A brief overview of what lead to my diagnosis

[Squeemy]

I was introduced to my first full blown panic attack while I was a driving in the car & out of no where my heart started pounding, I felt dizzy, tingling then the ride of my life with vertigo. I managed to pull over & was panicking that i was having a heart attack. After about 5 mins as quick as it came, it went & i was left feeling tingly & exhausted but I was ok.

This continued for a couple weeks then nothing for months. One night ( while feeling quite at peace I may add) i woke up in a sweat, heart pounding, tingling & couldn't walk.  The next day I had brain zaps, neck pain & just felt wierd. I developed a fear of sleeping as I was scared of waking up in panic. This continued for about 3 months before I ended up in the ER feeling exhausted, tingling & disturbed vision. They ordered a CT scan which was normal & i was sent to my GP who also ordered a CT of my neck to illuminate pinched nerves causeing the tingling brain zaps. Totally normal I had blood tests (normal) & was given a diagnoses of GAD.

Nearly 2 years on from this I still experience anxiety symptoms even when im feeling at peace. I convince myself that I have some undiagnosed illness, despite testing & struggle that something mental can be so physical at times.

[kconnors]

Hello,

For many of us who have struggled with anxiety, we know that they way that anxiety makes itself known is through physical symptoms so this is not unusual. Although I am not a professional, I would say that if all your tests came back negative but you still have symptoms even when you are feeling at peace, I might suggest developing some management techniques. Sometimes when we start to experience symptoms, we try to fight to control them, but I have found, from my personal experience, I have better success in accepting them, managing them, and letting them, if you will, just wash over me . . . in the beginning, this might be a bit more difficult to do than say, but after a while, I find that these events become less frequent and less intense . . . you need to remember that mental and physical realities are not separate but are interrelated so that one affects the other . . . let us know how you are doing and I am sure others in this forum will be able to provide you with some more concrete strategies if you do not want to work with a therapist to develop these strategies that have meaning to you as an individual . . . take care, kc

[Squeemy]

Thanks for replying. I agree with you that accepting them is a preferable management technique. I guess I just get tired of the palpitation & tightness surprising me at the weirdness times.

I will definitely be trying to give the symptoms less attention and spot on about the physical/ mental connection. I just need to remember that when anxiety kicks in

      

[Oscar]

Sorry you are feeling this way.  What you can do first is to try to eliminate stress as much as possible.  Your mind is on "flight or fight" response and that is why you have physical symptoms.  Also if you are hypervigilant you are actually making things difficult for you.  We all go through the same stage, don't worry.  It's a vicious cycle anxiety leads to more anxiety.  It's easier said than done but do try to live with your symptoms, accept them for what they are and go about your regular routine.  At the same time make changes in your diet, exercise more, get some type of support, and try to find out what is causing stress in your life.  I'm still struggling with anxiety but it has become manageable to some degree.  I try everyday to learn something new to help me cope with my GAD.  I have had anxiety since I was a child.  I'm 44 now and my GAD is still acting up.  I'm getting too old to pay much attention to it anyway. Wish you well on your way to recovery.