Anxiety symptoms - From the "How not to worry" book

[banksia]

So i've got a couple of books out from the library and this one book im currently browsing through is really interesting. I came across the symptoms of anxiety disorders and it noted in the book that these symptoms have all been experienced by people the author has seen. I thought i would share these symptoms with you in hope that the next time you think something else is going on then maybe this could reassure a little.

The book is called "How not to worry" by Caroline Carr and its not a big read but just points out what anxiety is and how you can beat it so to speak. I've compiled a list below of all the symptoms that are shown in the book.

It's a handy little book and i recommend either buying it or hiring it from the library as another piece of knowledge for your journey through anxiety.

Her website is www.carolinecarr.com

P.S. I hope i have this in the right section as i didn't know where else to put it  

NOTE: Before you grasp the concept that you may suffer from these symptoms it is a good idea first to have a thorough medical checkup to confirm your anxiety.

• Intense frequent and seemingly uncontrollable worry and anxiety about all sorts of things
• Feeling frightened although you may not know why
• Feeling unable to cope in certain situations, and so avoiding them
• Racing thoughts
• A sensation that everything's coming together and all at once
• Nausea
• Fainting
• Feeling as if you could faint but not doing so
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation
• Stomach pains
• Craving food at random times
• Trouble getting to sleep
• Waking up at odd times
• Nightmares or 'weird' dreams
• Sudden bursts of energy when you least expect them, for example late at night
• Headaches
• Feeling breathless
• Holding your breath
• Feeling that your heart is beating too quickly or too slowly
• Pains in your joints
• Tightness in your muscles
• Shaking
• Chest pains and tightness
• Sweating
• Tense jaw - feeling you can't open your mouth
• Very dry mouth
• Feeling exhausted
• Restlessness
• Inability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Feel as if you are 'going mad'
• Feel as if you are detached from everyone and the world around you
• Feel as if you are watching yourself from 'outside'
• Feeling paranoid that people are looking at you or talking about you
• A feeling that you're being watched
• Unable to relax
• Fidgety
• Dizziness
• Increased sensitivity to noise
• Feeling very cold
• Feeling suddenly very hot
• Wanting to escape, or get away from a place/situation
• Twitching
• Legs feel like jelly
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Vertigo
• Sight and/or hearing affected
• Crying spells
• Lack of appetite
• Really low moods
• A sense of much time having passed, when in fact it's only a few minutes
• Underlying sense of apprehension
• Pins and needles
• Difficulty swallowing
• Frightened that you might lose control
• Can't switch off
• Feel that you are being obsessive about some things
• Fear of dying
• Over-sensitive to the weather - the temperature, air pressure, bright sunlight, grey 'muggy' days
• Over-concern about health issues. For example, if you have a headache, you may be certain that it is a brain tumour
• Periods of feeling incredibly lonely and isolated
• Over-sensitive to different places and situations

Thats just the list in the book, but there is thousands more that are always mentioned by people on here.

Also just remember that these symptoms are merely byproducts of an overstimulated nervous system and nothing more. They are just that, nothing sinister. Also don't go focussing on these symptoms either, they are purely here just so you can be reassured it is anxiety, but after you are reassured just "let them be" and they will disappear in time  

[Xalatimo]

Thanks for the info.