Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Hello everyone,
For those that don't know me I suffer from anxiety that manifests itself in many odd physical and mental symptoms.
I have suffered from migraines for 25 + yrs. They come about every 10 weeks lasting about 8 hours. I take a mild medication to take of the edge. Believe it or not, still to date, every migraine attack I get, I am so anxious due to the pain, I pace, and worry that I am going to die.
So now my dilemma is this, I also panic when ever I am sick! Sick with anything!
About a month ago, I caught a very bad cold and was sick for two weeks., Then just when I was getting over it, I caught a bad sore throat, that soon after turned into a cough. No big deal right, well I dealt with it ok, but still had some anxiety.
I also had increased headaches, muscle pains and my legs ached like crazy. It lingered on increasing my anxiety. so I decided to go to the dr. They ordered blood work and said, maybe I was low in potassium and just from being sick is why I ached so dad.(I have not been back for results yet.)
I started to feel a tad better, then this t week I caught a stomach bug that I caught from my grandson. Ugggg! My daughter is 6 months pregnant and her two little guys have been sick on and off, then herself, so I went to help her out while her husband worked. They all bounced back, grandma is still sick. (chuckle)
Well, making things worse, last night I woke up and my leg muscles in my right calf muscle ached so badly I could not stand it. I took aspirin, put heat on it, tossed and turned and nothing really helped. Now today, again, it aches really badly, my eyes hurt too? In addition to my lower back. I have no fever at all. I do ache at times when not sick, but lately the little aches appear to have grown into big scary aches.
Needless to say, my anxiety today is extreme, my husband is at work so I am home alone. I keep thinking I have a blood clot or a terrible disease, causing my leg to hurt, and all these weird aches all over, in addition to feeling so sick to my stomach. I just am pacing about, cleaning, now posting, doing anything to try not to think about it.
I know logically, I have been sick for a month, in addition to working and going to helping out my daughter and not taking care of myself, not eating properly at all and not sleeping good. So, hey I am not going to feel good.
More worrisome, I start a new part time job in the health field, at which, I have to get fingerprinted and start training for this upcoming week. Then soon after I start the new employment in addition to my subbing position in our school district. Just the thought overwhelms me doing it all not feeling good and worried that I have some dreadful disease.
I keep on thinking, I am starting a new job in the health field, caregiving for the elderly and mentally disabled, when ironically I feel I am the one that needs a caregiver. Help, I want to feel better so I can say, I feel great for 58! I turn 58 tomorrow and feel I should be in a different more stable place in my life at this time, and still not be overcome by anxiety too.
Any positive support or advice is welcome...thanks!
Pattylyn
For those that don't know me I suffer from anxiety that manifests itself in many odd physical and mental symptoms.
I have suffered from migraines for 25 + yrs. They come about every 10 weeks lasting about 8 hours. I take a mild medication to take of the edge. Believe it or not, still to date, every migraine attack I get, I am so anxious due to the pain, I pace, and worry that I am going to die.
So now my dilemma is this, I also panic when ever I am sick! Sick with anything!
About a month ago, I caught a very bad cold and was sick for two weeks., Then just when I was getting over it, I caught a bad sore throat, that soon after turned into a cough. No big deal right, well I dealt with it ok, but still had some anxiety.
I also had increased headaches, muscle pains and my legs ached like crazy. It lingered on increasing my anxiety. so I decided to go to the dr. They ordered blood work and said, maybe I was low in potassium and just from being sick is why I ached so dad.(I have not been back for results yet.)
I started to feel a tad better, then this t week I caught a stomach bug that I caught from my grandson. Ugggg! My daughter is 6 months pregnant and her two little guys have been sick on and off, then herself, so I went to help her out while her husband worked. They all bounced back, grandma is still sick. (chuckle)
Well, making things worse, last night I woke up and my leg muscles in my right calf muscle ached so badly I could not stand it. I took aspirin, put heat on it, tossed and turned and nothing really helped. Now today, again, it aches really badly, my eyes hurt too? In addition to my lower back. I have no fever at all. I do ache at times when not sick, but lately the little aches appear to have grown into big scary aches.
Needless to say, my anxiety today is extreme, my husband is at work so I am home alone. I keep thinking I have a blood clot or a terrible disease, causing my leg to hurt, and all these weird aches all over, in addition to feeling so sick to my stomach. I just am pacing about, cleaning, now posting, doing anything to try not to think about it.
