why am i getting new symptoms?

[anxiousmess]

i went to newcastle city centre today, to get me new washer. drove to gateshead, where we were going to get on the bus to go to town. the dread i felt on my journey to gateshead was pretty normal.
only whilst walking through gateshead to get the bus, i gained some new symptoms.
the best way i could describe it, was the feeling you get when you are in a lift. as if the ground is moving under your feet! it was quite scary to be honest with you!
i've never had that before.

i was scaring myself more and more. by thinking negatively about gateshead, asking my dad how many people have died under the subway thing - finding out 3 people were murdered there that he knew of. in the end, we walked around it, instead of through it lol.

we had to let a bus go because i was on the verge of having a heart attack the bus was that packed!
i am not usually like this when i am with people. i was with my dad and my partner - the two people i feel safest with!
it's normal to feel that way when i'm alone (except the lift feeling). but not with them??

we were crossing the bridge on the bus, and pc rathband's funeral was today (R.I.P) so there was police everywhere and tons of people - i was panicking over a bomb scare - which i have never done before!

why am i getting worse??????????

forgot to ask - is the lift feeling an anxiety symptom or something i should be worried about?
as i have been feeling dizzy-ish alot lately. like my head goes on a wobble for a couple of seconds every now and then

[lexyvalla]

I'm 25 year old female iv had bad attacks since I was 10 years old over the years my fears have altered and changed.

Things I found easy r now my worse nightmare. I'm told I am attractive and I don't hate my looks but I hate the way my brain works. I fear being sick . I fear I might b sick in public or far away from home all my attacks r based on this fear. I never minded driving as I felt safe knowing I could just get home when ever I wanted to but now I fear driving incase the other drivers on the road see me being sick.

Some days I can't ever drive to the local shop . I have not been able to go shopping in town or tescos etc through my fear of driving to far from my home and/ or being unable to get out of site from other people/ drivers I can't go cinema , bowling out for dinner or clubbing or on holiday my life is slowing getting to the point where I won't b able to leave my house or work.

I can only hold down a part time job due to my attacks. Relationships r also very hard as I can't do normal dates. My life is pointless and I'm bored of being trapped in my prison of fear :(

[anxiousmess]

i am the same - only with agrophobia! are you afraid of all sick, or just of you being sick?

what help have you received for this? are you on any meds? in any therapy?

i think CBT would help this kind of thing with exposure therapy!

[Meche]

I'm thinking of seeing a professional too because for every good day I have, I get another day when I feel worse and have another symptom. Last night I had a night out with friends and it was great, had a fab time. Tonight however we were at a friends house and I felt SO on edge. These are very good friends and we've had many goods nights with them but tonight I didn't feel right. Felt nervous and didn't want to be there. I had a few drinks and I felt more relaxed but stopped because I don't want to go down that road. I don't want my anxiety to become a social problem and I'm so frightened that is where it is leading. xx

[PhobiasLiveInMe]

Oh yes. I feel that all the time. Sometimes it's like the world is shifting sideways and it's a really scary experience. I also sometimes feel like my body is being weighed down and sometimes it feels like I'm going to float away. I have experienced new symptoms and had old symptoms dissapear and then come back. I suppose its all normal in the end.

[Meche]

I'm not sure what's normal anymore. I can't get my head round how anxiety can cause such physical symptoms - it amazes and frightens me at the same time. I probably shouldn't even try to get my head round it but as soon as I get over one symptom another one develops. xx

[anxiousmess]

thanx everyone :)

meche, it amazes me at how powerful and complex the whole anxiety thing actually is!
for my age, i have had it alot longer than i haven't had it! yet it has only been recently i have accepted it. wey, not so much accepted it - as kev stated. i suppose i've acknowledged it - now i need to learn how to accept it.

i've always been in like 'denial' about it - convinced i've been dying alot. convinced the doctors have been fobbing me off. i pulled a muscle in my chest once and that was soooo difficult to try and accept as a pulled muscle rather than something more serious.

since i have acknowledged it - i've noticed i am alot more aware of when the anxiety is happening. i'm actually shocked at how often it shows its ugly head to be honest. more often than not, which is a bit of a bastard! unfortunately, even though i am aware of when it is there, it doesn't stop my mind from taking it as something else. grrrr x

[Meche]

Oh I can relate to that. I was having an ok day and decided to just chill out (or try). Other half and I had to quickly nip to the shops and whilst walking around I could feel myself feeling more and more anxious. I was stood in the queue and my right arm suddenly went numb and felt like I was losing my grip on what I was holding, had a sudden rush to my head and felt like I was going to pass out. How the hell I held it together I don't know. My speach went slurry and I just felt so spaced out. Couldn't wait to get home and although I feel better I can't believe it's happening again. I hate this! xx

