Originally Posted by
o2G2o
Hey Matt, you remind me a lot of myself. My anxiety is health-related as well. I too was getting brain fog quite often this past year but I attributed that to my drinking, even though I drink moderately. I too notice that after getting insufficient sleep one or two days I can be a mess the rest of the week. I've also experienced the dizziness and the weakness (or even pain) in one or both legs. What keeps me sane is that when I feel good mentally, I have none of those symptoms. The odds that either of us have an actual underlying medical condition causing these flare ups that only coincide with anxiety are very slim, which is further proof that the anxiety is causing it. The power of the mind is unbelievable when you think about it. Just thinking you are not well can immediately manifest itself physically.
Do you ever have issues with digestion? Bloating, swallowing air due to hyperventilation or other factors? I find that my dizziness always follows at least some period of anxiety, during which time I likely am breathing differently without realizing. (Kind of like how thunder always happens after lightning.) I notice that when I'm bloated my diaphragm is being pushed into the way of my lungs and I don't get a full breath. It's not enough for me to black out, but it often feels like I will.
It's funny what you say about bright lights, as that was the first thing I ever noticed when my anxiety started, before I even knew it was anxiety. Everything looked too "crisp", which reminded me of how things looked when I was high as a teenager (I didn't do drugs much, but I do remember the way lights looked). I don't get that symptom anymore with my anxiety for some reason, but I remember how it would often come on as soon as something "felt weird". I wonder if this is actually fight or flight. IF you think about it, if you were going to be attacked (the purpose of flight or flight adrenaline) then it would be very beneficial for you to have heightened vision to plan your counter-attack or escape. Your pupils probably dilate in anticipation of the "fight", hence the bright lights bothering you. What do you think?