Am I ill or is it all anxiety

[Sazzaroonie]

Hi there. I’m a 37 year old mother of three small children and have always suffered with health anxiety, which has mostly been manageable, but over the past 7 months, my anxiety has manifested into something uncontrollable. I am having weekly anxiety attacks that can last for a couple if days. I feel like I can’t relax or escape how I feel no matter what I do. I can be physically sick, have a loose stomach and feel shaky. I also feel Lomé my head is really heavy and extremely fatigued. An overwhelming sense of dread.
Today I have woken up and feel like I am coming down with something, then start worrying it’s something terrible. Have been sick, can barely function. Can this all really be anxiety?
I have been seeing a therapist for the past 5 weeks and trying to do some things for myself, but I just can’t seem to get a grip and finding it really hard to explain to anyone how I’m feeling, even myself. Feel Like I’m going mad.
Does anyone else feel the same?

 

[Cuchculan]

Anxiety can do all of the above. i did list out 100 plus anxiety symptoms in the health anxiety section of the forum. There are so many various symptoms. But it is worth always having a medical exam done every so often. We have all done that. Just to rule out anything else. Once they rule everything else out we know it is just our anxiety. It can be a very hard cycle to break. Esier to keep fallen downwards than it is to get back up. First thing to understand is that anxiety has never killed anybody. They are all just bad feelings. Some more extreme than others. Second thing is that we are all strong people. Stronger than you might imagine right now. Because we never stop fighting. We just keep on going. Has your therapist suggested any form of medication? More just to steady the ship. Something would help when really bad. Again I would guess that most of us on this forum have been on various medication over the years.

What happened 7 months ago to change things? This bloody pandemic. Now doubt that has giving you a few thoughts. Ties in with when things really began to go bad for you. But you are still alive and well. Plenty more life left in you yet too.

 

[suzzeeb]

I'm exactly like you right now. I have been feeling it coming on since probably before summer but didn't really think it would get to this horrible place. I have always had anxiety, but had my first terrible bout with severe anxiety that lead into depression in my late 30s also. I stopped sleeping, lost my appetite, felt physically ill all the time. It lasted for a couple years and started to get better. Well now it's back, (I'm 55 now) and I am also seeing a therapist but finding it very difficult to control at this point. Not sleeping again, have lost weight, just struggling.

Sometimes I think it's just a perfect storm of things that lead into the downward spiral. I was having a health issue, nothing really life threatening, but to me everything is life threatening! So I was worried about that for months, and then I had to have wisdom teeth removed, which, again, not a big deal for most people, but I was devastated. I never thought Covid really affected me, but I think even just the few things I counted on, like going to church, out to dinner, a movie once in a while, just to get out and be around people since I tend to isolate, all played into where I am mentally right now. Like you, I can't explain the feeling, just not well I guess.

I hope things turn around for you soon. I guess we can just do the best we can every day. I do take Klonopin just to be able to relax enough to sleep, but that leaves me groggy and still doesn't really give me enough sleep either. SSRIs help many people. I usually have a lot of side effects from them but don't stay on them long enough probably for the side effects to go away, but I keep that in the back of my mind if things don't turn around shortly, so that's another option for you to try. I know how exhausting it is.