Physical symptoms

Hi. I can understand how you feel. I've had panic attacks and anxiety on and off for nearly 5 years. They came back on Christmas Day totally out of the blue and have really struggled since then. I've felt terrible, like you say, I have aching limbs, headaches. You aren't alone in this. I've noticed that when I keep myself busy, like reading a book or watching a movie, or even just the housework helps to relieve the symptoms a bit. Distraction is a good thing I find. I hope this helps a bit.

Thank you so much! I hope you're okay too and that we can get over this awful

Thing! I can't wait for the day I feel normal again. It's a relief to know that I'm not alone in this.

You will feel normal again. That's what I'm hoping for too because I'm getting married this year. You will be fine. I'm always being told that anxiety can be cured. It's hard to believe though right? I've tried lots of things, it's just what's right for certain people.

Hi I've just come across your messages, I started getting panic attacks about 6ish months ago, but they started to go but last week I had a servere one at work, out of the blue for no reason atall.. My head went fuzzy my knees went week I couldn't breathe my arms went numb an face an one thing that really scared me was my Speech went weird and I couldn't get anything out properly! Was so scary, but ever since I've felt Very spaced out and my arms feel kind of weightless and weak , my hands are really cold .. It's such a strange feeling they feel as if they aren't attached to my body on some weird way? Is this caused because of my major attack I had? Would love to knowing if anyone else has had this ? Thankyou! And I also had vertrgio and it's horrible it's asif your floating very strange feeling!

Hey Hun! I get this too. As I'm typing this my body feels all numb and I'm so dizzy. I find that it gets worse at night. I think it's connected to the fact that I struggle to fall asleep. I think our limbs get week cos our bodies are pumping with adrenaline and the blood is going to all the major organs like the heart. It's so annoying for it feels like I'm not in control of my body. Do you get that too? The dizziness probably comes from poor breathing. I hope this makes you feel better. Let me know if you have any other questions x

Yes it's such a strange feeling it's like my hands are typing but I'm not feeling myself do it, I've got all my strength in it but they feel like they are floating .. It's so weird and it's been getting me so so worried I've looked on then internet which is the worse things you can do, things have come up about ms which scared me big I think this is due to all my anxiety I've got at the moment.. See I don't struggle to sleep, I love it when I feet to go to sleep because I can't think about why my arms don't feel right! If I really sit and concentrate about my Aran they feel like they get worse too! I sometimes feel like I'm in a bit of a dreamlike state aswell? How long can the side affects lasts for? Xx

I feel exactly the same. What do we do ? I'm sitting here crying now and I just wanna be out there living my life.... I have tried so many different therapies. I don't know where this is coming from. Is there an underlying reason or health Issue that none of us know about.

I know for sure it's defiantly not in my head cause I have tried meditating and distracting myself in every way possible. I need help.

Any success stories?!

Here is a success story of sorts. I started off with panic attacks due to stress of trying to do too much at work. Didn't know what was happening. Ended up admitting myself to a Psychiatric Hospital (big mistake, by the way). Left 6 months later thinking there was something seriously wrong with me. Ended up agoraphobic in my flat. Couldn't leave it for 15 years. Each day a terror and full of dread. Teeth chattering, hair went white, every kind of physical weirdness, convinced I had many different kinds of illness. Legs like jelly. Tingling, numbness, spaced out, feeling not real, terrified of eating the wrong thing etc. it was endless. terrified of being on my own. Monitoring my body endlessly for signs of the next attack. Nuff said, we all know what it's like.

Eventually found a therapist who happened to be a Tibetan buddhist. He encouraged me to go towards the fear! Seems counter-intuitive, I know, but I was growing my fear by running away from it! Anxiety happens when we try to desperately avoid feeling fear in our bodies. He showed me that it is a very uncomfortable sensation but it won't kill you. Nobody ever died from anxiety. With his advice I tried to embrace my fear. To accept it compassionately. It was a challenge, I'm not kidding, it wasn't easy. Good days, bad days, but I slowly got better. My THINKING was the problem, not the fear. If you notice the sensations in your body (not your head)and observe those sensations you will find that they are very similar to other experiences such as the excitement and anticipation of a romantic evening (butterflies in the tummy, fast heart rate, flushed cheeks etc. The only difference is that we label one experience as exciting and fun and the other as something really, really, terrible is happening. We label it as fear and imagine that something is wrong with us. We then try to solve the problem by analysing, thinking, seeking an answer, trying endless different therapies, looking to our childhood experiences, trying to find a REASON. Trying to escape. Trying to 'fix' ourselves. (I tried all these for many years, they don't work) All of which focuses the mind more and more on the fear. By keeping our attention on it we make it worse. That's why distraction works. It takes our attention away from it. I know this may sound crazy to you but when I started to accept the fear and not try to get rid of it, it diminished and eventually went. I now run my own business, going out is not a problem (I don't even think about it anymore). Occassionately I still have anxiety but it only lasts a few days. I know I will always have anxiety sometimes, it is part of me. You cannot be alive without some anxiety. I have thought I was going to die so many hundreds of times that it's difficult to take those thoughts seriously anymore. My message is that it's OK to be afraid. It's all right. There is nothing wrong with you. You are OK and you will be OK. Be kind to yourself and try not to hate yourself for being afraid. I see fear now as being like the Great and Terrible Emerald Wizard in the Wizard of OZ. It seems to be a all-powerful thing but when you get up close to it you see that it is just an insecure old man with a beard shouting into a trumpet to try and scare people (see the film for full appreciation). When you invite fear in, nothing shows up!

