Anxiety when you don't know it?

[Deeishere111]

I just had surgery on this week. Before the actual procedure, I felt fine and very calm. When the nurse took my blood pressure it was 180/100. My pressure has never been that high before. I do take water pills to control my pressure. When I went to the doctor for my pre-op my blood pressure was normal. So I was wondering can one have anxiety without knowing it. I am assuming yes because of what happened to me. I guess that's why it's so important to get a physical checkup.

 

[fuzyon]

Everyone is nervous and tense before a surgery, I can assure you that my blood pressure was similar to yours when I had my hand surgery and it's completely normal. In my head I was like "what if I wake up during surgery and I feel all that pain in my hand? What if something goes wrong?" and things like that. Just before I entered the room my face was all red and I was shaking because I was scared, but the doctors made sure to keep me calm and they knocked me out before I even knew it.

 

[Alex]

I do think some people are anxious without acknowledging it or being aware. Like depression the terms have negativity attached them. Society should try and accept that anxiety is a normal human response, but does require some help when it begins to increase and prevents a person from doing everyday things. Some people are more anxious than others though. Once when I was having my blood pressure taken I was quite stressed, but my blood pressure was normal. Perhaps I my body didn't react as much as I thought it would?

 

[Ashley0323]

Yes, thats happened to me before. On top of having anxiety, I also have a heart defect. Because of this my blood pressure and my HBM is crazy sometimes. Sometimes, even when I dont know it, my BP is HIGH. About 6 months ago, I went to the ER, and they checked all my stats, and my heart rate was a steady 120-145... Its not suppose to really go over 100 in a resting state.

 

[Panic57]

Yes, you can be anxious without realizing it because your'e internalizing you fear and worry. I think it's perfectly normal to worry about surgery and getting better afterwards. I would make sure to mention it during your check up to make sure it's just a temporary thing and not something else.

 

[rz3300a]

Well I get this, but maybe not as much as some others. At least I think not, but I guess the whole idea is that you do not know. Now I am just confusing myself again, but I would like to think that I know when I am getting anxious. Sometimes I think that I can feel it coming on more, whereas other times it might just appear all at once, and is more of a surprise. Interesting to think about, nonetheless.

 

[clair02]

Of course you can have anxiety without knowing it. I used to have panic attacks before I even knew what they were. And a lot of other people experience all kinds of different symptoms without understanding exactly what it is that they are suffering from. It's best to get your condition diagnosed by a medical professional so that you can get the proper treatment and help yourself live a better life. Anxiety that is not treated or managed can seriously make your life hell. I know. I've been there.

 

[pwarbi]

I think that everybody will have some sort of anxiety as it's only natural and just one of the many emotions that we are all born with. What makes it different is that some people are able to control their anxiety and some can't. I myself was always a very calm person and nothing really phased me until later on in my life and that's when I started to suddenly let my nerves take over and that can happen to a lot of people.


I was told that it's often those people that coast through life without a care in the world that will be more susceptible to anxiety in the future and as they get older and in my case, that is exactly what happened.

 

[Deeishere111]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments. I thought it strange but I see I am not alone. It was just so weird because I never had a BP that was 180/100 before. Then I really began to worry and the nurse was telling me to not think about it. But that was all I could think about. I wondered would I end up having a stroke. Then to top it off she said she was putting some solution in my nose and it was going to be horrible. Why would she tell me something is going to be bad when I already have an extreme elevation in my blood pressure? Fortunately, she talked with a doctor who had them to inject some meds in my IV to lower my pressure. Of course, it happened so very quick and I had to keep going to the bathroom before surgery. LOL.

 

[noachleo]

I have come to realize that blood pressure raises in a matter of seconds after a direct contact with new information and you don't even notice when it does, at least that's my experience. I have been battling with ADHD since I was a kid and I've found the whispering and doing a great deal of meditation has been helpful whenever I try to stabilize my emotional self. It's all about knowing your body so it the anxiety doesn't take you by surprise.

 

[x0xLikeMex0x]

I have to admit that I didn't know that I had social anxiety until I came across this community. One day I was just surfing on the internet and ended up here. The topic of anxiety was interesting to me, since I have a friend who is diagnosed with depression and anxiety, so I wanted to know more about it.


I'd noticed my own symptoms before, but I just had no idea what they are connected with. I knew that what I was feeling wasn't OK, but I just couldn't find time and motivation to do something with it. So I consider myself lucky that I came across this place here. It has helped me. And if I happen to get worse, I will definitely seek professional help.

 

[HappyKoi]

I think you can because, like other people mentioned, you get so used to running at that level that you don't really notice it anymore. Your body has this amazing way of adapting to things that harm it and integrating them in a way to make them feel "normal" and "right". This is anything from a malfunctioning organ or system to patterns of behavior. I think a good deal of the problem is that no one really talks about what anxiety feels like when you have it. It's kind of hard to describe, but clinical definitions really can't describe how it feels in day-to-day situations.

 

[LoyalServant]

It is perfectly normal to be nervous before a surgery as other members have pointed out. However, it is important to dissociate anxiety and blood pressure. The factors that influence blood pressure are almost limitless. Your blood pressure is constantly changing most of the time depending on the different situations you are in. Not to mention how different medications have different effects on blood pressure.


Though it is very likely that your blood pressure was elevated because of the ''pre-surgery' stress, you cannot overlook the medication/ sedation you were possibly given. Essentially what I am trying to say is that I doubt someone could be anxious without feeling something. They may not necessarily know that it is anxiety, but the symptoms are usually very dominant.

 

[John Snort]

It's possible to have anxiety and not know it. Though there are signs which could tell you if you have an anxiety disorder, the symptoms would vary from one type of anxiety disorder to another. However if you suspect that you might have anxiety then you need to start taking the appropriate steps to conquer it. Even if you don't have it, it's like getting a vaccine. You'll at least know how to deal with it or calm yourself any time you feel anxious.