The Physical Symptoms; its not just in our heads

Originally posted 20 Sep 2019.

I've talked about the physical symptoms briefly, and this blog aims to explain these further and how they affected me functioning daily to do ordinary things.

You start off feeling odd, like it's something you cant explain.

I don't feel right.

That's all I could think off. It started where I would sudden feel really dizzy, and I felt like I couldn't stand straight (I could), and just felt like I was going to pass out.

It started to become so intense I began to get really worried. I went straight down to the doctors, explained how I was feeling and got an appointment within the hour. Prior to going in I had my blood pressure taken and took this in with the doctor. In the appointment, she said this was slightly low. "THAT'S IT!", I thought."That's definitely why I'm feeling faint.

We try to pin point these feelings onto something that is fathomable, as that can be the only explanation why I am feeling like this.

Of course it wasn't the only thing. In my first counselling session, I talked through all the physical symptoms I was having, and couldn't understand why I was feeling them. My counsellor presented me with the below picture.

This really put into perspective everything I had been feeling, and that it all came down to anxiety.

It's crazy isn't it? There are so many things that can happen to your body because of anxiety.

Here are the symptoms I experienced, working from the head down:

• Light headed and dizziness

• Blurred Vision

• Difficulty swallowing

• Stomach Churning

• Hands shaking

• "Jelly Legs"

• Sleeping Difficulties

• Loss of motivation

• Tiredness

• Short term memory loss

Fears:

• Going Mad

• Brain Tumour

• Fainting/collapsing

• Dying

• Choking

• Not being able to bear it any longer

It's a lot when I look back on it, for one body to be feeling all those things. No wonder I was so tired! My body was trying to cope with all those fears, its too much for the body, and it just goes 'stop'. It put the breaks on.

I did feel so much more at ease, knowing that these things that were going on in my body, was purely the anxiety, and that there wasn't anything else to worry about. Once I worked on controling and learning to cope with the anxiety, these sypmtoms started to fade and became manageable.

I've pulled out a couple of the list to talk about.

Lightheaded and dizziness:

I felt this all the time, really sporadic and I had the fear I was going to collapse anywhere.

Blurred vision:

This was bizarre, I would look at the horizon or screens or a book and I couldn't see. I hasn't experienced anything like it. So I ended up booking an opticians appointment.

Difficulty swallowing:

This one really made me stop eating. I would have the fear that if I ate and it got stuck in my throat, I would choke. So I stopped eating.

I've always loved and enjoyed food, so I found this one hard.

The Shakes:

In my hands and body, like your feeling cold but your not.

Sleeping difficulties:

This is one of the most common ones. No energy or motivation. Exhausted. But just can't sleep.

Short term memory loss:

I would forget my train of thought like that. I would forget what I was saying, and was thinking about too much.

Going Mad:

When it was getting to much, I truly believe that I was going mad. Why was I feeling like this!

Feeling like i'm dying:

I cant describe it any other way. I honestly felt like I was going to die.

As I got better, the worst of it definitely subsided. These feelings don't last forever, and they are just moments.

Unfortunately I do still get them, but I tell myself;

It is just happening in this moment, and it will pass.

And it does pass.

Recognising that it is just the anxiety, reminds me that I'm not dying.

It's always good to read up about what anxeity/depression can make you do/feel, as that may explain why your feeling a certain way.

It is about coping mechanisms, living in the moment. Here below is something that really helps me.

Try it :)