I'm in my late 20s and Ive struggled with anxiety since I was 14-15. I am in the middle of a major transition in my life, moving across the country to a new place where I dont know anyone, dealing with the selling of a house, taking care of an elderly parent that hasn't been much help in the process, not having many friends to rely on at all, and no other family members. In Oct. of last year I went through a nasty breakup after finding out my mate was cheating on me. Safe to say I feel overwhelmed with little support. I feel very alone. I thought I was handling this transition well, getting a lot done.
At first I was excited about the move, feeling very optimistic. All the sudden, this past week, out of no where I started experiencing extreme tension build up in my body. Tension in my lower back, shoulders, neck - and mostly, jaw. This terrified me because I thought I was manifesting a serious health issue. I have to literally work at relaxing my body. It took me 4 hours these past few days just to go to sleep, my body was so tensed. This made me feel like I was losing control, and as a perfectionist, it feels horrible. Its also painful - tensing my jaw for the last 3 days has made my teeth hurt. The tension causes my limbs to jerk sometimes or when trying to sleep, which is not only scary its annoying.
I did some research and apparently it is very common for anxiety sufferers to experience tension in the body, that's a relief just knowing that its normal and I'm not going crazy because it really feels like it. I get so scared of my own body tensing up that my mind goes into panic mode of losing control of my body. Ive only had one major panic attack in my life and that was about 5 years ago. I havent had one since, but Ive been feeling this entire week like I'm right on the verge of one. A long, drawn out "leading up to" a panic attack kind of feeling. Its exhausting! It has made me procrastinate and not get things done.
How do I stop this anxiety hamster wheel of tension? I've tried listening to ASMR, taking hot showers, forcing myself to stop thinking about it (counterproductive) and generally just been going through the motions. Have you ever experienced this?
At first I was excited about the move, feeling very optimistic. All the sudden, this past week, out of no where I started experiencing extreme tension build up in my body. Tension in my lower back, shoulders, neck - and mostly, jaw. This terrified me because I thought I was manifesting a serious health issue. I have to literally work at relaxing my body. It took me 4 hours these past few days just to go to sleep, my body was so tensed. This made me feel like I was losing control, and as a perfectionist, it feels horrible. Its also painful - tensing my jaw for the last 3 days has made my teeth hurt. The tension causes my limbs to jerk sometimes or when trying to sleep, which is not only scary its annoying.
I did some research and apparently it is very common for anxiety sufferers to experience tension in the body, that's a relief just knowing that its normal and I'm not going crazy because it really feels like it. I get so scared of my own body tensing up that my mind goes into panic mode of losing control of my body. Ive only had one major panic attack in my life and that was about 5 years ago. I havent had one since, but Ive been feeling this entire week like I'm right on the verge of one. A long, drawn out "leading up to" a panic attack kind of feeling. Its exhausting! It has made me procrastinate and not get things done.
How do I stop this anxiety hamster wheel of tension? I've tried listening to ASMR, taking hot showers, forcing myself to stop thinking about it (counterproductive) and generally just been going through the motions. Have you ever experienced this?
They suck, but they are not dangerous and you're not crazy at all. I think I'm a month or two you're going to look back at this time and smile - you got this!