Unprovoked anxiety spikes?

[AnillaRose]

Hi there,

I've started having really random, unprovoked high anxiety spikes. I can't find a cause for them and they can happen whenever. They never progress into a full out panic attack, but I feel like my body is on edge and it's slightly more challenging to breath and my chest gets constricted. I try and sit doing nothing until I calm down but this can take a really long time and doesn't actually seem to help much! Do other people get this? If so, how do you overcome it?

[djmcgrath]

Pretty much exactly what I get. I wrote a long post a few threads down from yours on the main General Discussion board with a list of my symptoms, but the summary for my issue is that I think it's completely unprovoked, random, and while I never get a full on attack (I never hyperventilate, or black out, or even get symptoms bad enough so anyone will actually notice), I do get increased heart beat which gets my attention, and a feeling of fear, or panic, which makes me want to run away. I get clammy, or a general increase in temperature. I get light headed, and it feels like I've got a head cold. Everything feels slightly more effort, and unless I rest my head on a cushion or something, it feels heavy to hold up. I don't struggle with breathing, but I notice I have to purposely take a long deep breath, almost to correct something. I notice I'm yawning a lot more, and my energy levels drop to 0 really quickly.

I definitely have the on edge feeling, a feeling of being tense, and it's only when I take a deep breath and let my shoulders fall do I realise that they weren't in a relaxed position before!

There's no trigger for me, it happens absolutely randomly. Even anxious social situations like my own wedding or work presentations doesn't trigger it - but I could suddenly get it while at home relaxing.

I haven't found a cure or way of managing it yet. It's still new for me. I am booked on a CBT course soon, and I am reading Mindfulness books, and may start looking into the benefits of chamomile tea and magnesium supplements soon to support my nervous system. I have a doctors appointment to ask if they're sure it's anxiety and not a physical problem. I can't help but think there's a heart defect, like atrial fibrillation, going on, but most people I talk to dismiss that. I guess a symptom of being anxious is thinking it's something more serious. It's like a catch 22!

[Kuma]

Hi there,

I've started having really random, unprovoked high anxiety spikes. I can't find a cause for them and they can happen whenever. They never progress into a full out panic attack, but I feel like my body is on edge and it's slightly more challenging to breath and my chest gets constricted. I try and sit doing nothing until I calm down but this can take a really long time and doesn't actually seem to help much! Do other people get this? If so, how do you overcome it?

Yea, I get these too, sometimes. I find it more troubling, actually, than when I can identify the specific trigger or cause of my anxiety. I feel like when I know what I am anxious about, I can deal with it better -- sometimes by using the skills that I learned through CBT, or sometimes by addressing the specific issue in a substantive way. But when I just feel unspecified anxiety, it is harder to deal with. I have this particularly in the morning. There are some biochemical reasons why that is common. So I just try to remind myself that this is caused by excessive levels of certain chemicals, and that it will pass. And it always does. (But it is not so much fund when it is happening).

[Chiliphil1]

Yea, I get these too, sometimes. I find it more troubling, actually, than when I can identify the specific trigger or cause of my anxiety. I feel like when I know what I am anxious about, I can deal with it better --

Definitely the way I feel about it too! It does happen to me, I have been past my anxiety for a couple of years but even through that time I would still have these "spikes" as well, sometimes for a day, sometimes for a few days and then it would just go away as quickly as it came. I am going through one right now and am on about day 6 of it, but I think this is due to pain meds I have been on for a while and trying to come off of them.

I always considered it normal to have periods of anxiety, and sort of took at as needing to do something different. Perhaps I wasn't looking at life the right way or I wasn't doing the best I could do in some area and generally it would move on.. Most of the time though it was just a day or two and I was fine.

[P128sniper]

Pretty much exactly what I get. I wrote a long post a few threads down from yours on the main General Discussion board with a list of my symptoms, but the summary for my issue is that I think it's completely unprovoked, random, and while I never get a full on attack (I never hyperventilate, or black out, or even get symptoms bad enough so anyone will actually notice), I do get increased heart beat which gets my attention, and a feeling of fear, or panic, which makes me want to run away. I get clammy, or a general increase in temperature. I get light headed, and it feels like I've got a head cold. Everything feels slightly more effort, and unless I rest my head on a cushion or something, it feels heavy to hold up. I don't struggle with breathing, but I notice I have to purposely take a long deep breath, almost to correct something. I notice I'm yawning a lot more, and my energy levels drop to 0 really quickly.

I definitely have the on edge feeling, a feeling of being tense, and it's only when I take a deep breath and let my shoulders fall do I realise that they weren't in a relaxed position before!

There's no trigger for me, it happens absolutely randomly. Even anxious social situations like my own wedding or work presentations doesn't trigger it - but I could suddenly get it while at home relaxing.

I haven't found a cure or way of managing it yet. It's still new for me. I am booked on a CBT course soon, and I am reading Mindfulness books, and may start looking into the benefits of chamomile tea and magnesium supplements soon to support my nervous system. I have a doctors appointment to ask if they're sure it's anxiety and not a physical problem. I can't help but think there's a heart defect, like atrial fibrillation, going on, but most people I talk to dismiss that. I guess a symptom of being anxious is thinking it's something more serious. It's like a catch 22!

I just actually made a post about something similar in general discussion titles " anoying anxiety symptom". Basically even when im not anxious and feel in a good mood I have hot flashes and feel clamy and uncofortable and want to take a shower. It gets much worse when Im anxious or get emberesed as I have social anxiety but even whem im all alone and just walking I would randomly get it. This is pretty much my only symptom with a headache sometimes. Today I bought magnesium, amino fuel supplemts , and b complex so ill see if that helps at all. I hate these hot flashes and all my tests at doctor come back that everything is ok.

[Chiliphil1]

I just actually made a post about something similar in general discussion titles " anoying anxiety symptom". Basically even when im not anxious and feel in a good mood I have hot flashes and feel clamy and uncofortable and want to take a shower. It gets much worse when Im anxious or get emberesed as I have social anxiety but even whem im all alone and just walking I would randomly get it. This is pretty much my only symptom with a headache sometimes. Today I bought magnesium, amino fuel supplemts , and b complex so ill see if that helps at all. I hate these hot flashes and all my tests at doctor come back that everything is ok.

I don't want to be condescending here but the B complex and the amino fuel may be a bad idea.. Those supplements increase energy which in an anxious person is likely to increase the anxiety.. Hopefully that doesn't happen to you but be careful taking them.