Is this really anxiety that I'm dealing with right now? (Physical head symptoms)

[ZayKayWill]

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[DizzyPixie]

I know nothing about withdrawal, but if you had a CT and MRI and they came back normal, I think you're fine. Anxiety can produce very "realistic" symptoms, I can tell that from my own experience. It can be very hard to believe they don't indicate something more serious. I'd say, trust your doctors, and if you can, find a good therapist to help you deal with your fear.

[fixmybrokenmind]

I have never heard of this either. Honestly I doubt this is due to 1.5 year of adderall use, I don't think anything can produce withdrawl effects for longer than it is originally taken.

Anxiety however can produce some pretty crazy side effects. Maybe a brief trial of something like diazepam to calm you down would be beneficial. If the effects stop than you can relate it to anxiety, if not it is likely something entirely different.

[Teafrenzy]

What he's describing is a very common anxiety symptom. I have gone through it.

Quite simply, if you want it gone, you need to de-stress.

[ZayKayWill]

What he's describing is a very common anxiety symptom. I have gone through it.

Quite simply, if you want it gone, you need to de-stress.

What have you gone through?

[Teafrenzy]

I have experienced (and continue to experience, at a lesser extent) the feeling of "pressure" in my head and pins and needles sensations.

It is related to stress. I think the drug use amplified your stress. It will take time but as long as you avoid stimulants and de-stress these sensations will diminish.

[Teafrenzy]

So did it feel like there was a brain tumor in your head or something? Because that's what it feels like. It feels like something more serious, even if it isn't.

I saw my doctor twice and an ER visit. They ran tests and confirmed it was anxiety. Plus I had a stressful incident preceding the onset of these symptoms. Also, my symptoms reduced over time to some degree. I am still not 100% but compared to where I was in October, there is no comparison.

My advice is to de-stress for 3 months (yes it really does take that long).

If you have any vacation time off work, use it now!

Healthy diet, absolutely no stimulants (Caffeine, Sugar, Alcohol, drugs no no no no). Lots of water. Lots of tea. Relaxation tapes every day, twice a day. Avoid excess stress where you can (overly violent tv and movies..keep it PG) Exercise, light to moderate at least 30 minutes each day. Stuff like walking, swimming, bicycling. Nothing too intensive. Sleep as well as you can. Allocate 8 hours a night.

Re-assess yourself after your 3 months of de-stressing. Did your symptoms improve? They probably will.

[ZayKayWill]

Bump just for anyone who might have anything else to say.

[ZayKayWill]

Anyone else?

[DizzyPixie]

I'm sorry nobody else has something to say about it, but if you see the views of this thread multiplying maybe it means that people agree in general with what's already said here and don't have something to add. I don't have anything to add either, I'd say trust your doctor. Do you still feel the same?

[lolfeg123]

Are you still an anxious person? Have you taken benzodiazepines in the past?

I've had brain zaps / abnormal feelings / pressures in my head, but these slowly went away after about one year. You should aim to lower your base stress through practising meditation and good sleep heigene, as well as simply just being happy. Natural seretonin production helps a lot with anxiety, because if you're happy, you are not anxious

[ZayKayWill]

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[ZayKayWill]

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[RoadToRecovery]

Would you describe yourself as someone who worries often? Were you going through a stressful time around when these symptoms first came up?

Your body can do experience all sorts of strange symptoms when you have an anxiety disorder. I've had many strange ones through my four years of having the disorder. Some people experience different ones then others. There are a host of symptoms.

Are you experiencing any other strange physical/psychological/emotional symptoms?

[ZayKayWill]

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[Teafrenzy]

The main thing is "don't worry" It just further stresses the body and prolongs symptoms.

[RoadToRecovery]

Yes...I worry that these symptoms will never go away or what the hell these symptoms even are. Almost constantly. I don't really worry about anything else, though...although the break up I had last year made me overanalyze a lot of crap constantly. And yes I was going through a stressful time I became addicted to my meds and had to go to rehab. So yeah. In terms of other symptoms...no not really. There were a few times when the pressure was so intense that it felt like my head was literally about to explode, though. Felt like a bubble full of water just burst out. I thought I was gonna die honestly.

From what you have shared with us, it seems to me that your symptoms are a result of anxiety. In fact, this is quite common and I hear it quite often through people who are experiencing an anxiety disorder.

Stress can affect one muscle or groups of muscles, or any and all muscles or groups of muscles. The muscles in the head are commonly affected by stress.

Once muscles tighten, they can remain tight as long as the body’s stress is elevated. If stress isn’t relieved, it can cause other muscle and muscle groups to be affected and tighten as well. Over time, this can cause the pressure in your head you talk about.

I understand the way you feel when you say "the symptoms are so incredibly strong and forceful, though. It doesn't seem to me like it could be anxiety". For me personally, I am currently in the process of recovering from a four year period of a severe anxiety disorder that basically crippled me in every area of my life. I can't tell you the thousands of hours I spent trying to find a cure, worrying about my symptoms, thinking the doctors "missed something", wondering what my mysterious illness was, etc. The symptoms can get so strong - they can be SO convincing that it is something else. However, after much searching, I finally believe I have found the answers and a way to recover. I've been working through my recovery and I feel better now than I have in these past four years.

Let's look at the facts: You've had a CT scan and an MRI that have both came back perfectly fine. You've seen 10+ doctors, all who have told you that it is anxiety. In light of the multitude of professional opinions you have received along with hard evidence from the CT scan and MRI, it's highly, highly probable that there is nothing physically wrong with you. Therefore, you can have confidence that this is all just anxiety and you can recover.

What seems to be happening to you from what I can tell is that you went through a stressful time in your life - perhaps more stress than you can even recall. Behaving in an apprehensive way causes your body to release stress hormones to different parts of your body, which produce physical changes. If this goes on for too long, your nervous system, brain, and other parts of your body can become "hyperstimulated" and start producing stress-related symptoms even when you aren't acting in a apprehensive way. It seems to me that right now, you are caught in a vicious cycle. You are experiencing symptoms because of the consequences of behaving apprehensively for too long, you don't understand what's going on with you, and therefore you worry about it more, which releases more stress hormones into your bloodstream, which keeps the physical symptoms coming, which causes your to worry, and so on, and so on. Some people call this the "anxiety trap". It is one that I, and thousands of others get caught in. And most of us, what we don't understand, we fear. Understanding plays an important role in recovering from an anxiety disorder. TeaFrenzy's recommendations are all helpful. You need to find ways to relax your body daily. Calming your body down is the first step, and believe me - it will take awhile. Don't expect it to go away quickly.

If you would like some resources that have been invaluable to me for my recovery, let me know and I'll send you a PM on here.

[Kirk]

Acceptance of your feelings and not fighting them will help you in the short and long run.

[ZayKayWill]

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[RoadToRecovery]

ZayKayWill,

I just got done writing a very lengthy post on Jaylaree213's post titled "Help!" on this forum. It is a lengthy read, but if you could give 10-15 minutes of your time, I think you will find some useful information there, along with the resource I was telling you about.

P.S. I am an avid gamer (I actually met my wife through Xbox Live) and it got hard for me to play too. Final Fantasy VII is the greatest RPG of all time! :)

[ZayKayWill]

Haha Final Fantasy X is my personal favorite. Hey guys I had a question. Technically speaking, if I were to take anti-anxiety medication, in theory these effects should disappear right away, right? Obviously it's not good for the long term but still...assuming this is indeed anxiety I'm dealing with, shouldn't the meds take my symptoms away right away? Just as the first poster said...