Is it possible to have anxiety disorder and not worry about anything?

[Malloc]

Hi, I have been experiencing a tightness in my chest and other odd sensations on and off for most of my life. Recently these sensations began occurring much more frequently. along with the tightness in my chest, I have also experienced light-headedness (dizzyness), an icy cold feeling in my chest just behind my breast bone, a racing heart beat and high BP and shortness of breath. I went to my GP and had an EKG and some blood work done. More recently I had a stress test performed with echo. They said that everything was normal and that I may be experiencing physical symptoms of general anxiety.

My concern is that when I lookup anything to do with general anxiety it paints a picture of someone who worries about things which then causes these symptoms to manifest.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I do not sit around and worry about things. In fact I do not worry about things at all. I have been told many times throughout my life by different persons that I am one of the most laid back people that they have ever met which seems to me to be the exact opposite of anxiety.

I can't help but feel like my GP didnt see anything immediately wrong physically with me so jumped straight to the conclusion that it must be anxiety.

Hence my question: Is it possible to have general anxiety without having any worries?

At this point I am confused about all of this. Could anyone help to explain this to me a little and let me know what you think?

I would greatly appreciate any info and clarity.

Thank you so very much.

 

[Wanting to get better]

Hi Malloc, I’m sorry to hear about your confusing experience. I do think it is possible to have anxiety attached to unconscious worry. It may be helpful to talk to a therapist. Know that you are not alone, many of us are walking this path with you. Take good care of yourself ❤️

 

[raneshower]

It's interesting - I feel like we've been experiencing similar issues and have a similar outward laid-back demeanor haha. Honestly, it always seems like the "laid-back" people are the ones who suffer the most from it!

I've had on and off anxiety for the past 7 years but it wasn't until recently that the panic attacks started happening more frequently where I experienced physical symptoms like chest tightness, tingling/numb ligaments, lightheadedness, and shortness of breath.

If it means anything, and I can't say for sure, but my allergies are also extremely bad right now. I know most of it is anxiety, but I wonder if part of it has to do with that? I'm not sure if you experience allergies or not, but I tend to find my mental health affected when spring hits because of allergies.

Also, I don't really sit and worry about things much either. I'll definitely stress out with work when it's really busy but I don't actively look for things to worry about either. It's always a very random occurence where I just start getting this dread/imminent doom feeling and then the physical symptoms start hitting me.

But all in all, I do think a lot of it is just general anxiety. Like the comment before me, I agree with them that seeing a therapist may be the best option. Just know you aren't alone!! Hope you start feeling better soon my friend!