Weird symptoms leave me puzzled. Has anyone experienced something similar?

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hello anxiety community,

I foreshadow that this is going to be a longer post but it is necessary to maybe understand my symptoms.

So I always had major troubles with relationships with others. Not only romantic ones, but also non-romantic ones. I have friends but I always felt an 'invisible-wall-feeling' between me and them and others. I know that I have a complex trauma when it comes to relationships as I have an anxious-avoidant attachment style if anyone who knows about this can relate. However, I chosse to commit to a relationship as I know that I need it in order to heal my trauma and develop healthy relationships. I always subconsciously was longing for a relationship but I also feared it. So then the agony began.

The day I introduced my girlfriend to my grandma and my brother and his girlfriend, I started suffering so severe that they reminded my of my old terrible OCD times. I got headaches so strong that I felt like my head was about to burst any second. This went on for weeks. Additionally I had panic attacks (lightheadedness, heart palpitations, you name it). I also started fearing to die from a sudden heart failure which is why I avoided exercise for this time) and had uncontrollably twitching muscles mostly in my upper thighs. I would label this experience panic disorder. My explanation is that my brain can't handle the closeness to my girlfriend and the old trauma got triggered. It seems to me as though an invisible threshold has been trespassed and my brain didn't want that. It was a tough fight to get to this point as my avoidant part always wanted to sabotage the relationship. I also felt dizzy for months. The moment I woke up I felt dizzy for the entire day. It was truly terrible. The symptoms have eased over last couple of months, but I noticed that every time I encounter a new situation with my girlfriend, the symptoms reappear if there are other people involved. It doesn't happen immediately but the day after and the day after that. It is a miserable experience.

My current situation now is that I longer have anything one would maybe call mental anxiety like butterflies in my stomach, dissociation or lightheadness. Now I experience moments where my upper back and neck get extremely tense and start to hurt. Sometimes multiple times a day. This also causes a dull headache across my entire skull. The headache is located exactly behind the middle of my forehead and spreads from there. Additionally I get intense spikes of dizziness and nausea completely out of nowhere. They are extreme but only last for a few seconds. Also my heart sometimes starts pounding so heavily and irregularly that I can hear it and feel it. This also only last for a couple of seconds. However, as soon as I soak myself in warm water, all the symptoms disappear magically as if everything stems from the tense muscles in my back and neck. Every time. It is like all my symptoms have shifted from mental to physical ones. I am now afraid to take more steps towards intimacy with my girlfriend as I am tired of these spells of terrible symptoms. Every time after a such an event I feel ill for two days like having a flu without the symptoms. I feel drained, tired and desperate. Interestingly, I never have or had any thoughts accompanying the anxiety that could give a hint what it could be. My mind is completely blank when it comes to this. No anxious thoughts, nothing. It is probably a trauma so painful and buried so deep that my brain won't let it into my consciousness at all costs.

My questions are:

  1. What kind of anxiety disorder is this? Is it still panic disorder? Am I still experiencing panic attacks but with more of a focus on physical symptoms? (I don't care about the label but I would be interested to know. I don't think it is agoraphobia or GAD as I am not scared to leave the house or worry about common things or events.
  2. What can I do or buy to get of these muscles when I am at work? I thought of heat patches or ointment.
  3. Has anyone experienced something similar or is this a special case as trauma can be very complex and unique?

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1 Reply

  • Posted

    only a skilled dr of psychotherapy can truly diagnose you. others can give you their best guess. it could be buried trauma or something else. there are a lot of possibilities.

    if this is making your life miserable, speak with a professional. take care.

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