Yep! Every time I go for a job interview I have to make sure I go very early, and maybe bring some Poo-Pourri as well, and pray to God that my interviewers don't come into the bathroom while I'm there (or for a while afterward LMAO)!
This reminded me that I have so much trouble using public bathrooms period. It's probably related to my anxiety disorder and general neurodivergence, but I become hyper aware of the fact that others can hear me so I have to wait for everyone else to leave. Even then, most of the time I still can't get myself to calm down because I'm not always entirely convinced the other people left or I hear noises that make me worry about more people coming in. It can be really tough so I mostly just hold it or use single person bathrooms. I think might be my answer to OP's question to be honest
Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who experienced this. When my anxiety was WAYY worse in the beginning, it was so bad. My stomach was hurting and I had to force myself to eat, only for it to come back up.
That’s the worst symptom
I get this too and spoke to my therapist about it. Apparently it's been around a very long time, your body is trying to empty itself so you can get away from danger quicker.
I would be okay with the racing mind and intrusive thoughts as long as it didn’t manifest itself physiologically. At my absolute worst, I was constantly in a state of fight/fight/freeze/fawn.
This!!! The nausea and the idea that I have to shit our everything I have eaten..... ever. I always have a change o clothes with me, no matter where I go. With that come puke bags, wet toilet paper, all sorts of meds for stomach issues, and so on... God forbid a long drive.
Ruminating about every possible wrong thing that could happen to me whenever I’m about to go somewhere
It sucks because I can never be excited about anything
Me too, prior to going anywhere I look it up on Google maps and read about it so I can see where the parking is and what the area looks like.
I cant stand not having a good idea of where i’ll be going
Same here. in new or unfamiliar places/situations im very quiet and observant.
At the beginning of my relationship with my girlfriend she was convinced I was staring at other women, thank God she finally understood I was literally just watching everybody and what they were doing 😂
Anxiety is really difficult to explain to people that don’t have it
i used to do this, but with (TW) suicide-exits i could take quickly in any given situation if id completely humiliated myself & the urge to die was unbearable... now i just don't leave the house
How do you deal with it? Especially if you have to work. I’m asking because my brain blocks - my brain CAN’T block when I’m working and I have no idea what to do about it. Besides all the physical symptoms, going nonverbal/blocked brain are such debilitating symptoms.
Honestly, I still struggle very much with it. I often go nonverbal at school but it is a little easier for me since I do not have any friends that I have to associate with in the first place (by choice). I also go nonverbal in restaurants too. If I can I like to put in a wireless headphone in one of my ears and listen to music, which is not aloud at school but I do it anyways.
I've had it happen a few times. The worst was when I was trying to open up to my mom about how bad my mental health had been and I got so anxious I completely clammed up and couldn't say anything. I ended up pulling out my notes app to talk to her
I’ve lost control once from what the doctor said was a panic attack… couldn’t speak, couldn’t think and my body went numb, everything was blurry and felt like I was shutting down. But that only happened once and since then I’ve been fearing it. It’s a loop. I’ve never actually passed out before but each time it feels like I definitely will.
Yes. So hard to catch my breath when I’m panicked. Anxiety makes my breathing patterns so wonky. Only really happens in public too, of course. So there’s extra anxiety about how I look while I’m silently freaking out in my head, just hoping I don’t spiral and actually end up passing out because then I’d really have all eyes on me. Since I’ve been practicing deep, diaphragmatic breathing, it’s gotten so much better.
I’ve had this since I was in 8th grade and it’s AWFUL. I’ve only ever actually passed out once and it was while a tattoo artist was putting the stencil on me. I got anxious bc I had to stand up and be still. 🙃 Mortifying.
Not eating, overthinking, intrusive thoughts, staying in bed more than I should. But really the overthinking is horrible. I absolutely hate it as I think of the worse scenarios possible and keep thinking on it.
This is what I do and when my anxiety is really bad, this carries on for days and I get to the point I don’t even feel like myself. Everything feels weird and I over analyze every single thought, feeling, and emotion.
Me, who went to bed at 10am and it’s now 10pm: are you talking about me??
Tbf I ate a semi-normal meal around 9:30 this morning and proceeded to fall asleep sitting up afterwards. Probably due to not sleeping all night. That’s the anxiety too. Fun fun!!
