Does anyone else have physical anxiety symptoms 24/7

Hi all ,

          I came across these posts when searching for something else. I suffered anxiety for over 30 yrs from mild panics to full blown panic attacks lasting for hours which went on for days , sleepness nights , drained of energy many physical symptoms , confidence shattered. I would go from 'normal' to full blown attack in seconds for no apparent reason and it could happen anytime anywhere. One of my worst times being on a plane for 12 hours with a full blown panic attack underway,  that was a real nightmare.

The worse it got was when I immigrated to New Zealand 6 yrs ago. The anxiety  came on and never went for almost 5 yrs . I tried medication and when the Dr told me that I could be on medication for life as the anxiety may have effected my brain chemistry I was devastated.

One morning I got up and thought I have had enough I'm not going to suffer any more I'm going to get his sorted. Off to the Dr's determined, I have a good understanding Dr. Explained how I felt. He put me in touch with a therapist in Otago University. This guy taught me to relax and a lot of ther stufff to numerous to mention, I likened it all to self hypnosis and positive thinking, but the basic was relaxation. My determination paid off afet 8 weeks into the 12 week course the therapist told me he could'nt help me any more I had progressed as far as he could take me, it was up to me to continue for myself. During the thearpy course I enroled into a hypnotherapy diploma course and learn't as much as I could about hypnosis. I offered myself up as a guinea pig as often as possible, this helped build confidence etc. 

After 10 month I earn't my diploma , afer each lesson I came home from the classs feeling radiant and positive something I had'nt done for years

That's the basic' of my cure, I conquered many a fear to the extent that last yr I fullfilled my dream job to work as a dog handler - only this job entailed being based on a sub antartic island for over 12 months cut off from the rest of the world - no way of getting off the island for the first 8 month ! No pills could be sent to me  I could'nt run from this one once there . No planes or helicopters could get there no ship was coming back for 8 months I walked and worked my dogs for 12 months sometimes weeks alone sometimes sharing a small isolated hut with another person, i walked covered over 3000kms. Yes a few things popped up in the head but I was able to deal with them sometimes it took a while there's was plenty of time to think for sure. There was a time when I thought I was going to have a heart attack - pains in the chest and I worried -  so I got up one day and pushed myself up hills and up more hills and walked and I pushed  for over 12 hours, heart attack, no, mind playing tricks yes but a way to deal with it was found. I never had one panic attack and I hav;nt since the day I got confirmation I was going to the island.

I had a chance to go back to the hypnosis course for a refresher weekend, a few months before I departed for the island. At that time I was still getting the slight panics. mostly panicking over what would happen if I started to panic .But I was dealing with it and no pills. So over that weekend I had the chance to explain my anxiety past to the shock of the class, I offered myself up for a regression session and the tutor took me back to a time that caused a big upset in my life and as I know now was the start of all my problems. The tutor got me to see the problem in a different light, it was a horrible time that I was regresssed to  and the consequences of what could have been were horrendous and also the start of my anxiety.

So for me learning hypnosis, self hypnosis ,  exercise and determination was the road to recovery. 

Since qualifying as a hypnotherapist I have helped several people with anxiety and depression,  one woman suffered for 25 yrs her  words after several sessions was that the hypnosis had done more for her than Dr's and pills had ever done. The said woman sold her house and moved on for a new life something she was never able to do proir to her hypnotherapy and learning self hypnosis.

I'm not saying this is the miracle cure for all anxiety sufferers but it's well worth a shot, what's to lose.

Steve

Hi, Just saw your post. Hope I'm not too late in replying. I have suffered from these exact symptoms for over 15 years. Been to the emergency room with a "heart attack" a half dozen times. I get these symptoms 24 hours a day. Just had a full stress test on a tread mill and came back normal. I mostly ignore the symptoms, but it is very stressfull. It realy causes problems in daily life, but not much I can do. I just live with it.

Hey I am a 16 year old male and i suffer from annoying anxiety. I dont know why it happens as even when im relaxed on my bed i still feel chest and back pain. With me its usually keeping myself busy, if your busy doing things you tend to forget about the anxiety and it usually helps. But i just cant get rid of it and i dont know what to do about it. I went to the Drs a couple of months ago as i had a racing heart and was tested for my blood pressure, oxygen levels and heartbeat and they were all excellent, Yet i still suffer from this feeling that my heart is going to explode

Hi meteor63 I am a professional on all anxiety related conditions that advice I can give you is this, as a past sufferer of anxiety I know what you are feeling and what you are going through, I can also tell you that yes it is normal to feel all of these symptoms this is your mind playing tricks on you but what i can reasure you of is that none of these symptoms can cause you any harm so if you need help contact me I can offer the best advice that I can (Hope you find this helpful

Hi all, thank you for your replies. Sorry for not replying earlier. My situation is complicated because I discovered my symptoms were caused by my 'meds' and I am now very, very sick. My original anxiety was triggered by a reaction to antibiotics. My symptoms then were constant nausea and retching, dry mouth, derealisation, racing thoughts, a bad feeling in my head, hyperventilating..typical anxiety. I was working through it using distraction and pushing myself to go out, however I felt. It was starting to work. Sometimes I felt completely normal. I was going in and out of it. I truly believed if I'd carriedon doing this, I would be better now.

