lighheadedness, dizziness

[phishn4842]

hey everyone this is my first time posting but ive been reading posts for a while and ive found them to be very calming knowing that there are other people experiencing what im experiencing. my question is this...have any of you felt consistentyly kind of dizzy and lightheaded for an extended period of time (like over a month). i havent been formally diagnosed with anxiety but all the signs are there, and it runs in the family. of course In my head ive run the gamut of whats wrong with me...ive convinced myself i have everything from a brain tumor, to about every other thing you could think of. the weird part though is that the anxiety is not really all that high, although I do worry all the time, which i guess is kind of the anxiety. Ive talked to my doctor about it, and he looked through his little looking glass/light thing and said it all looked normal, he said he didnt feel a cat scan was necessary and just chalked it up to anxiety. i was fine with this at the time but that re assurance didnt last very long...ive also got the other things like aches and pains and some other things that i dont really worry about, ringing in the ears, hot flashes. anyways my main concern is the light headedness/dizziness...please help!
thanks!
Scott

[Jeordie]

Though it can be difficult to accept, if your doctor told you not to worry, your symtoms are probably anxiety. I've felt dizzy several times during the last year, and I was concerned I had some serious illness, and I'm slowly convincing myself I have none.
It's anxiety. Welcome to the club. You (we) should worry less.

[jitters]

The dizziness is likely caused by blood presure issues this could eaisly be a anxiety related problem, as the dizzy spells last over a long period of time it is more likly to be GAD (generalised Anxiety Disorder) than other panic related illnesses. But before you jump to any conclusions have your blood sugar levels checked for diabities.

[amarkb]

Hey,

I have had all those symptoms during my anxiety and the one I stressed most about was the dizziness. It started following a really stressful week and got worse the more i stressed about it.

It was constant and soon after I developed muscle aches and pains and ringing ears, along with a host of other stuff.

I went to a ton of doctors and got the all clear every time. I got hooked on needing to be told I was ok and ended up at the doctors almost every day. It got pretty ridiculous.

Eventually I have accepted that it is all down to overbreathing, adrenaline and tension, caused originally by stress and now reinforced by worrying about the symptoms themselves.

I've read a couple of books about anxiety that have really helped. One called 'Overcoming Anxiety' by Helen Kennerly (i think thats her name) and one by Claire Weekes. They really helped me a lot, as did forums like this.

These symptoms suck but you can get over i but it takes time and patience. try to stop worrying about it and it'll gradually go away.

Good luck mate.

Adam

[hank freid fame]

Dizziness is a common description for many different feelings. The feeling of dizziness may be very familiar to you, yet difficult to describe.Vertigo is a medical term to describe the feeling of spinning, whirling, or motion either of yourself or your surroundings. This is the same feeling you might have after getting off a merry-go-round or after a child's game of spinning in place. Several diseases of the balance organs of the inner ear can cause vertigo, or it may be a symptom of a tumor or stroke.

[motif]

man, I have dizzy spells since 5 months! I don't need even drink alcohol anymore to feel funny...big savings... :mrgreen:

[AndrewF]

I suffered from it before a few years ago, pretty badly to. lead to agoraphobia and other problems, but i took some meds and saw a therapist and it went away, ive been off the meds for about a year and was feeling great! about a month ago i lost my job, and started stressing about alot of stuff. Ive had ALOT of time to think and let my brain run off into the worst scenarios. Ive been in and out of the doctors office for tons of stuff. Everything has come back fine: blood tests, brain scan, heart monitor plus blood pressure... no problems at all. Then i remembered what brought it on before.... stress! i have been getting those dizzyness feelings where i cant focus on anything around me properly, but it does pass with relaxation. but i did start takign the meds again last week, so hopefuly i will be able to cope again.

[leedsio]

'hank fried frame', don't you think it's a bit careless to mention brain tumours and strokes as possible reasons for this feeling on an anxiety forum? I mean he's had the all clear.. when people say stuff like that to me I end up having full blown panic attacks!

I get that feeling too mate, everything down to the achy eyes it's because your tired from all the stressing. Your systolic blood pressure will be fairly high when your stressing too, this can lead to dizzyness but it won't harm you as it's the diastolic thats important, and this isnt altered by anxiety.

[wim]

Dizzyness can be caused by anxiety problems and or hyperventilation which is ofcourse likely to go with anxiety . I have had this lately .

[simon..b]

Like all of the above i have had the same symptons since november last year>They come and go and seem to change but hot flushes,feeling of say being on a roller coaster sometimes etc.I have done the blood tests,blood pressure and am also doing an MRI and balance tests.If all of these come back negative (which the specialist thinks they will) i guess all i can do is suck it up and carry on.I do hope the tests give me some confidence that it all anxiety though.
The best of luck to you and as you can see your not alone.

[Simon2010]

where i go when I feel a panic attack coming on is straight to my music collection, lie down, and try to fight it. now there is a company who has been researching music-health for over 6 years now which changes the way people listen and respond to music. Google: Sourcetone and try it out, let me know if it works for you!

[eyeeye]

I agree that mentioning strokes and tumors is highly insensitive on an anxiety forum!
I also have felt dizzy for about 6 weeks now. Also slightly detached and floaty. I saw a neurologist last week about various things and got the all clear (apart from migraine) so no strokes, tumors or diseases of the inner ear. I know how hard it is sometimes to believe it's just anxiety but the majority of the time IT IS! Hope you feel better soon...