Help please. Do I have anxiety or something else?

[nepean19]

I'll "try" and be brief. I have always been an anxious person, you know the one walking in front of everyone else, the one who has to get his point across before the next guy etc. Anyways, I started a new job in Real Estate 2 years ago which I love to death, the problem is about 6 months into it I started getting puffy eyes and occasionally red cheeks. When my phone rang or beeped for an email my heart would jump out of my chest. I don't know why, but it just felt that way. Over the next year I noticed my eyes burning and being generally tired all the time. I tried to relax at work, I've never considered my self a stress case, and hoped things would get better. They really have not, in the past 8 months I started getting the redness in the forehead, under the eyes and the neck constantly. I'm actually red all day now(it does not go away), worse in the morning when I get out of bed and look in the mirror. I get palpitations throughout the day, I've had the heart checked out-every test imagineable-I live in Canada!! So apparently it's not my ticker.

That's why I am here. I'm looking for help or support from members who may have been in a similar situation. After all these blood test, Cat scans, echos and stress tests I'm starting to wonder if the problem isn't all my own, yes... caused by me worrying something is wrong with me. I still find it hard to believe that anxiety can make my day and my life for that matter such a mess at times, but I don't know what else it could be. I'm not a depressed person, however at times felling like crap every day does wear you down mentally. The one thing I do notice is when my job gets tough for whatever reason I start getting redder and redder and warmer and warmer. I feel like someone is injecting me with adrenaline and I can't control it.

I won't bore you any further, your help and advice is appreciated. :)

BTW: 39 Year old male

[missgsr]

Sounds like you are having some anxiety. Not sure about the redness but the "shot of adrenaline" feeling, warmness, and heart pounding are all symptoms of anxiety.

Do you feel scared or out of control when these things happen?

[nepean19]

No, I don't usually feel scared or out of control as far as any situation I may encounter. I guess the only scared and out of control feeling is feeling my body go crazy...increased heart beet, very tired feeling in eyes and fatigue and of course the feeling of adrenaline rushing though my veins. This is no fun. Just a complete lack of control over my body.

It's weird, all my life I have been able to handle these issues and now I can't.

[missgsr]

Yeah, that's what I meant...does it scare you when you feel out of control or your heart beats fast. And you are right, anxiety is NO fun. There are lots of factors that can contribute to anxiety though including diet, exercise (or lack thereof), smoking, etc. I just read a really good post about things you can do to take care of yourself to avoid anxiety. Look for a post under General Discussion labeled "How To Help Yourself Through Anxiety - lots of natural tips"

[nepean19]

I went on a guys golf trip to Florida about 15 days ago, Every time I thought about my health I just changed topics in my mind. I really enjoyed the trip and everything "I thought" was starting to get back on track and when I got back I had this brutal palpitation, it scared the hell out of me. Now I'm back where I started.

Thanks for the tips, I'll check that out! And I quit smoking completely 15 days ago today :D

[missgsr]

Congratulations! That's over 2 weeks! Today is my 12th day. How long did you smoke?

Yeah, I would strongly recommend looking over that posting. The information is invaluable!

[nepean19]

Started whei I was 20(real stupid) and quit when I was 32 and started again when I was 35. The last few years I smoked less, probably 5-10 smokes a day. I guess it doesn't matter how many you have, you are still smoking>

[missgsr]

I started when I was 14 and quit when I was 18. Started again when I was 24 and I'll be 28 in 8 days. Like you, I didn't smoke nearly as much the second time around but you're right; it's still smoking.

Good for us! :mrgreen:

[Carla]

Hello
I read your post and being someone who has anxiety plus health problems, can I ask if you have ever been checked for all other physical problems other than heart ones? for example, thryroid, adrenal gland, kidney problems? I dont mean to worry you but your symtoms such as puffy eyes, flushing of the face and extreme tiredness can sometimes be associated with other physical problems which can mimic anxiety. It may not be this and as I said I dont wish to worry you, but based on my own experience it is just a thought as I had similar symptoms that I thought were due to anxiety but turned out to be something else, although I do get anxiety too. I would visit your doctor and get any physical causes ruled out that may be causing the anxiety. It doesnt always have to be heart problems that can cause anxiety, there are other physical causes too. I really hope things improve for you.

[kevin]

actualyl it sounds more like you have some high blood pressure or something, not anxiety

[serenadin]

Nepean,

You realize that most people have anxiety at night? Do you know why that would be? The answer to this is the answer to why you have anxiety.

AND how to eliminate the effects of anxity.

If you had house after house to show... AND every other client bought or sold... would you be anxious???

If you won the lottery, would you be anxious?

The answers are NO, then YES.

Your problem is NOT money. Your problem is time. Anxiety is a GOOD SIGN. It proves that you have TIME! Tons of TIME!. People who are dealing is immediate present moment issues cannot be anxious... they can be STRESSED but never anxious. Can you be anxious about a client you just lost? or a girl friend who just now left you? NO... anxiety is a FUTURE BASED MIND ACTION... So.. that's why... even if you won the lottery.. you'd be anxious... you are used to stressing about the future (AKA ANXIETY). This is why most people experience anxiety at night... they have TIME to let their mind wander...

So... now you know what causes you anxiety... you also know how to fix it. STAY BUSY! STAY IN THE PRESENT!