What's Anxiety Like For You?

[gypsysoul]

When I start to feel anxious, I develop this sense of impending doom. It's like if someone dropped me into shark infested waters or into a lion's den. I feel completely panicked. I just know something bad is about to happen, I cannot think logically... I want to run and hide. I can feel the fight, flight, or freeze response coming on but I don't know which would be best to use. Most of the time it's instinct that kicks in, guiding me to what seems like the appropriate reaction. When I'm not anxious, I think about my anxiety and how insane it may sound to those who don't understand or have experienced it. I can sometimes even laugh at myself for the irrational thoughts that encompassed my brain during an attack. Other times, I feel like I'm permanently scarred/broken. However, my anxiety always has the same pattern, it comes, sometimes it goes up, but it always comes down. How long it'll take to come down, I don't know, but it does, so I try to remember that. So, I would like to know how does anxiety feel for you?

 

[Virtues]

The physiological response of an anxiety attack for me is profound. The first place I feel it is in my chest. My heart rate picks up, but its the weight in my chest that seems unbearable. Like a belt was wrapped around my chest and is being cinched down. It's almost paralyzing. Next I feel it in my extremities, numbness and tingling, loss of fine motor skills. Then finally I start to lose my vision. It just sort of closes in and I start to see stars. It is an awful experience every time I am triggered.

I'd be interested to see my vitals when this happens, especially my temperature as I always feel like I'm burning up, I'm sure my vitals fluctuate to quite the extreme while this is happening.

 

[mary1979]

That dang knot in the bottom of your stomach?
That feels like it has fire flies buzzing out of it and radiating from it?

Impending doom?
Great description for it, cheers.
Also known at times as 'oh wtf is wrong with you NOW you pain'

Usually leads to some internal chatter that results in me feeling ashamed, embarrassed, guilty, nervous as sin and then finally, fight kicks in

This leads to paranoia and second guessing, often making me start an argument, usually with hubby who has no clue that it was an offence punishable with death to forget to reply to a text for 2.3 minutes before ending in tears of indignation and then retreating into detachment.

Think that sums it up, however any stage may have an added extra of guilt and shame, because those are my pet feels.

 

[Changing4Best]

I feel it in the upper part of my abdomen. It is a definite physical feeling, one that is some kind of thing to move me to DO something, but I never know what, because I feel powerless to do anything. Usually, but no always, it comes on when I think of the future and start to worry about the future. Like "How on earth am I going to pay all these medical bills" and what if my income suddenly dries up, what would I do!?!? If it comes on when I am not being worried about anything, I suppose something in the environment has triggered it. Just answering this question of yours has brought it on, in fact. I get it often, so don't feel bad. I know it will pass, and since it was nothing urgent that brought it on, it will pass soon. Usually if I think of the subject of anxiety or someone mentions that they are anxious, I get it too. This happens with my neighbor a lot. We both have it and tell one another when we do. I guess it is some kind of sympathy or empathy that we have with one another.

I have found that distraction of some kind is the best cure for it. Doing something I enjoy to get my mind off of it is best. I can go out for a walk, or read a book or magazine, go check my email or something.

 

[gypsysoul]

@Florian7051, yesssss, the vitals... I'm curious to see what mind would be too. I bet my blood pressure is pretty close to borderline, maybe even over, considering my normal blood pressure is pretty low. Personally, I typically don't notice the physical symptoms initially, even though they are quite obvious. The high temperature, for sure. I usually remove sweaters and put my hair up... So intense how it can affect the body's physiology.

@mary1979 I feel ashamed, embarrassed and paranoid too! I wonder what's up with that. I guess that's where the irrational thoughts come from... And hahaha about the hubby, I do the same thing to my boyfriend :confused: poor guy...

@SheilaKathy The gift of Empathy! Such a crazy thing. You should google it. If someone I'm close to gets a headache and tells me about it, I'll get a headache too, and sometimes at the relief of theirs. Definitely gotta be some type of energy passing. It's the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but it is transferred, at least that's how I think of it.

 

[Whyteferret]

@gypsysoul

Yup. I've had empathy as a kid. It's hard now to sort out what's from outside me and what's inside. lol. I'm pretty sure people think we're crazy

 

[Whyteferret]

My vital signs change.
I had a doctors appointment Monday. They were taking vital signs. My normal resting pulse is 52, BP runs around 110/70. I run a lot so this is my normal.
Something in the hallway startled me. Pulse shot up to 147. She took another BP. 138/100

It was interesting to see how long it took to bring it down. The doctor rescheduled me after seeing I was stable. A social worker was called. I used to be employed there and worked with the guy. Talk about humiliating.

As for usual.. My heart pounds, I drop into fight/flight/freeze. I get pissed. Sweaty. Feeling like I'm going to die. What fun. Lorazepam is my friend

 

[Tinyflame]

Extreme anxiety, like I'm going to explode. On a mostly-daily basis, a lower level would be fear, sick to my stomach, bad migraines, 'fuzzy feeling in my head', hard to get a breath, severe ulcer issues, ice-cold, hard to talk, shakes.

I relate to a lot, but this moment I feel less anxious, so don't want to even think about it. It's awful.

:hug:

 

[Sideways]

When I panic? I get the textbook flight response.

But 90% of the time? My anxiety feels isolating and lonely. I shop early when the grocery store opens to avoid the crowds and the aisles are deserted. I go for my run at 4.30am while the streets are still empty. I turn down invitations to go out, I time my bolt to my car while my neighbors are all indoors, I spend weekends alone and I miss significant celebrations like Easter Lunch and Mothers Day.

The panic is bad. But it's the things like being frightened to go down and check the mailbox - for me, that's what anxiety feels like most of the time.

 

[gypsysoul]

@Whyteferret Lorazepam is my friend too... BFFs really.

@Junebug, migraines here too. They suck.

@Ragdoll Circus I go to the grocery store either early in the morning or late at night, so I completely understand. It's frustrating that I can't be "spontaneous" and go whenever I want or need to.

 

[SpiritFree]

Ok when I have a panic attack I remember I would gag because it relieved that sickness in the pit of my Stomach. When I had full blown Agoraphobia, I would gag or vomit before leaving the house. I always took some napkins to cover my mouth should I gag in the car. I tried not to eat any food outside and just take it home. It did relief my anxiety but it is not a method that should be done because you can damage your esophagus.

 

[Bine]

When I have a panic attack, I feel like I am running out of air and cannot breathe. At the same time I can`t help but thinking that I will die very soon, and this feeling is very real. I managed to make it less severe, while talking to myself that this is not real and happening only in my head.