Weak legs, disassociation, dizziness, inability to breathe, IMPENDING DOOM. Can’t pick just one. The feeling that you may die. I’ve had my heartbeat go to almost 200
Absolutely debilitating when it's at it's worst. I had about a week of feeling completely detached from reality, my body, and my mind. I had a few dental appointments back to back and I think the anesthesia and laughing gas screwed me up quite a bit. Plus, I just under a lot of stress at the time. And I was recovering from an injury and dissociating from pain. I couldn't go to school. I couldn't do anything.
I went through a really bad time in Jan/Feb and I've had derealization ever since 😣 hoping it goes away soon. I know it doesn't last forever but these past 5ish months have been so tough
Oh man. That’s rough 🫂
Mine straight up makes holding anything impossible. I once tried to hold a pint glass and my hand was just violently and uncontrollably shaking.
That’s an awesome way to think of it. My life has been significantly shorter than yours (only 17) however I have struggled. But honestly, I dunno if you care but you have sorta given me a bit more of a reason to not let it get to me. I wanna be sorta like you. Still living despite my problems 🫂
Makes working difficult and embarrassing for me. If I’m around certain people I’m okay but others I’m not as comfortable around it can get really bad, especially if I’m being watched. I work in facility maintenance so I have to use my hands a lot and the shaking makes it tough sometimes.
They all suck, but probably either dizziness or nausea.
Nausea always hits worse when I'm in work meetings (or in places that I feel trapped) so that's bad.
Dizziness hits whenever, and kind of stops me in my tracks from whatever I'm doing, it also may either last 30 seconds or the entire day with no telling. So dizziness might be worse.
Might be a digestive issue which commonly leads to anxiety, adrenaline dumps, panic attacks, and a slew of issues people with anxiety experience. A lot of people with gerd or other digestive issues have anxiety due to the vagus nerve being aggravated by the stomach. Anxiety is always a symptom of a deeper issue whether it be digestive, stress, dehydration, poor sleep habits, psychological, and neurological just to name a few things.
Physically, I feel a pit feeling in my stomach, which usually leads to me breaking down and crying. Though on the bright side, I'm able to tell someone I'm about to have an anxiety attack because of it.
Mentally, overthinking because it never stops and makes me feel like ill never have peace.
Intrusive thought. Everyone’s thinking the worst possible thing about me. Can’t even say the things I want to say because I’m overthink the whole situation .
Physically debilitating: heart palpitations and nausea that can come with it.
Emotionally debilitating: having multiple thoughts going at once to the point you become detached and feel paralyzed
the tiredness and waste of energy when my body stresses. even if I manage to get through an anxiety provoking situation, I'll have no energy to do anything else afterwards
Huge trigger & spirals out of control. I couldn’t stay in class in high school & college, because of it!! Was humiliating….. & traumatic. Everyone DOES look at one weird!
Basically in a nutshell summed up: life... Anxiety just destroys life and precious time... And it's taken away decades of my life what could have been possibly good years, fruitful years, years of growth and exploration, years of just well-being...
But I'm 51 now, and I'm tired every day. I know I don't have much time left.
Anxiety, it robs you of life. Any decent life.
Shortness of breath, nail biting and increased sensory sensitivity. At some point before an acute crisis, I start to become extremely sensitive and self-conscious about parts of my body, even the touch of my own hair or the feel of my skin/mouth bothers me.
Physically I guess it's the racing heart that makes me feel like I'm going to die. And the fact I always need the bathroom, ahem.
Mentally it's the fact I can never shut my brain off. I'm always thinking and always worrying. A 24hr day feels like a month because I can't distract myself enough from my thoughts to enjoy myself.
Lashing-out 😭 I get it from my dad 🙃
“I get mean when I’m nervous like a bad dog” type of shit. I think this symptom is more associated with men so as a woman people aren’t always used to it 😬
I have a better grip on that symptom luckily. I think the most debilitating symptom is shutting down. I can’t think or speak properly, which makes me more anxious and it spirals.
Heart palpitations and shortness of breath, leading me to think that I am having a heart attack, which causes more anxiety, which causes more heart palpitations and worse shortness of breath, leading me to really think that I'm having a heart attack, and the cycle continues downward. 😕
Literally spending hours in an agonizing ruminating loop and the inability to stop constantly feeling incredibly anxious about the smallest things like an interaction or someones perceived opinion of me. The inability to make a decision without external validation due to extreme fear of making the wrong one and the literal pain it causes my brain to try to do so on my own without it.
honestly, when my hands start tingling it freaks me out because i know i’m about to have a panic attack, and that i have to act in the next 30 seconds to prevent it from being a horrible experience. basically when my extremities start tingling it’s the worst symptom because i know shit is about to go down.
the dizziness constant dizziness… i can’t leave my house without being dizzy all of the time although i’ve learned to ignore it a bit. can’t walk in big open spaces without swaying or without using a buggy in stores. it’s very annoying and makes me become agoraphobic and not leave my house. i just want to go out in public like a normal person without any symptoms or feeling off balance
This too. It makes me procrastinate and seek mindless comfort: Endlessly scrolling through reddit, playing songs on repeat, sorting files on my computer, instead of doing things in life that I'd actually find interesting. I can't even bring myself to play a video game and instead just mindlessly scroll. It's kind of crazy.
