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Health Anxiety - Body Checking

Posted , 6 users are following.

Johno1984
Johno1984

I suffered with anxiety al throughout my teens and when it flared up it made me vomit, often in public places which was very embarrassing.

now that I am older (37) my anxiety seems to come back in another form. I now get the following symptoms

  • twitching eyes
  • pins and needles in my hands
  • stabbing pains in my arms and chest
  • leg twitching
  • heart palpitations
  • tinnitus
  • pressure that feels like my head is going to pop

the most worrying symptom I get is this pressure that builds up at the top of my neck and back of my head. its feels like there is air trapped and about to pop. this then also makes me feel light headed and dizzy. when this happens I go into a full on panic attack which makes the dizziness worse.

I immediately worry that I am having a stroke or have a brain aneurism. I have had loads of blood tests, blood pressure tests, examinations and 2 MRI scans. All have come back normal so the results are reassuring but in a moment of Panic I keep having the same scary thoughts that something is seriously wrong.

i have been prescribed sertraline but scared of the side affects so have not taken them yet. I am scared it will make my anxiety worse

i am constantly body checking my pulse, blood pressure, and monitor any slight change

Does anyone else experience the same symptoms and feelings?

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • jan34534
    jan34534 Johno1984

    Edited

    I know exactly what you were going through because I’ve had the same thing numerous times. One thing I learned is that the more I focus on my symptoms the worse they get. I’ve had all the testing done and it’s all normal.

    all of your symptoms are unfortunately common with stress and anxiety. I’ve been dealing with this for decades. I can offer you a suggestion

    . Stop all of the constant body checking. You are going to drive yourself crazy. I did that and believe me it’s a complete waste of time, energy, and mental strength. The more you keep checking yourself the worse you will feel.

    Let it go! Let it go! The sooner you do that the better you will feel but you have to remind yourself that you’ve been tested and everything is OK.

    do things that relax your mind! Get some exercise which relieves anxiety, take a nice walk out in nature, listen to soothing music or meditations on YouTube for anxiety, do you things that make you laugh and smile. One thing I do that takes my mind off of everything and off focusing on myself is when I do some things for other people. The worst thing you can do is sit around and think about this.

    Dont hyper focus on yourself. Another thing I do is I have virtual online counseling once a week which is very helpful. I would suggest you do that if possible. They can give you suggestions that you may not have thought about and it really helps to talk to somebody else. Who can help. I hope this helps. Sharing symptoms with other people is of no help at all and can actually make things worse. instead of that, focus on the positive and do positive things for yourself. Take care

    • Johno1984
      Johno1984 jan34534

      Posted

      thank you so much for the advice- i get therapy every fortnight which really helps and giving me some coping tecniques.

      im sure it will get better as my mind is more occupied when things go back to normal

    • Anu.H
      Anu.H Johno1984

      Posted

      i have been there. a few years ago, i got really overwhelmed with young child, busy husband and general health issues. even when i was tired and sick i had to take care of my little one and that made me sicker. i ate lesser and lesser and began to feel like i would faint. that kicked off anxiety because i began to worry what will happen if i fainted. my bp raised, i had palpitations and shortness of breath. i began to worry now, be more anxious and even forgot to breathe in the sleep. i felt severe fatigue as well for weeks.

      it took me months to get over this. i used to feel very insecure when alone. i used to feel my pulse and believed that i had since severe disease. with rest and good nutrition i improved.

      i have a repeat telecast now with covid. i am tired, overwhelmed and burdened. i had many other things to worry too. that kicked in more health anxiety. i still feel very insecure. but i am trying!

  • emma93780
    emma93780 Johno1984

    Edited

    I have suffered with health anxiety for about 6 years now and its debilitating, i've just turned 40 and have been on sertraline for 5 years it was decided in June last year that i would come off it as i felt i had every test under the sun done and i had finally accepted it was anxiety i did well for a fee months then in October i got covid as was very very poorly, this then sparked my health anxiety again and i went back on the sertraline it was a hellish 8 weeks as they take time to kick in but i got through it, things were going well again but then i had my covid jab and that sparked more anxiety as i had the Astra Zeneca thinking i was going to get a blood clot because thats all you read on the news lately, its been 8 days since i had the vaccine and i am still worrying, last night i woke up at 12 having the most horrific panic attack, i honeslty thought my time was up, i know exactly how you feel/feeling i have been there, there is no quick fix, your mind is so powerful it can make you think all sort, talking is really good therapy x

    • Johno1984
      Johno1984 emma93780

      Posted

      thank you so much for replying and sharing your experience. sometimes no matter hoe many tests you have and how relaxed you feel, the mind just takes over.

      I have been there with some really scary panic attacks, happened to me once driving and I had multiple anxiety symptoms all at once and thought I was on my way out. drove straight to hospital and had blood tests and ECG. I could not understand why I was not being taken in to see the doctor straight away. it was a 4 hour wait and within 20 minutes I was calm and all my symptoms had gone. the chemical reaction in your brain is fascinating but at the time it is frightening.

      how is Sertraline? I have been prescribed this but not taken any yet, been trying to ride it out with the world starting to go back to normal. because I have health anxiety I am worried I get strange symptoms/side affects from Sertraline and that would make me panic.

      I am also very worried about getting the covid jab too and fully prepared for a few days a panic.

      thanks for sharing

  • clair11942
    clair11942 Johno1984

    Edited

    I get exactly the same, and lately in the last 8 months my left eye twitches bad,

    And I recently seen a out of hours GP at the hospital as my arm looked swollen and I was having pins and needles,

    When I wake up I get them like I've been laying on that particular part of my body,

    I too bought a blood pressure monitor and heart etc and my advice is DONT do it,

    It makes it worse, I've stored mine away and it's helped,

    I'm 43 years old,

    And we know we are getting older and along with that comes even more worry that we are in the age group that people die,

    Body checking is a big no,

    When u start noticing this put on a funny stand up comedy on (i watch Kevin Hart stand ups as they make me laugh and takes my mind off a little,

    The key thing to do is get your mind pre occupied with something else when this happens

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