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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. Anxiety almost always comes with a level of disturbing thoughts. You might be driving with your children and then get a flash thought of losing control and driving into an oncoming car. Another example is looking down from a bridge and suddenly getting terrified by the idea that you might lose all control of your senses and jump. If you experience such thoughts, I want to reassure you that, regardless of how extreme, don’t worry about them. They’re the result of an active imagination coupled with anxiety and, often, something or
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Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. During a panic attack, some people are prone to believe they’re going to lose control. This feared loss of control can be physical (e.g., that all your vital organs will completely lose the run of themselves and descend into chaos) or emotional/mental (e.g., that you’ll lose your grip on reality). Those who hate social embarrassment tend to suffer from this fear the most. The feared loss of control could range from screaming in public to picking up a knife and killing the nearest and dearest person to you (not that we
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Click play to hear Barry explain this anxiety sensation. It’s understandable to fear you may be going crazy when you suffer from an anxiety disorder. There’s so little real public awareness of mental disease, so people often jump to extreme conclusions. These conclusions are usually based on misinformation and an overactive imagination. The most commonly known mental health issue is schizophrenia—the word itself strikes terror within the average person. Schizophrenia is a major disorder characterized by severe symptoms such as disjointed thoughts and speech, babbling, delusions or strange beliefs (for example, sufferers often claim they’re receiving messages from an inner
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Are you dealing with exhaustion, fatigue and feelings of malaise on a regular basis? High levels of anxiety and frequent panic attacks could be to blame. Many people who experience the unusual sensations associated with panic disorder soon learn that the physical effects of the adrenaline boost experienced during a heightened state of anxiety can take their toll on their energy levels. Anxiety is simply a response to a danger or threat, and we all experience varying levels of anxiety throughout our day based on what our brain and body is sensing is happening to us. We’re all equipped to
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For many people who experience panic attacks and anxiety on a regular basis, intrusive thoughts become a part of day-to-day life. What if I get a panic attack in the middle of the grocery store? Why am I worrying about such strange things? What if I lose control of mind? Intrusive thoughts can come and go all day long at the most random moments of the day and take their toll on your stress levels. You might have difficulty concentrating, and react with a jolt every time you think a worrying intrusive thought. Just remember that you are not losing
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