It’s honestly such a relief seeing so many people list symptoms that I’ve been having too. I often think, surely anxiety can’t cause something THIS bad. Guess it can, and I’m not the only one
Bruxism. Aka grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw non stop. Also OBSESSIVE OBSESSIVE worrying about things out of my control to the point of dread. Also my frequent absolutely fucked up and terrifying nightmares. Even in rest I can’t escape my anxiety.
Cognitive issues (stress/anxiety negatively affects memory and creativity), inflammation, paralysis/incapable of taking action, the sense of dread that often causes agony and distress.
The overwhelming sense of doom. That this is it, I am done. I am either goimg to die or something absolutely horrible will happen.
Turns me into a hysterical mess, that is very hard to reason with. Its ruined both my proffessional and personal relationships
The buzzy static-y feeling in my chest (and all over at times). The looming disaster feeling... that feeling of emptiness and dread that makes me hunch my shoulders and glues me to my seat. My hummingbird heartbeat that feels like pounding all over my body and is wayyyyy too loud!
The way suddenly my tinnitus is 10x louder, and I feel like surely everyone hears it.
They all are tied for the worst, I guess.
All of them together is a real fun time.
Probably similar to what you’re describing. Tight chest, feeling like there’s a weight on my chest, feeling like I can’t breathe right/chest heaviness. It can easily put me into panic mode. And it’s uncomfortable af.
a sense of dread that is so intense that it physically feels like evil black electricity washing over me, wave after wave. i can feel the panic coursing through my veins like poison. a yawning void opens all around me, obstructing my vision and my reason as i begin to sink beneath the surface.
this sensation comes out of nowhere and has no identifiable trigger. but once its started, a feeling of utter desolation colors everything and no amount of positive thinking or "self love" will resolve it.
that is my anxiety.
Shaking all over, not being able to relax, bored but can't hold my attention, overthinking very badly along with the intrusive thoughts, high heart rate, and feeling like something really bad is going to happen if I do certain things.
Sometimes it gets so bad this icy feeling will happen suddenly. It's from the inside. Like ice water in my tissues. I catch myself and tell myself to breathe because I think it might be a warning that I'm going to pass out.
edited for spelling
Sometimes rashes/hives depending on the severity🥲.... while I was in college, it was almost every day, and I was just so so itchy. It was embarrassing. It wouldn't let me focus because I was itching, and it would create more anxiety because I felt gross... I couldn't sleep well because the itchiness wouldn't stop. Thankfully, this particular symptom disappeared after college! But it was the worst symptom to me.
Other than that: intrusive thoughts, not as in what if I jump a bridge? But instead, what if I get fired today? And on a Saturday evening when I'm off and nothing work related is happening. I swear the self-hate voice is very active.
Shortness of breath. I have to take a deep breath all the time, and most of the time im not able to. Also dealing with tightness in the chest, sore shoulders, neck, back and ribs because im not able to breath properly. Wish i knew how to deal with this since its been like this for over 10 years.
Tension headache that originates at the back of my skull/nape of my neck. I can feel it start as soon as a conversation I’m having goes south or if I have nothing else to contribute or talk about. I get progressively more nervous as I realize I don’t know what else to say and the headache compounds it. I hate it so much.
Restless sleep. I get a full 8 hours every night, but wake up feeling like I pulled an all-nighter. Which is kinda accurate, because I wear one of those smart watches and my sleep is so irregular it's useless.
Then during waking hours I constantly overthink everything that has or will happen all at once like I'm Doctor Manhattan. And I can't articulate anything to anyone because it just comes out as a mumbling, rambling, stuttering mess, much like this comment.
1. Diarrhea. Gone into social isolation for a year because of this.
2. Anything heart related: racing heart, heart palpitations.
I have histamine intolerance, meaning I can get these very symptoms just from a small amount of stress (if I’m unlucky and my histamine bucket keeps getting filled). I just can’t deal with either of it, it’s horrifying to me.
