Ugh, neck ache!!!

[momof31977]

My anxiety has relapsed lately after being almost non existent for 8+ years. Now it's here and I feel I sort of have a handle on it-the anxiety attacks are very few and far between and they don't really bother me too much. But my muscles in my neck back and jaw are so tense I'm in pain. And when I'm in pain, I worry I have a horrible disease and am dying. My neck and jaw pain have been bad the past few days. What if I have meningitis or something awful?? My jaw is so sore and feels tired and I just want to go to bed. I have 3 small kids so that's out of the question. Will it end?!! What if it's not anxiety but truly a medical condition?! What if I'm dismissing it but shouldn't be? How do you know?? :(

[ladywillow]

Hi momo. Sorry to hear you aren't feeling very well. I get very bad muscle pain in my neck, back, arms and jaw from anxiety. Oh, and my chest too. I find that massage really helps to loosen things up and make you feel better. I'm very sure it isn't anything awful. It will end, but sometimes it takes a while. I always second guess myself too. I always think I am dismissing something that would be life threatening.

What did you do 8 years ago to make your anxiety manageable? Perhaps you need to go over that in your mind and do it again :)