My huge mistake was going to the doctors and going on an SSRI. It seriously messed me up. I got akathisia, which I STILL have. I didn't know what it was then. I never knew such a severe side effect existed. It causes an inability to keep still. So I can't sit or lie comfortably, ever. It also causes suicidal ideation and feeling of doom and terror and a severe inner restlessness that never stops. I can't believe they are giving out these drugs like candy. I wasn't taken off the drug and kept getting worse with loads of other awful side effects. I was on it 8 weeks and put on further meds which made me even sicker. I lost 2 stone. The doctors said it was me and not the drugs. It wasn't. I ended up way worse after taking the meds than before I went on them. After researching, I discovered I had akathisia which finally got recognised. I came off the new drugs only to be hit with severe withdrawal syndrome. Again, I never knew this could happen. I am mostly bedbound now with severe symptoms which I won't go into here because they are anxiety inducing for people.

i have tried benzos..to start with they helped. I was taking them here and there to avoid dependency. Unfortunately, I hit tolerance anyway. The last time I took one, it turned on me. When it wore off, withdrawal was worse than ever.

i fully believe I would be better now and living a normal life if I hadn't taken any antidepressants. Some of us can't metabolise them. Instead, I'm hanging on by a thread. I'm told akathisia goes away eventually although I have no idea how long that will take or when the withdrawal symptoms will stop.

drugs are not the answer. Distraction is the key. Doing things even though you feel anxious is the key.

sorry this is so depressing. I've been dealing with this for a year and am rather sick of it now.

Sorry all, I've just properly read through the thread and seen that I already talked about my drug reactions.

christine, you mentioned treatment resistant depression. In my case, it was treatment caused depression. Before I went on antibiotics, I was very, very happy and did not have anxiety or depression. After I took the first antibiotic, I got very sudden agitation and suicidal ideation (I had no reason to feel suicidal and never have in my life before). As the reaction died down, this morphed into anxiety which led me to the meds.

i don't think I can take any anti depressants because they can ALL cause akathisia. It's a fairly rare side effect but if you have it in you, none of the meds are safe. I know people who went on just about every med and got sicker and sicker. Eventually, after going through withdrawal and getting off the drugs, they recovered and ended up without anxiety or depression. I hear thus often.

i talk to people who went through what I did and are recovering. One lived with skathisia and terror for ages but now it's started to recede and she is feeling normal a lot of the time. She has done nothing to make that happen, it just naturally did. I often hear this when people recover from their meds. They simply can't be positive or use any tools to get out of it but eventually, they naturally recover from the reaction as the brain heals. That's what keeps me going.

Yes, I've experienced 24/7 anxiety symptoms that lasted about a year. Intense, daily exercise and medication are what eventually helped me get over the symptoms. Good luck and take care.

Okay, I'm a bit young but I have gathered much of my own knowledge.  I have suffered for 2-5 years now with very real and present severe anxiety disorder.  Just recently in about the past year, or since last august, I have had it so bad that I wake up every hour or a few times at night, I am always afraid to sleep for fear of the anxiety and nightmares, which I seem to have there.  I have had endless problems from both ends and I feel like I am trapped, as if something or someone is about to get me so to cope my body decides to regurgitate whatever is in my stomach, this causes me to spend about half an hour kneeling at the toilet, so unpleasant.  I have also found that it made me suicidal, once I even tried to overdose.  I found that what helps me is a small dark space or even just a small, closed space like a closed, where you feel safe, even having a pet as I have gotten, has helped a little, feeling the house is more secure as your pet guards you and it's territory is a good feeling, inviting it into the closet or enclosed space to comfort you is nice too.  Now I just had an attack, and I'll tell ou, it's a hell of its own.  Each one's journey to recovery is their own but so ethi es advice from others helps as well.  Feeling helpless sucks, but just try to pull yourself out by telling yourself that you're actually okay and nothing is after you.  Try to create a schedule, follow it well and try to form a little comfort zone for yourself in patterns, it helps.  Though you will need to have a bit of new stuff just to try to stay comfortable if things change a little.

I'm not sure if this was answered for you, but yes I have left leg tremors associated with my anxiety. With any and all "new" experiences; which can be as simple as going grocery shopping, I feel my muscles tense up and I start having extra difficulty walking. I am not sure if this is the type of anxiety issues you are referring to, but I have other issues also. Though I know the leg tremors and muscle tension is caused by my anxiety. Hope that clears things up.

Hi Meteor63, 

When my anxiety is at its worst I have panic attacks, tingling throughout the body, sickness in my stomach, tiredness and a hotness in my head when I feel like i'm going to pass out. I have only been on my medication for around a week ( Fluoxetine and Diazepam) so im hoping they will kick in soon although the doctor said 4-6 weeks. The Diazepam makes me very tired I don't know if anyone else has felt like this? 

lor xx

Hi everyone, I know it's been a year or so since this conversation but I wondered how everyone was getting on a year later? About a couple of months ago I felt ill and suspected I had diabetes. My doctor tested me for lots of different things and all came back clear, however the two weeks waiting for the results I was a complete wreck. Constant panic attacks and migraines, I could barely leave the house. So I've had the all clear and I hoped that would close the door, however it hasn't. My brain is still telling me there is something wrong and I feel constantly tight chested, sick, dizzy, tension headaches etc. My doc wants me to go on a/d but I'm so afraid of the side effects I'm fighting going on it.  In fact, I am so afraid of any external factors such as food and drink affecting me and making it worse I avoid it as much as possible. I'm still eating, but I panic every time I do. I feel that the tests missed something, like a brain tumour or something else serious. I have always been a confident outgoing person that this has been a massive shock to the system. Now I'm a shell of my former self and I'm worried about it affecting my family and my life. I'm waiting for my CBT appt but at the moment I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Although reading this thread makes me realise I'm not on my own, I want to feel there is some hope for the future. Thanks.