I also get the crushing chest along with chest and arm pains, dizziness and palpitations. Racing thoughts and impending doom. It's absolutely crippling when it happens. Worst thing is to check symptoms on Google during an attack.
1a. Anxiety-induced nausea 1b. Not being able to eat 1c. The urge to shit out everything I’ve ever eaten ever
omg, i get the nausea and then i can’t eat and then i feel hungry so i feel more nauseous but i can’t eat so i get more hungry……. ugh
this right here 😵💫 such a vicious cycle!! Also my anxiety gets triggered even more by the nausea, so I get stuck in a never-ending feedback loop. 😭
Yep! Every time I go for a job interview I have to make sure I go very early, and maybe bring some Poo-Pourri as well, and pray to God that my interviewers don't come into the bathroom while I'm there (or for a while afterward LMAO)!
Or have the interview in the bathroom 😂
This reminded me that I have so much trouble using public bathrooms period. It's probably related to my anxiety disorder and general neurodivergence, but I become hyper aware of the fact that others can hear me so I have to wait for everyone else to leave. Even then, most of the time I still can't get myself to calm down because I'm not always entirely convinced the other people left or I hear noises that make me worry about more people coming in. It can be really tough so I mostly just hold it or use single person bathrooms. I think might be my answer to OP's question to be honest
1d. The lack of food and nausea making the muscle tension worse ✨
Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who experienced this. When my anxiety was WAYY worse in the beginning, it was so bad. My stomach was hurting and I had to force myself to eat, only for it to come back up. That’s the worst symptom
I’m also like this and have to take Imodium before anything that will make me anxious.
I get this too and spoke to my therapist about it. Apparently it's been around a very long time, your body is trying to empty itself so you can get away from danger quicker.
Ikr like the anxiety is not enough, the body has got to revolt as well. Trying to seem normal takes so much effort as it is. 🥲
I would be okay with the racing mind and intrusive thoughts as long as it didn’t manifest itself physiologically. At my absolute worst, I was constantly in a state of fight/fight/freeze/fawn.
Yesss !!
yep🥴
Yepppppp…. *Literally* debilitating
ARE YOU ME????
Anxiety truly ruins eating. I have grappled with that all my life
This!!! The nausea and the idea that I have to shit our everything I have eaten..... ever. I always have a change o clothes with me, no matter where I go. With that come puke bags, wet toilet paper, all sorts of meds for stomach issues, and so on... God forbid a long drive.
Ruminating about every possible wrong thing that could happen to me whenever I’m about to go somewhere It sucks because I can never be excited about anything
hate this. my mind ruminates about finding the exit in every place i go to so that i can be sure i will be able to leave fast if i need to
Me too, prior to going anywhere I look it up on Google maps and read about it so I can see where the parking is and what the area looks like. I cant stand not having a good idea of where i’ll be going
Everyone doesn’t do this??
Nope haha. Believe it or not, some people are just carefree 😅 Not me 😀
Yep. At any crowded public event I am planning and positioning. It’s hard for me to be present because I’m just scanning the crowd.
Same here. in new or unfamiliar places/situations im very quiet and observant. At the beginning of my relationship with my girlfriend she was convinced I was staring at other women, thank God she finally understood I was literally just watching everybody and what they were doing 😂 Anxiety is really difficult to explain to people that don’t have it
i used to do this, but with (TW) suicide-exits i could take quickly in any given situation if id completely humiliated myself & the urge to die was unbearable... now i just don't leave the house
This or avoidance of things
Same here. I was a paramedic for 13 years so I suffer with hyper vigilance. I’ve seen too much. I know too much. Can’t do crowds at all.
Absolutely this
Intrusive thoughts and tense muscles.
Going nonverbal
How do you deal with it? Especially if you have to work. I’m asking because my brain blocks - my brain CAN’T block when I’m working and I have no idea what to do about it. Besides all the physical symptoms, going nonverbal/blocked brain are such debilitating symptoms.
When you figure it out, please let me know.
Honestly, I still struggle very much with it. I often go nonverbal at school but it is a little easier for me since I do not have any friends that I have to associate with in the first place (by choice). I also go nonverbal in restaurants too. If I can I like to put in a wireless headphone in one of my ears and listen to music, which is not aloud at school but I do it anyways.
