determined, I am Healthy, Happy, Confident and Strong-
Each of those words I defined, to myself, and wrote the definitions down, so that when I said them, out loud, to myself, they meant something to my head-

Mind over matter. It is effective.

 

[JoeMoma]

i had the same physical symptom as you. i have GAD ( generalized anxiety disorder ) & years ago, i went the route of anti anxiety pills / benzos for a while - they did nothing but kept my head in a fog & had some nasty withdrawals i vowed never to take them again. gotta admit that weed helps - not so much with the palpitations, but it helps to relax & i sleep better.

i haven't had the chest 'pain' for a very long time, but i suggest ' 4 square ' breathing when it happens...

take in a deep breath for 4 secs .... hold it for 4 secs ... exhale for 4 secs ... then wait for 4 secs. repeat as long as needed.

do this & ride the palps out; they will decrease after a short while.

A career change fixed it for me.

 

[sparky]

Hi, thanks for all the replies. sparky I'm not sure. I get constant sighing and yawning, trying to get the peak breath. Which ends up making my jaw and chest hurt.
And because my anxiety alters my breathing (in my mind) I'm constantly aware of my surroundings; where is the nearest hospital? Where is the closest door/toilet if I need to escape? etc
It's been happening for the past 2 months after I experienced a particular rough panic attack, and it's just exhausting.

I'm not sure what to say kseeding, a panic attack can mimic SVT and visa versa . Feeling like your body is racing along (really fast pulse, etc) could be a sign of either. The problem is , such attacks can't be recreated in a hospital , where they could put an EKG on you , although the do have 'mobile' varieties that could be of some help. W/out an indepth assessment & history some assumption towards calming meds may be what they leave you with trying......~S~

 

[initforme]

Tingling when my anxiety is bad. Daily running is the best medicine I have found.

 

[Muhammed]

I often feel very alone in my experience of having physical chest (what I think is 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.

Have you ever considered learning to practice transcendental mediation?

 

[Rocko]

None ...

Feeling anxiety is a complete waste of time. Unlike pain, which protects us from dangers happening now, anxiety does nothing to protect us from dangers that might someday be.

Are u suggesting people voluntarily get anxiety?

 

[Rocko]

I used to get short pan attacks, but never took medicine for them. I haven’t had one since my late 20’s.

 

[fncceo]

None ...

Feeling anxiety is a complete waste of time. Unlike pain, which protects us from dangers happening now, anxiety does nothing to protect us from dangers that might someday be.

Are u suggesting people voluntarily get anxiety?

I'm suggesting you can voluntarily suppress it.

 

[Rocko]

None ...

Feeling anxiety is a complete waste of time. Unlike pain, which protects us from dangers happening now, anxiety does nothing to protect us from dangers that might someday be.

Are u suggesting people voluntarily get anxiety?

I'm suggesting you can voluntarily suppress it.

Maybe for some people, but there are different levels of anxiety. For me my panic attacks used to be triggered by stress at work. They were short, but there was nothing I could do to control them. When I felt one coming on I would go to the bathroom and wait for it to be over. Felt like a heart attack. I was advised therapy and meds. Didn’t do the meds. Did the therapy, it didn’t help and I just had to deal with it. Over time the attacks were less frequent. Since my late 20’s they’ve been in remission, but there’s nothing I voluntarily did to suppress my episodes.

 

[fncceo]

None ...

Feeling anxiety is a complete waste of time. Unlike pain, which protects us from dangers happening now, anxiety does nothing to protect us from dangers that might someday be.

Are u suggesting people voluntarily get anxiety?

I'm suggesting you can voluntarily suppress it.

Maybe for some people, but there are different levels of anxiety. For me my panic attacks used to be triggered by stress at work. They were short, but there was nothing I could do to control them. When I felt one coming on I would go to the bathroom and wait for it to be over. Felt like a heart attack. I was advised therapy and meds. Didn’t do the meds. Did the therapy, it didn’t help and I just had to deal with it. Over time the attacks were less frequent. Since my late 20’s they’ve been in remission, but there’s nothing I voluntarily did to suppress my episodes.

If you're having a non-voluntary (autonomic) physical symptom, you should really try to determine what triggers it. A daily activity (including stressful activities) log is a useful tool for that.

That would be a medical condition totally different from everyday anxiety. Much in the same way that clinical depression is totally different from being grumpy now and then.

If you're prescribed meds for the condition, you should take your meds. But, just like trying to isolate triggers, it's important to keep a log of how you react to the medication so your physician can dial-in the dosage. Psych meds are definitely not one-size-fits-all.

Just like depression however, when most people say the are depressed, they mean they're in a grumpy mood. When a person says they have anxiety, what they mean is, they're worried about some particular thing that happened or might happen to them.

That type of non-clinical depression or non-clinical anxiety is very much a voluntary state as opposed to an autonomous reflex and is very much under the person's control.

 

[Gracie]

I often feel very alone in my experience of having physical chest (what I think is 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.

Have you ever considered learning to practice transcendental mediation?

I do this. It helps.

 

[Rocko]

None ...

Feeling anxiety is a complete waste of time. Unlike pain, which protects us from dangers happening now, anxiety does nothing to protect us from dangers that might someday be.

Are u suggesting people voluntarily get anxiety?

I'm suggesting you can voluntarily suppress it.

Maybe for some people, but there are different levels of anxiety. For me my panic attacks used to be triggered by stress at work. They were short, but there was nothing I could do to control them. When I felt one coming on I would go to the bathroom and wait for it to be over. Felt like a heart attack. I was advised therapy and meds. Didn’t do the meds. Did the therapy, it didn’t help and I just had to deal with it. Over time the attacks were less frequent. Since my late 20’s they’ve been in remission, but there’s nothing I voluntarily did to suppress my episodes.

If you're having a non-voluntary (autonomic) physical symptom, you should really try to determine what triggers it. A daily activity (including stressful activities) log is a useful tool for that.

That would be a medical condition totally different from everyday anxiety. Much in the same way that clinical depression is totally different from being grumpy now and then.

If you're prescribed meds for the condition, you should take your meds. But, just like trying to isolate triggers, it's important to keep a log of how you react to the medication so your physician can dial-in the dosage. Psych meds are definitely not one-size-fits-all.

Just like depression however, when most people say the are depressed, they mean they're in a grumpy mood. When a person says they have anxiety, what they mean is, they're worried about some particular thing that happened or might happen to them.

That type of non-clinical depression or non-clinical anxiety is very much a voluntary state as opposed to an autonomous reflex and is very much under the person's control.

I’ve always been very stubborn about about not taking any type of mind altering drug. I haven’t even drank much alcohol in my life. I kind of pride myself on staying sober. The therapist I had recommended all these breathing exercises to try and they did nothing. She psychoanalyzed me in session after session. I poured my heart and soul out to her...and nothing. Nothing could help my stop the anxiety. Sometimes I would get nervous at work. The feeling is hard to explain. Heart attack is the best way I can describe it. Meds might have helped, but they also might have dumbed me down. I’m just fortunate that it stopped. Do I know why it stopped? No, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[fncceo]

I’ve always been very stubborn about about not taking any type of mind altering drug.

The only reason to alter your mind (besides the recreational benefits) would be to alter the parts that are causing you physical pain or negatively impacting your life.

A headache is a perfectly natural dilation of blood vessels pressing on pain receptors in the skull. Taking Aspirin to reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain may be unnatural and body-altering, but it sure beats the hell out of a headache if you don't suffer from side-effects.

Every person taking medication has to make a personal choice -- do the unintended or ancillary effects of the medication outweigh the beneficial effects in my life. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't. For every person, that is a personal choice.