[anxiousmess]

i know, its horrible! its really starting to get me down now! just make sure you keep fighting against it! dont let what happened when you went to the shop, stop you from going to the shop again!
i tend to do that alot - avoid situations that made me feel uncomfortable and anxious. now i've found i'm limited to a number of places and it's no good! i wish i knew then what i do now. maybe i would have had better mental strength to handle the situation. who knows? im looking at the 'what ifs' again lol. x

[Meche]

I'll try not to. Apart from 3 days off when my anxiety first started, I have carried on going to work as normal. I have had a few mild funny turns but I've taken myself off to the loo to calm it down. It's really starting to drag me down now and I feel like I could burst out crying - don't think I'd stop :rolleyes: I'm desparate to make changes in my life but until I can get my panics/anxiety under control I feel stuck in a rut - which makes me feel worse. I'm also now starting to worry about every ache/pain I have which isn't good. Argghhhhhh! I just want to go to sleep and stay that way until my mind/body are ready to be me again. xx

[anxiousmess]

you're not alone there, meche! i feel exactly the same! had a lay in this morning and woke up with a banging migraine! took me paracetemol and half hour later i was vomiting!
the pains in my head were so bad i could barely move.
only yesterday though, i was reading up about the girl who died from taking paracetemol. i started worrying thinking i was dying because i had took some lol gotta laugh otherwise i'd cry :(

[Meche]

Yep - you gotta laugh. Have tried to keep my sense of humour through all this but it's getting difficult. At the moment I'm not really expressing how I really feel. To friends, family I'm Michelle - who has had a bit of a funny turn but is now on the mend...... yeh right!! My head has been banging on/off all week and no matter what I do I can't shift it - brain tumour! That combined with the slurry speach and the funny turn I had earlier.... well, you know where I'm going. It's comical really. xx

[anxiousmess]

it will be hard for your friends and family to understand if they have never been through it themselves before! i know my sis always used to have a go at me, saying i was just being pathetic and things. until one day, she had a panic attack. she still says sorry to this day as she never fully understood how it actually made you feel!

have you been to the docs yet? if it is all really getting too much for you then maybe a trip to the docs wouldn't be too bad. it won't hurt to talk to somebody who could point you in the right direction at least :) xx

[anxiousmess]

hey meche. just googled this as i've been curious about it! you keep speaking about changing your lifestyle but now feel you are in a bit of a rut.
this might help as a start to change :

Foods to eat

Yogurt

Bananas

Vegetables

Wholegrain foods

Brown Rice

Beans

Turkey

Chicken

Cottage Cheese

Fresh Fish

Poached Egg

Tuna

Fruit

Porridge

Baked potato

Peanut butter

Garlic

Spinach


Foods to avoid

Fizzy drinks

Processed food

White bread

Chips

Pastry

Cakes

Caffeine

Sugar

Alcohol

Chocolate

Cheese

Fast Food


To help lift moods and help calm anxiety, keep away from processed foods and eat more natural products. Also what we drink can have an affect on our stress levels. Although drinking alcohol seems to have a calming effect short term, it dehydrates the body, leaving us feeling more anxious than ever. If you feel you can't give up altogether, then just try and moderate it.

Avoid fizzy drinks loaded with sugar, instead drink plenty of water, I am personally not a big fan of water and drink the flavoured variety which is fine also. Avoid caffeine too much caffine, again there is no need to give it up completely, just try and moderate it.

i'm all against sugar since ifound out it is actually worse for you than tobacco and alcohol! still can't believe that. it is in almost every food!

[Meche]

Thanks for that. I'm probably somewhere between the 2. I try to eat as healthy as possible but have weak moments - don't we all! I'm not overweight, exercise when I can (room for improvement though), have never smoked and rarely drink. The changes I need to make relate to my job, my house, having children (issues there) relationship (it's good but stuck in a rut) - infact, that kind of sums it all up - I'm stuck in a rut. I'm bored with my life. I've carried on as normal because 'that's what you do' but inside I think I'm very screwed up and this is how it has affected me. The mind and body can only take so much stress before something has to give. I'm the only person who can make these changes but now I have this added anxiety issue to deal with. I probably do need to go and see my doctor just for peace of mind. xx

[anxiousmess]

i guess somewhere between the two is good! i'm more so on the bad side lol. even though i'm apparently anorexic...hence why i don't think i am grr! i am underweight though hmmm...i am trying to go healthy though. everytime i make the kids stuff, i am trying to taste little bits - then gradually have little bits. then hopefully i'll have a normal portion of whatever it is im making! its worked with a few things, so i'm obviously moving in the right direction!

by the sounds of things, you aren't living up to your expectations and it's dragging you down! even though it is ony us who can change ourselves, sometimes we need a little extra help. everyone does at some point, and there is nothing wrong with that!xx