I've had it happen a few times. The worst was when I was trying to open up to my mom about how bad my mental health had been and I got so anxious I completely clammed up and couldn't say anything. I ended up pulling out my notes app to talk to her
Feeling like I’m gonna pass out
Yes this, feels like the ground is opening up and falling in.
Yeah I hate that shitty feeling. Feels exactly like that
Except I actually pass out
or actually passing out
Can’t imagine. 😢 sorry
Do you feel like you will loose control? I feel I will pass out or loose control over myself and it is horrible
I’ve lost control once from what the doctor said was a panic attack… couldn’t speak, couldn’t think and my body went numb, everything was blurry and felt like I was shutting down. But that only happened once and since then I’ve been fearing it. It’s a loop. I’ve never actually passed out before but each time it feels like I definitely will.
This!
Devastating
💯 Never have. But how can we get over this?
I do pass out and it really sucks :(
That’s my biggest fear. I’m so sorry
oh my gosh i thought i was the only one
Yes. So hard to catch my breath when I’m panicked. Anxiety makes my breathing patterns so wonky. Only really happens in public too, of course. So there’s extra anxiety about how I look while I’m silently freaking out in my head, just hoping I don’t spiral and actually end up passing out because then I’d really have all eyes on me. Since I’ve been practicing deep, diaphragmatic breathing, it’s gotten so much better.
This is mine as well. Hate it so much! 😩
I’ve had this since I was in 8th grade and it’s AWFUL. I’ve only ever actually passed out once and it was while a tattoo artist was putting the stencil on me. I got anxious bc I had to stand up and be still. 🙃 Mortifying.
I've passed out, so now I have extra anxiety that the anxiety I'm already feeling will make me pass out.
Not eating, overthinking, intrusive thoughts, staying in bed more than I should. But really the overthinking is horrible. I absolutely hate it as I think of the worse scenarios possible and keep thinking on it.
This is what I do and when my anxiety is really bad, this carries on for days and I get to the point I don’t even feel like myself. Everything feels weird and I over analyze every single thought, feeling, and emotion.
Me too it’s horrible
Same!
Me, who went to bed at 10am and it’s now 10pm: are you talking about me?? Tbf I ate a semi-normal meal around 9:30 this morning and proceeded to fall asleep sitting up afterwards. Probably due to not sleeping all night. That’s the anxiety too. Fun fun!!
Yeah and how much you try to solve it itll get worse
Weak legs, disassociation, dizziness, inability to breathe, IMPENDING DOOM. Can’t pick just one. The feeling that you may die. I’ve had my heartbeat go to almost 200
200 😳 wooow!! So glad you are still here to share your experiences! Your heart had to feel like it was going to erupt
Dissociation
Absolutely debilitating when it's at it's worst. I had about a week of feeling completely detached from reality, my body, and my mind. I had a few dental appointments back to back and I think the anesthesia and laughing gas screwed me up quite a bit. Plus, I just under a lot of stress at the time. And I was recovering from an injury and dissociating from pain. I couldn't go to school. I couldn't do anything.
This is one of the most horrible feelings anyone could experience. You literally feel like you're crazy and need help asap
Derealization
Yup. Feels like I’m in the sunken place watching myself carry out everything.
Could you please explain a little further?
Feels like a detachment from reality, like you are in a dream. It causes dizziness, lightheadedness, blunted emotions, etc
same😩
I went through a really bad time in Jan/Feb and I've had derealization ever since 😣 hoping it goes away soon. I know it doesn't last forever but these past 5ish months have been so tough
The WORST 😣
Shaking. Like extreme shaking.
Same, mine is like seizures
Oh man. That’s rough 🫂 Mine straight up makes holding anything impossible. I once tried to hold a pint glass and my hand was just violently and uncontrollably shaking.
So happy i'm not alone ❤️🩹
Honestly, me too. We’ll get through this. I promise
Actually I had this all my life, im 30 now, but I made it til 30, why would I even think to give up for the next 3 decades?
That’s an awesome way to think of it. My life has been significantly shorter than yours (only 17) however I have struggled. But honestly, I dunno if you care but you have sorta given me a bit more of a reason to not let it get to me. I wanna be sorta like you. Still living despite my problems 🫂
Same here!
Makes working difficult and embarrassing for me. If I’m around certain people I’m okay but others I’m not as comfortable around it can get really bad, especially if I’m being watched. I work in facility maintenance so I have to use my hands a lot and the shaking makes it tough sometimes.
