I don't like being alone at the moment at all! I feel panicky as though something is going to happen to me, I feel like I have a headache/pain around my face but I'm worried that it's all in my head because the Doctors can't find any worrying symptoms.
I am being sent for two tests at the hospital to rule out problems with my sinuses (head/face pain) and the aching pain I have in my chest.
I recently went to see a consultant thinking something was going to be found however he reckons I just have neck and body spasms. Although he said until I get the test results he won't rule out sinus problems. He also said I may be suffering from chronic tension headaches or front facial headaches.
I feel alone, I feel like I can't relax at all. I'm having a feeling of being cold a lot and even though I don't have a problem with my vision I feel almost as though I'm struggling to focus asif I'm watching a film.
I tried to go back to work and I love my job so it wasn't stressful however I was sent back home after finding myself dizzy and unbalanced as soon as I got there.
This particular incident happened on a day in which I was alone in the house for a little while and then I left for work. I think I felt panic being on my own and when I got to work I couldn't cope with how I was feeling.
I have put my symptoms down to being ill but I'm really not sure now, I think I might just be panicking, I am only 24 so this could take over my life! Has anyone experienced this? Is is anxiety?
Ps: I really don't want to take medication for it unless nessecary
Yes those all sound like symptoms of anxiety to me. It's a horrible disorder to have and i've have varying degrees since i was 12 which include health anxieties as well as general anxiety.
The more you panic, the more your symptoms manifest and make you feel horribly ill. It's a terrible cycle.
I'd recommend you see if you can get referred by your dr for some therapy, as that will help. And there are tons of books out there if you able to get in that mindset to read.
I had a panic attack earlier this week, where i suddenly felt like something awful was about to happen, my heart started racing, my stomach felt tight and sick, my gag reflex started up, i got dizzy and had to sit down in the end and just breath in and out slowly for 20 mins until it passed.
I hate being on my own too, as my mind teases me relentlessly when i'm alone, but i keep trying the breathing excercises (square breathing) and trying different cbt techniques and my symptoms are lessening/getting easier to manage.
I've found over the years that people tend to have this stigma that there's something not normal about suffering from a mental health illness like anxiety disorder or depression. Truth is there are so many people in the same boat, that it is just as normal a part of life as those who don't suffer. That's why i dislike the term 'normal', because to me, anxiety being a part of my life is normal now and one that i accept and feel doesn't make me any less of a person because of it.
I can suggest you some books if you feel this might help.
Panicking like this is horrible, Emma. I am sure that all your symptoms are due to anxiety. Being alone usually makes this worse as you only have yourself to focus on.
You could try meditation, deep breathing exercises and therapy. Sometimes medication is useful but on the whole, and especially since you would like to avoid it, I'd suggest trying other measures first. You need to tell yourself that this is your mind playing tricks on you. That doesn't mean that you're not experiencing symptoms because you clearly are - it's just that you haven't got any physical illnesses.
Thank you very much for your advice and information Caz! It's always more comforting to know someone who has an experience with anxiety. And yes the books would be very helpful please!
I am feeling ok right now as I went to the shops today with a friend and managed about an hour and half out. I did feel a little anxious around the crowds and panicky when I had to wait in a queue too long. However it's a good step for me, but my bigger challenge will be my first time out on my own for awhile. Well, a little further from home that is.
Thank you Mac, your information is very helpful. I have thought about doing deep breathing meditation excercises to help me relax, I do find my mind overthinks a lot sometimes and I don't relax because of that. My way of distracting myself when I'm alone is to tidy up around my house or if I feel dizzy I will just sit down and do a crossword or shut my eyes. Sometimes these help, sometimes they don't but I always tell myself that nothing bad has ever happened while I've been anxious!
Welldone, that's great news that you were able to get out for a short while with your friend. That is a very logical approach to tackling your anxiety and actually one of the theraly tools i've been advised that could really help you is something called graded exposure. If you look it up, you'll find lots of information but the basic summary of this technique is to identify your anxiety triggers and then build up your exposure to them bit by bit. So for example , if your anxiety trigger is going out alone, yould could make a list with the end goal being say going to the supermarket as a busy time lf day. You've already made good progress with a friend, so the next step could be go out with that friend for longer, like half a day. Then increase that to a day with a friend and see how that feels. Then you can start applying it to sole journies, so you could say leave the house and take a walk round the block. If thay feels ok, try a small trip to a small local shop at a quiet time in the day. Then try the shop at a busier time of day...and so on at each stage, moving on to the next step as you feel comfortable until you eventually have built up your tolerence and can manage your end goal. And you can write as many lists as you need, and at each 'stage' write down how anxious it made you feel out of 10, so you can both see the progress as you gain exposure and help you see if you need to go back and repeat something until you feel ok with this step and feel confident to move on...hope that makes sense!
Book wise, i'm reading two books that are more general around good mental health: The Happiness Trap which basically sums up the difficulty we can get ourselves into trying to achieve what we view to be 'happy' or 'normal' and The Chimp Paradox which discusses how we split our brain into the chimp (emotional reacting part of the brain) and the human (rational, logic part of the brain) and how easily our emotional brain can take over a situation. I've a lot of self help books, but these are the main two i'm reading at present for general anxiety along with one book that focuses specifically health worries. I don't want to overwhelm you with tons of books though, so for now i'd recommend those two.
Hi Caz, thanks so much again for your advice and support. I couldn't remember if you said you had anxiety or just helped with it but I wanted to ask you about how my eyes are feeling. I seem to feel as though my vision isn't quite right, I feel as though I am watching a film a lot of the time. I might have already said that actually in my post but it almost feels as though my eyes react to a change in light or if I go into a different room everything is weird and strange. I constantly panic that I'm going to faint at home when I'm alone even though I don't feel anything like fainting, my eyes are just not focused. But it really scares me, and this is also why I've been struggling to go out. Although I have made some progress as you saw. I'm not sure anyone understands how hard it is right now for me.
I also get an aching sensation around my nose and eyes when I feel funny,I keep thinking its pain but could it just be a reaction to my panic?