I know logically, I have been sick for a month, in addition to working and going to helping out my daughter and not taking care of myself, not eating properly at all and not sleeping good. So, hey I am not going to feel good.
More worrisome, I start a new part time job in the health field, at which, I have to get fingerprinted and start training for this upcoming week. Then soon after I start the new employment in addition to my subbing position in our school district. Just the thought overwhelms me doing it all not feeling good and worried that I have some dreadful disease.
I keep on thinking, I am starting a new job in the health field, caregiving for the elderly and mentally disabled, when ironically I feel I am the one that needs a caregiver. Help, I want to feel better so I can say, I feel great for 58! I turn 58 tomorrow and feel I should be in a different more stable place in my life at this time, and still not be overcome by anxiety too.
Any positive support or advice is welcome...thanks!
Pattylyn
First off...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I too used to get debilitating migraines. I have a friend who is an anesthesiologist who turned me onto a cure that I never dreamed possible. I use Walgreens brand Extra Strength Headache Relief Tablets.....I only take a half of one tablet and drink it down with an ice cold fountain Pepsi from 7/11..(a convenient store by me)
This may sound crazy but I have tried everything and this works every time within 15 minutes. The combo of aspirin, acetaminophen, caffeine, carbohydrates, and ice seem to work wonders. I have turned so many people on to this combinations and everyone has gotten relief from their migraines. The man at the convenient store told me that many folks come in to buy the fountain Pepsi to cure their migraines. I have found that the addition of this over the counter pill seems to wipe the migraine out completely. I hope this works for you too!
As for the scary thoughts when you are sick. You seem to be on top of your health with your doctor...that is good. If you feel however that some of your symptoms are more anxiety related then sickness related then maybe working with some tools to relive the anxiety may be helpful.
Friend me to get a list of 12 weeks on my journal page to help overcome anxiety that we did as a group here on DS. This may assist you with some areas that may be accounting for some of your negative feelings.
Other then that...good old fashioned chicken soup always does wonders for me.
My best to you!
Unfortunately, it can be a wicked circle where I have anxiety and then it gives me a stomach ache which leads to IBS. Or the anxiety can stress me out and give me a headache. Then that makes me more anxious which makes my body respond with more pain.
What I've found to be helpful is to either get angry or to find some way to say, "I've had this before and it's always the same thing" and just take time to take care of myself.
I've gotten to the point where, on a bad day, I'll have pretty serious pain which leads to shaking from anxiety and I tell myself, "Ah, this is familiar." And I pop on a dvd to watch while I'm waiting for it to pass.
I prefer to have someone nearby though which makes perfect sense. Anytime we're going through something that feels like trauma to us, having that emotional support helps prevent the trauma from registering too much.
If no one is nearby, I like to all the nurse line and just have them talk me through it. I tell them, "I get this a few times a year and just need some new ideas." Having them talk with me makes me feel not so alone.
There are a lot of such lines for anxiety or health issues.
I hope that you feel better soon.
I think all of us here in the group can identify with you, on some level.
Sometimes, you just gotta get mad Patty! Or, find the humor in it. We are like hamsters on a wheel. And just like those fuzzy little hamsters.....that never seem to figure out that they aren't actually going anywhere lol, we never seem to figure out that we've been thru this many times before and survived. This is my sad attempt at humor, but it is pretty funny when you think about it.
I do try to remind myself that what I'm feeling, I've felt before, and it WILL pass, but that is so hard to do sometimes. My anxiety has actually been under fairly good control for a while now. Years of practice, I guess. I do still get most of the same thoughts, as you posted, but I've learned to ignore them....most of the time.
Seriously, we all cannot be dying of a disease, every single day. Ugh, so why is that the first thought that crosses our mind. Drives me crazy!!
Do you keep a journal? It has helped me so much. The way I'm talking to you here, is exactly how I talk in my journal. I try to also write down every single feeling, thought, and physical symptoms. Reason being.....whenever I've felt anxious again, I go back and read my journal, and guess what? It's pretty much the same. So, it helps remind me that I survived that time, and I will survive this time as well.
I hope this helps you some! Always try to remind yourself that what your feeling is just a repeat of what you've felt before. This too shall pass!!
Happy Birthday = )
Pattylyn