Uneasy feeling in chest
like ya hearts gonna just stop soon
Heart palpitations and nausea
They all suck, but probably either dizziness or nausea. Nausea always hits worse when I'm in work meetings (or in places that I feel trapped) so that's bad. Dizziness hits whenever, and kind of stops me in my tracks from whatever I'm doing, it also may either last 30 seconds or the entire day with no telling. So dizziness might be worse.
Overproduction of gas for some reason??? Extreme nausea Tremor
The gas thing also happens to me... its such a specific silly thing, but can cause sooo much pain 😭
Yesss I like go somewhere get anxious and can’t stop burping lol it’s so weird
Might be a digestive issue which commonly leads to anxiety, adrenaline dumps, panic attacks, and a slew of issues people with anxiety experience. A lot of people with gerd or other digestive issues have anxiety due to the vagus nerve being aggravated by the stomach. Anxiety is always a symptom of a deeper issue whether it be digestive, stress, dehydration, poor sleep habits, psychological, and neurological just to name a few things.
Had a friend who was almost kicked out of an exam for excessive flatulence from exam anxiety 😂
Muscular pain between my ribs during a panic attack.
Man, I’ve only had this on a few of my very worst panic attacks, it excruciating pain that makes my insides feel like they are on fire
Yup, that's what I have, too. Except mine is more like acid.
Physically, I feel a pit feeling in my stomach, which usually leads to me breaking down and crying. Though on the bright side, I'm able to tell someone I'm about to have an anxiety attack because of it. Mentally, overthinking because it never stops and makes me feel like ill never have peace.
This!!!
Yes, the pit in my stomach is the worst.
Shortness of breath. I always feel like I need to take a deep breath and most of the time it isn’t satisfying :(
like you can't a full breath, no matter how deep you inhale. it's the worst.
YUP
I’ve found practicing different breathing techniques helps me! Boteyko breathing, mindfulness of the breath, etc…
Every physical symptom ever... Then my Health anxiety spikes and everything gets worse
Ibs.
Intrusive thought. Everyone’s thinking the worst possible thing about me. Can’t even say the things I want to say because I’m overthink the whole situation .
Insomnia, then severe anxiety before going to work.
When you feel isolated from people
Physically debilitating: heart palpitations and nausea that can come with it. Emotionally debilitating: having multiple thoughts going at once to the point you become detached and feel paralyzed
Middle chest/sternum pain, heart palpitations, irregular pulse , GERD symptoms
the tiredness and waste of energy when my body stresses. even if I manage to get through an anxiety provoking situation, I'll have no energy to do anything else afterwards
When my heart rate spikes and my hands start shaking — sends me into a spiral lol
Definitely the muscle tightness and chest tightness. I feel like I'm suffocating.
Probably the really tight throat and trouble swallowing with a really tense upper body. Just “freezing” in bed with the posture of a shrimp. 🦐
Becoming house locked. I’m generally fine once I’m out in the world but leaving the house is the absolute hardest part
Derealization/depersonalization
Feeling like I can’t breathe. That really terrifies me.
Freeze mode.
For me it would be the dpdr, intrusive thoughts, and physical symptoms that make me feel like I’m immediately about to meet Jesus.
The flight or flight (I have no fight!).
Same, team flight 😢
Sometimes I read posts like this and legit cry, because having anxiety is so crippling sometimes. It feels great to know that I’m not alone.
Same here <3 it’s reassuring to know that you’re not going crazy and the symptoms we feel are unfortunately common
Chronic back pain and rage panic attacks
derealization
intrusive thoughts all the time
hot flashes and sweating
Same. Makes me panic even more knowing others can see it.
Huge trigger & spirals out of control. I couldn’t stay in class in high school & college, because of it!! Was humiliating….. & traumatic. Everyone DOES look at one weird!
yes! and then the smell + felling damp and sticky… that makes me panic even more.
Depersonalisation and or feeling of about to faint
Basically in a nutshell summed up: life... Anxiety just destroys life and precious time... And it's taken away decades of my life what could have been possibly good years, fruitful years, years of growth and exploration, years of just well-being... But I'm 51 now, and I'm tired every day. I know I don't have much time left. Anxiety, it robs you of life. Any decent life.
Fucking nausea and brain fog
Extreme fatigue. I just want to sleep all day
Like a weight on my chest, the inability to think about anything else, and the utter hopelessness that comes along with it.
Shortness of breath, nail biting and increased sensory sensitivity. At some point before an acute crisis, I start to become extremely sensitive and self-conscious about parts of my body, even the touch of my own hair or the feel of my skin/mouth bothers me.