Hello everyone! Reading your story is like writing my life. Little over 1 year ago i felt what they told first panic atack, i thought any second i would drop dead, but i didn't so end up emergency room they said anxiety the next day again panic atack again emergency room, long story short i thought i have something that no doctor can find, for months and months i had the worst phsical symptoms that made me think i have something, could not focus get up the bed was sonething i was not happy about. Done every test posible and nothing, after i said ok thats anxiety and started to ignore the symptoms cause i could not take it anymore took xanax only if needeed wich is everyday but i try not to get use on medication. I was doing ok when 6 months ago my ears start to ring and since then they dont stop the most anyoing thing done mri , came out clear hearing test and all that bs.is anyone have suffer from this ringing for so long and any hope if will ever go away. God helps all of us, be strong and find a motivation in your life , i have three small kids thats why i get up everymorning and try to do my best.

Hello, Katrinkels this is very similar to me. I have done some modelling too, I have had extreme anixtey and it's just recently come back. I used to take dizapam because I could not control a panic attack. Do you have a email addresse? Would be great to speak to you more about what you're dealing with like me. I don't even want to pursue being a model now because of this, William.

I used to suffer from anxiety and now I no longer have a problem but I'm thinking a lot of it was induced by my lifestyle. I think concentrating on the things your body needs to function properly can be a big help as if the body is well looked after it allows the brain to function more efficiently. Also being positive in every are of your life.  I've listed below the things I think contributed to my problem.

Not eating properly: Not getting the correct amounts of fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. Letting yourself become hungry and then binge eating late at night seems to contiribute. Also not drinking enough water. My partner used to have terrible social anxiety that he has almost overcome and has noticed that when he doesnt eat or drink enough during the day he still has slight bouts of anxiety when dealing with people. Also B vitamins are supposed to help with the nerves system so you could give them a go.

Not sleeping properly: probably easier said than done for some people on here but try to sleep well if possible. Go to bed early if at all possible 9pm and get up early 6am. You need to make occassional late night a thing of the past as this is very similar to constantly having jetlag and for me a tired mind is certainly an anxious mind. Do not watch tv in the bedroom, Do not read any books that are over stimulating on the brain in the hour leading up to bed. Try to sleep with the light off as I read somewhere the body requires a certain amount of darkness to function well. (I used to sleep with the TV on cos I was scared!! but I dont do that anymore now I leave the light on in the hall instead) Try to do something like a gentle yoga rountine before bed there are loads available on youtube.

Spooky and gory films and books: I used to love watching horror films and readying scary books but I have come to realise that putting this kind of material into your subconcious mind is seriously not good for nerves. When I stopped watching those kind of things I started to get nightmares much less often and didn't feel scared anymore in the shower (does anyone else ever get scared in the shower? that was probably just me! ha)

Addictions and bad habits:  Somebody mentioned that they used recreational drugs which I did on and off over the years. Anything that alters the perception even if it is supposed to calm you (i.e.Marijuana) has the terrible side effect of causing this feeling of impending doom and causing anxiety and nerves of every situation. Any addictions need to be stopped, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes if possible need to be stopped. Even if this doesnt seem possible to you at the moment when you start living properly in every other area of your life this comes much more easily as you wont feel as stressed and run down. I tried to stop smoking cannabis loads of times and then when I started living well it just happened.

Negativity: I think focusing on problems was causing me to panic. No money, no friends, job going badly, boss doesnt like me, house always messy, body looking fat, pale, ugly.... this has to stop.  If you have a real problem in your life that you are brushing under the carpet like a bad relationship or debt you must deal with it head on, I was building a lot of debt for a lot of years and one day discovered all you need to do is ring the banks and tell them you cant cope, you can arrange a plan to pay them back and have the interest frozen, it was so wonderful to have the weight lifted and I wondered why I had tried to ignore it so long.

I found a great way of coping with other smaller problems is getting a diary and writing down 5 things from every day that went well. It could just be a compliment from a co-worker or something personal like how great it was getting something fixed or done in the house.  This may seem a little sad but focusing on positives really really helps. Spend a while every evening reading the diary and concentrate on rekindling the good feeling you had in that moment. Especially read the days when you were with family, friends or on holiday and try to really rember who you felt in that moment.

If you are going around with negativity in you and saying things in your head about other people such as 'shes a nasty piece of work' or 'he's an arse' you are basically giving your subconcious this affirmation about yourself. Try instead looking in the mirror and saying good things about yourself like 'I'm looking good today' or even better 'I'm a calm person, I deal with life in a calm manner and get things done'.

Focusing on something enough makes it happen so the person who said distracting yourself helps is really right. Why not destract your brain with positive thoughts while you keep yourself busy with cleaning and stuff.

Even if your having a bad day just lie to yourself, tell yourself your feeling fine and tell other people you are feeling great. Infact go out of your way to tell other people what a great day your having and how great you feel. Compliment them and tell them how great they are too.

Excercise I didnt start to excercise until a couple of years ago but I have discovered that going to the gym once a day even just for 15 mins on the treadmill has really improved my confidence and sense of well being. I found that it has helped my stand up to people that are hurtful.  It also gives me a sense of achievement and really helps me sleep. I find excercise on the morning best as it gets rid of a lot of excess tension then a gentle 5 min stretching session on the evening.

 

Whenever I get used to the symptoms and learned how to cope with it, it adapts to a new one, yeah exactly the same thing happened to me and that almost made me lose it, the dizziness or fainting sensation, headaches, chest, arms, back and shoulder blade pain, random ear ringing etc,.. it never ends.

All this happened to me just because of 1 full blown panic attack.

This thread is 10 months old and hoping you're already doing fine and for the rest of us still struggling with this hell, we'll get through this.