How severe is some peoples pain with anxiety?

[aaronmaiden]

im a 22 year old male, suffering from severe anxiety, i the left arm pains, leg pains chest pains, face, hands, the list goes on! headaches too.
sometimes its almost crippling, not to mention scary!
ive had ECGs, other monitors, all fine.

how does other peoples pain rate on a 1 - 10 scale!?

[chemlabrat]

I'm with ya man. 24 years old, male, just last year was a very active volleyball player and wakeboarder. This year I haven't touched a ball or been on a board, and I had a hard time getting to my mailbox and back the other day.

Pain/discomfort = 7.5 out of 10

[jefeljefe]

Aaron, I'm in the same boat, 22 and male, most pains on the left side. Most of the time I am not in actual pain, rather severely annoying discomfort. I get sometimes the feeling of cold liquid in the left side of my head, aches at the base of my skull, tingling, inner ear pain, heat sensations, etc.

Most of the times that I experience actual pain it is relatively short lived but enough to send me into a panic. Some of the more exotic, rare symptoms that pop up from time to time, like my tongue tingling can also send me into a panic. This bastard called anxiety is always coming up with new symptoms that always seem to simultaneously vindicate and challenge the notion that this is all in my head.

[aaronmaiden]

hey!

yeh i constantly challenge the fact its not something more serious!
ive an appointment with a cardiologist to rule it all out on the 26th (i think)

yeh its uncomfortable more than anything. do you ever get a certain spaced out feeling? sometimes i look at something and it seems to move or that im not really in the room! odd feeling.....

also one thing else, do you drink? i drink and dont even think about all the things, but the next day i feel rubbish and its alllll back, worse than ever. if i dont drink and dont socialise i feel awful..... for longer...... and if i do drink i forget about it all and have a heavy heavy dose of feeling awful, for a shorter time.... who wins?! haha

[Texan-By-Injection]

I don't mean to sound like a martyr, but if you suffer from anxiety and/or depression, then the worst thing you can do is drink alcohol.
Alcohol is a KNOWN depressant (look it up on Google or Wikipedia!) as is marijuana - both can appear to help your feelings of worry, or block them out, but as you described, the next day, you feel a thousand times worse.
My ex husband suffered with chest pains when he had anxiety problems. He was put on anti-panic meds combined with anti-depressants, but you know what? None of them worked.

Eventually, he stopped taking the meds (gradually), and once off them, he started to FORCE himself to do the things that made him anxious.
He forced himself to go to the pub one night, and even though he didn't drink alcohol and he felt panicky throughout, the feeling of accomplishment the next day was a wonderful reward for him.
He'd done it. He'd survived it. It hadn't killed him!

Do not give in to anxiety. To the guy that gave up sports, START them again. No matter how much effort it takes, start playing again. You really have to force yourself, but once you do, once you get back into the routine of getting out there and getting exercise (which is another anxiety-beater!), then you WILL start to feel more accomplished.

Im not an expert in the medical sense, but I am experienced enough to know what I'm talking about. I have suffered anxiety and depression for all of my life, and I'm only 32. But i've battled it, and i'm beating it. Slowly but surely. Everything I do, everywhere I go, results in a headache, or a stomach upset, or my neck aching, or chest hurting... but i IGNORE it. I have to. Because if i didn't.. i would end up like a hermit, and NO ONE wants that for themselves.

Get out there and make the effort... no matter how hard it may be at first.