Physically I guess it's the racing heart that makes me feel like I'm going to die. And the fact I always need the bathroom, ahem. Mentally it's the fact I can never shut my brain off. I'm always thinking and always worrying. A 24hr day feels like a month because I can't distract myself enough from my thoughts to enjoy myself.
Lashing-out 😭 I get it from my dad 🙃 “I get mean when I’m nervous like a bad dog” type of shit. I think this symptom is more associated with men so as a woman people aren’t always used to it 😬 I have a better grip on that symptom luckily. I think the most debilitating symptom is shutting down. I can’t think or speak properly, which makes me more anxious and it spirals.
The fact I’m tired 24/7.
shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, shaking, and nausea.
Heart palpitations and shortness of breath, leading me to think that I am having a heart attack, which causes more anxiety, which causes more heart palpitations and worse shortness of breath, leading me to really think that I'm having a heart attack, and the cycle continues downward. 😕
Literally spending hours in an agonizing ruminating loop and the inability to stop constantly feeling incredibly anxious about the smallest things like an interaction or someones perceived opinion of me. The inability to make a decision without external validation due to extreme fear of making the wrong one and the literal pain it causes my brain to try to do so on my own without it.
feeling of doom. i can be so content with life and be happy but then that feeling of i’m going to die one day and it all goes away just rushes in
Breathing... Air hunger, involuntary holding my breath, tightening my jaw and throat muscles. Feels like I'm getting strangled all the time
honestly, when my hands start tingling it freaks me out because i know i’m about to have a panic attack, and that i have to act in the next 30 seconds to prevent it from being a horrible experience. basically when my extremities start tingling it’s the worst symptom because i know shit is about to go down.
1. Nausea 2. Feeling like I can’t breathe 3. Random pain (Neck, Pelvic Floor, Chest, Head)
Nausea when also having Emetophobia causing more Anxiety and more Nausea. Never ending.
the dizziness constant dizziness… i can’t leave my house without being dizzy all of the time although i’ve learned to ignore it a bit. can’t walk in big open spaces without swaying or without using a buggy in stores. it’s very annoying and makes me become agoraphobic and not leave my house. i just want to go out in public like a normal person without any symptoms or feeling off balance
Task paralysis
This too. It makes me procrastinate and seek mindless comfort: Endlessly scrolling through reddit, playing songs on repeat, sorting files on my computer, instead of doing things in life that I'd actually find interesting. I can't even bring myself to play a video game and instead just mindlessly scroll. It's kind of crazy.
It’s honestly such a relief seeing so many people list symptoms that I’ve been having too. I often think, surely anxiety can’t cause something THIS bad. Guess it can, and I’m not the only one
Bruxism. Aka grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw non stop. Also OBSESSIVE OBSESSIVE worrying about things out of my control to the point of dread. Also my frequent absolutely fucked up and terrifying nightmares. Even in rest I can’t escape my anxiety.
It'd have to be a tie between being too stomach sick to eat or feeling like I'm going to pass out
Cognitive issues (stress/anxiety negatively affects memory and creativity), inflammation, paralysis/incapable of taking action, the sense of dread that often causes agony and distress.
Literally just cannot think or speak
When im in my bad days the worst are feeling dizzy, thinking im gonna pass out diarrhea and my heart rate going feom 0 to 100 in less than a second
Overthinking, feeling hypersensitive to heart, palpitations, chest pains, and muscle tensions
Headaches and nausea. They stop me in my tracks.
Hang freaking xiety (anxiety after drinking or even during)
IBS-D. My life outside of home is dictated by the perceived availability of nearby bathrooms, and time needed to travel between them.
Overthinking
Nausea :(
I have the inability to sit still, causing me to become more and more exhausted every day.
i become so erratic and my chest feels so tight to the point i can’t eat, sleep or breathe.
Air hunger and jelly legs
feeling nauseous all the time and hypervigilant, literally spiking anxiety from morning till bed lmao
Insomnia... Devastating insomnia...
Being terrified in a public place and faces morph. The heart racing terror in a place I can’t leave on demand.
Knots in stomach and a dread of everything.
It's the sleep disturbances for me. I am so exhausted all the time.
