Sore RED EYES? Really anxiety?

[msg2james]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and have recently been diagnosed with high levels of anxiety. I have a lot going on eg; stomach pains, indigestion, dry mouth/throat, muscle pains and seem to be getting very itchy with dry skin. From what I have read these CAN actually happen with stress and anxiety, BUT my question is, has ANYONE experienced sore/dry/reddish eyes as well with stress and anxiety?

I would say every day over the last 2months along with the other symptoms my eyes have felt dry/sore and looked quite inflamed and red. In saying that people who look at me say my eyes don't look incredibly red inflamed, just like I haven't slept. Typically they are worse on waking in the morning which makes me suspicious it is not caused by anxiety/stress.

I would LOVE to hear from ANYONE who has experienced this symptom or anything like it PLEEEEEEEEEEASE.

I guess I am not entirely convinced all my symptoms are actually due to stress/anxiety as my Doctor has said. I am generally a happy person and on the DAS test (Depression, Anxiety, Stress) that my doctor gave me I was completely normal aside from anxiety which was raised.

Anyway THANKS in advance.

James

[sixpack]

I would not doubt that your eyes could get itchier.  My thing is that it is probably allergy related because anxiety WILL cause flares in allergies.

I definitely get itchy skin.  I have lots of cream around my house.  The other things you list are very typical of anxiety.

This link takes you to a list of the most common anxiety symptoms:

http://www.anxietyzone.com/index.php/topic,17050.0.html

I don't live in a constant barrage of aches/pains anymore.  My mind and body have calmed some.  But it takes a leap of faith, several actually.  You have to accept logically (the easy part) and emotionally (the hard part) that anxiety can and will muck with you in all kinds of ways.  Once you can do that you will start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[GreenThumb]

Yep, I've had the red itchy eye thing for several months. It's definitely part of anxiety and the heightened allergic reactions that our bodies develop when we're anxious and our nerves are like live wires. Sixpack is definitely right - sometimes we get the craziest weirdest symptoms and think that there is NO WAY it could be anxiety, but 9 times out of 10 it usually is. The best way to deal with them is to realize that they are just another manifestation of an overly anxious mind, and to just move on and not give it another thought. Acceptance is the name of the game... 

[msg2james]

Hi everyone,

Hey SINCERE THANK YOU for the replies!

Yes I am certainly finding it is extremely hard to grasp and accept that all these weird and not so wonderful things are stress/anxiety related, particularly when I feel I am not that anxious and I guess that I have had much much more anxious and stressed times in my life when I have never experienced any of these symptoms.

Anyway now that I know that these things are actually quite normal or at least distinct possibilities of stress/anxiety I will try to embrace them more. I find it hard though because at times I get maybe just an upset stomach and very tight neck and back which I totally accept as something I may have to live with (so in other words it doesn't make me anxious at all), then for NO reason whatsoever I get very dry throat - can barely talk, much more inflamed eyes, chest pains etc. It is just so strange that at times when I am genuinely not stressed or anxious these things can come on so strongly.

Well I am going to give 20mg of citalopram a go and try some CBT so hopefully it works. For me at least fingers crossed it works, and if it doesn't at least I can say to the doctor - hey it really isn't anxiety - do something about it - actually investigate it.

THANKS AGAIN - it is such a relief talking to people who are experiencing similar or what seem bizarre symptoms like me.

James