Hi everyone this is my first post so I'm not sure what to expect. I have had anxiety for many years and I truly feel like it's controlling my mind, are these symptoms normal? I get burning in my hands and legs and my brain feels really foggy it feels like any daily acitivity that requires thought is a stretch too far. I also find it fustrating because in the past i would use video games as a distraction now video games give me anxiety in itsself i get anxious at the thought of playing them there is no escape for me :( Im trying to read books but my brain fog makes me constantly read sentences over and over to make sure I've read it correctly I sometimes think I have OCD. The fact that I can never prove I have anxiety and the fact that it's just a 'guess' makes me anxious, what if all these problems are a health problem thats slowly killing me? i cant do abything productive either my anxious brain tells me its totally the wrong thing to do i find it overwhelming
you definitely have the typical symptoms of anxiety. The burning feeling, brain fog, anxiety and overthinking things among many other symptoms can definitely be attributed to anxiety .
Think of what might be causing anxiety and stress in your life.
at this time, stay away from anything overstimulating like the video games, loud noise, etc. your brain needs to completely relax. None of those symptoms are serious. However I always suggest that everybody get a complete physical check up for your peace of mind. At least once a year. When you are told that you’re OK, then you can attribute all of this to stress and anxiety. It really helps to speak with a counselor who sees this on a daily basis and knows how to help you manage. Don’t ever let stress or fear or anxiety take over your mind because it makes for a miserable life. Get some help with this. Get some support because it’s difficult to do alone i’ve been through it for many many years. There also some great talks on YouTube for anxiety and even all the symptoms people get. I do hope you feel better but be determined to be in control of this. Take care
I think you are right you have anxiety. Talk to your doctor about a medicine that can help
These are extremely accurate to what I am going through!
I often go on my phone to scroll Facebook and more often than not I scroll upwards! I go upwards because I will lose my train of thought and panic that I have forgotten something I was going to do just then. Which makes me panic and that makes the forgetfulness even worse!
I have had the Brain Fog since I was 13 although I did not really have anxiety, I would instead get frustrated about it and sometimes I would cry when I was in a bad mood, or when the fog was particularly bad. My hands and legs do not really burn, but I get an odd pressure on my feet and sweaty palms during the day from my anxiety, the sensation of pressure is very convincing.
I often find myself not going out to meet people as I am always quiet because I have literally no idea how to interact with people. I was alright at this as a child since I could just speak about anything without the anxieties of the ‘adult world’ expectations. Now I overthink every sentence, I usually say things that people think is weird and inappropriate for the conversation, such as referencing a game I was playing or a song I was listening to during a serious discussion.
I, myself, used video games a LOT as a distraction. I would be on my computer from the moment I woke up at around 2pm until when I went to sleep at around 6am. That’s about 14 to 15 hours a day at my computer, and I have done this for years. When I wasn’t at school or college - I was at my computer playing CS:GO, osu!, Minecraft, literally whatever I would fancy at the time.
Each breakdown I get, I find myself getting extremely anxious about going on my computer even for an hour just to chat with friends or play some Black Ops Zombies (we were all playing that around the time I had my current breakdown). I realise each time that I can’t just sit at my computer all day and night playing games, but before I know it when my anxiety is slightly better I just throw away all my progress and just end up sitting at my computer all day. It’s frustrating because it’s an addiction for me, although I know I can use it in moderation perfectly safe, I would look for any opportunity to get on a computer and slack off, even in school.
I re-read sentences all the time because sometimes I just can’t understand the sentence at all, the words just make no sense all of a sudden. Then a paragraph later I am back to the top of the page reading it again because my mind just wanders off completely halfway through without me even realising. Personally for me, I don’t think this is OCD as the cause of it isn’t a ritualistic way of relieving anxiety, more so it is a symptom of my existing anxieties.
About the last part of your post, you do not have to prove anything to anyone my friend. You’re perfectly allowed to have your freedom of thought without the approval of anyone, trust me. I do this a lot to myself where I say that I wish I could just show someone what my anxiety was for a second, so they understand what it is like for me. That thought goes around in my brain and I often daydream about it. I thought when I was 13 that the Brain Fog was dementia as I would forget so many things I wasn’t forgetting a year ago, or even a month ago. I am here now, perfectly functioning, whereas if it was something like dementia I would have seriously deteriorated by now. You will not be slowly dying (any faster than natural death at least lol) from a health condition I do not believe, that is your anxiety trying to convince you of the worst.
I am struggling with my productivity too, I had to drop out of my job and university due to this breakdown and right now I feel like I am completely stuck. I can’t even fathom going back to university as it literally terrifies me to tears. I want to be a teacher, but how could I with such anxieties? I am just now saying No. I don’t care if the worst happens. If it happens, it bloody happens! You needs only look after yourself.
Always here for you man, take care
Kyle
Do whatever you like. And don’t do or reduce doing whatever you don’t like.
OCD could be managed but hard to go away completely in my opinion.
Thinking logically and sticking to logic could be a way of managing OCD.
PS I’m never a doctor or physician, from my personal experience only.