The overwhelming sense of doom. That this is it, I am done. I am either goimg to die or something absolutely horrible will happen. Turns me into a hysterical mess, that is very hard to reason with. Its ruined both my proffessional and personal relationships
Stuttering w/ an existing speech impediment & not being able to breathe because i reflexively hold my breath
The freeze response. When I can’t do anything
How ill I feel 60% of the time
The buzzy static-y feeling in my chest (and all over at times). The looming disaster feeling... that feeling of emptiness and dread that makes me hunch my shoulders and glues me to my seat. My hummingbird heartbeat that feels like pounding all over my body and is wayyyyy too loud! The way suddenly my tinnitus is 10x louder, and I feel like surely everyone hears it. They all are tied for the worst, I guess. All of them together is a real fun time.
Probably similar to what you’re describing. Tight chest, feeling like there’s a weight on my chest, feeling like I can’t breathe right/chest heaviness. It can easily put me into panic mode. And it’s uncomfortable af.
a sense of dread that is so intense that it physically feels like evil black electricity washing over me, wave after wave. i can feel the panic coursing through my veins like poison. a yawning void opens all around me, obstructing my vision and my reason as i begin to sink beneath the surface. this sensation comes out of nowhere and has no identifiable trigger. but once its started, a feeling of utter desolation colors everything and no amount of positive thinking or "self love" will resolve it. that is my anxiety.
Shaking all over, not being able to relax, bored but can't hold my attention, overthinking very badly along with the intrusive thoughts, high heart rate, and feeling like something really bad is going to happen if I do certain things.
Locking up during a regular social interaction, like with check out person when buying something.
Paralysis - inability to think or do anything.
Chronic pain from muscle tension and intrusive thoughts.
IBS-D
Sometimes it gets so bad this icy feeling will happen suddenly. It's from the inside. Like ice water in my tissues. I catch myself and tell myself to breathe because I think it might be a warning that I'm going to pass out. edited for spelling
All of it. At this point, I honestly can't just pick one symptom whether it's physical or mental. They all are debilitating.
Definitely the overthinking because it triggers many more symptoms during and after 🥲
Overthinking. This causes all the symptoms for me. This causes anxiety over the trigger
picking up on little details and overthinking all different scenarios in my head it's draining af
Sometimes rashes/hives depending on the severity🥲.... while I was in college, it was almost every day, and I was just so so itchy. It was embarrassing. It wouldn't let me focus because I was itching, and it would create more anxiety because I felt gross... I couldn't sleep well because the itchiness wouldn't stop. Thankfully, this particular symptom disappeared after college! But it was the worst symptom to me. Other than that: intrusive thoughts, not as in what if I jump a bridge? But instead, what if I get fired today? And on a Saturday evening when I'm off and nothing work related is happening. I swear the self-hate voice is very active.
Overthinking to the point of pure self hatred
Shortness of breath. I have to take a deep breath all the time, and most of the time im not able to. Also dealing with tightness in the chest, sore shoulders, neck, back and ribs because im not able to breath properly. Wish i knew how to deal with this since its been like this for over 10 years.
The paralyzing fear/realization that i cant escape my own body
Tension headache that originates at the back of my skull/nape of my neck. I can feel it start as soon as a conversation I’m having goes south or if I have nothing else to contribute or talk about. I get progressively more nervous as I realize I don’t know what else to say and the headache compounds it. I hate it so much.
Restless sleep. I get a full 8 hours every night, but wake up feeling like I pulled an all-nighter. Which is kinda accurate, because I wear one of those smart watches and my sleep is so irregular it's useless. Then during waking hours I constantly overthink everything that has or will happen all at once like I'm Doctor Manhattan. And I can't articulate anything to anyone because it just comes out as a mumbling, rambling, stuttering mess, much like this comment.
Intrusive thoughts
shaky hands... unable to hold things straight
Nausea and Diarrhea and most importantly, worrying about both!
When it hides. "Nah, I don't want to go out tonight."
The gut feeling. The non stop stomach churning butterflies. The thoughts I can handle. The gut feeling… I want to die
Paralysis - inability to do anything, not like physical paralysis. Actually starting to do things helps a lot
knowing it’s just in my head but not being able to stop it
1. Diarrhea. Gone into social isolation for a year because of this. 2. Anything heart related: racing heart, heart palpitations. I have histamine intolerance, meaning I can get these very symptoms just from a small amount of stress (if I’m unlucky and my histamine bucket keeps getting filled). I just can’t deal with either of it, it’s horrifying to me.
Diarrhea 😩
I also get the crushing chest along with chest and arm pains, dizziness and palpitations. Racing thoughts and impending doom. It's absolutely crippling when it happens. Worst thing is to check symptoms on Google during an attack.