Colds/Flu and Anxiety

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Sometimes people who are making good progress with their anxieties experience a setback when they come down with either a head cold or the flu. The reason for this is because, as the body wards off the cold or flu, it makes the people feel drained and vulnerable. To people with anxiety, this can feel unnerving because it may remind them of how they felt during an intense spell of anxiety. Colds and flu also come with an almost claustrophobia-like sensation of being congested up in your head. Try to remember

Read more

IBS and Toilet Phobia

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. There are a number of different phobias related to the toilet, but here I’m going to discuss one of the most common: the fear of not getting to the toilet on time. No one should feel ashamed of this problem; it’s common and can be overcome. This fear is almost always connected to social embarrassment, and it rarely happens in situations where other people are not around. Anxiety can give people the impression that they have a weak bladder. When anxious, they may need to use the toilet several times. In

Read more

Tingling Sensations

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. When panic attacks begin, people often feel a tingling sensation in their body. The medical term for this is paresthesia. More generally known as the feeling of pins and needles, it’s a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin, and it has no apparent long-term physical effect. Paresthesia is most commonly felt in the hands, arms, mouth, and feet. Don’t be alarmed; this is perfectly natural to experience in connection with high anxiety.

Read more

Weak Legs/Jelly Legs and Anxiety

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Anxiety creates the sensation of weak or “jelly” legs. When anxious, adrenaline is released into your body. The adrenaline can make sensitive people feel very weak in their muscles—especially the leg muscles, because they’re supporting the body. You often hear people say that when they have to stand up and speak, they go weak at the knees and fear they might topple over. It’s important to note, however, that the jittery sensation you may feel in your legs is not a signal that your legs are any weaker—they’re not. In fact,

Read more

Blurred Vision and Anxiety

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. When frightened or anxious, the pupils in the eye dilate quickly, and this can sometimes cause blurred vision. Blurred vision can also occur when looking quickly between near and far objects, because the pupils change dimension. Blurred vision is also often caused by fatigue or when the eye muscles start to lose elasticity with age. Even though anxiety can frequently cause instances of blurred vision, it’s important to visit your doctor for an eye checkup. For example, if the blurred vision occurs with a discharge, it may be conjunctivitis and need

Read more

Anxiety and Headaches

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. If you experience high anxiety or stress, it’s very likely that you also experience headaches, or even migraines. Some describe their headaches as dull pain or a tight band around their heads. A migraine is usually experienced in more severity, sometimes associated with sensitivity to light, sound, and movement. The most common of all the various headache types is a tension headache. This is caused by a tightening of the muscles in the upper back, neck, and head. Many cite anxiety as a major trigger for this type of headache. Researchers

Read more

Panic Attacks and a Fear of Heart Attack

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Here’s a typical scenario of getting anxious about your heart: “While sitting at my desk, I was feeling edgy, and I could feel my pulse rate increase. I kept working, and then I felt pins and needles going up my left arm. I immediately thought to myself, “I’m having a heart attack.” Literally seconds later, my heart was racing. I then looked around to see if there was anyone at the office. I was by myself . . . I really thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. Knowing

Read more

Nausea/Fear of Vomiting

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Anxiety has a direct impact on the abdominal region. It can make people feel anything from a mild jittery sensation (butterflies in the stomach) to physically sick. Most people tend to get more anxious when they imagine they might vomit, and that worsens the sensation of anxiety, making it all the more likely to happen. The fear of getting sick makes the situation worse. This fear is driven by thoughts like this: What if I get sick right here and now? What would I do? What would people think of me?

Read more

Choking Symptoms/Tight Throat with Anxiety or Panic Attacks

By Anxiety Symptoms

It is common to feel tension around the throat area during an episode of anxiety. This is caused by the muscles of the throat contracting and can give the person the sensation there is a lump in their throat. The medical term for this is globus hystericus. For people who experience this in association with eating, I find that it’s the thought of forcing a swallow that causes them to feel anxious. If you feel very uncomfortable while eating, the best approach is to simply chew your food and make no attempt to swallow. Just keep chewing. You’ll find that

Read more

Can You Faint From a Panic Attack?

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. When someone experiences high anxiety or panic, it’s very common to feel light-headed or dizzy. This sensation is alarming because it makes you feel very vulnerable. If you’re alone, you might fear falling in unconsciousness with no one to look after you. Or if the sensation happens in public, it can lead to feelings of vulnerability surrounded by strangers. The dizziness often felt during an episode of anxiety is caused by increased respiration. People tend to overbreathe, or hyperventilate, when they’re anxious, which can lead to dizziness or light-headedness. Dizziness can

Read more

Anxiety Breathing

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. It’s common for people with anxiety to mention fears about their breathing. Some feel that their breathing is very labored and shallow. These fears are almost always accompanied by a tight sensation in the chest or throat area. A frequent complaint is worry that they’re not getting enough oxygen or that they might stop breathing altogether and feel forced to take conscious control of their breathing. The chest or throat tightness that causes uncomfortable or shallow breathing is very common. It’s actually the chest and throat muscles that are tense, and

Read more

Depression with Anxiety

By Anxiety Symptoms

Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Depression is a very large subject. I will mention only how it ties in with anxiety. When someone has been feeling anxious for quite some time, the experience can become very frustrating and lead to feeling depressed. If you never suffered from depression before, but did so after your anxiety disorder began, then it’s most likely the anxiety that’s causing you to feel so down. Depression, in this context, is driven by thoughts of a future full of anxiety and restriction. A once carefree person feels bound. In addition to having

Read more

Do you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks while shopping, driving or at work?