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Posted 12/18/2012 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi. I've suffered from anxiety for years which has turned into health anxiety over the past year.
I find myself obsessing over pins and needles/ tingling feelings in my legs, arms and fingers.
I've thought I've had arthritis, MS etc.

A weird thing happened today though- out of nowhere the left side of my face felt numb.
It keeps coming an going.
It did it on sunday as well and I forgot about it until it happened again now.
The weird thing was I wasnt feeling particularly anxious at the time, could it still be anxiety?

I don't have panic attacks, I constantly feel a worried feeling though at the best of times.
Could this face numbness be anxiety even if I wasnt having an anxiety attack but just feel low/worried?

xx
Posted 12/18/2012 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
I have struggled with this too - the knowing whether or not your symptoms are in your head or if they are real. I think it could absolutely be caused by anxiety. I find that if I am focusing on a part of my body, the feelings (tingling etc) will get worse just because I am thinking about it, and then I will start to have weird feelings all over the rest of my body too.

I find it helps sometimes to go get checked out by a doctor if you have access, so then you can worry a little less about it
Posted 12/18/2012 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
I've been to the doctors so many times and Accident and Emergency, I always get sent away but the symptoms persist or get worse :(
Sometimes I just sit there and feel so tense. I completely get what you mean about not knowing if they are real or not. Its horrible. I feel like I'm loosing my mind.

But this has come twice now and I've been relatively calm both times. Do you think it could still be anxiety? Like subconsciously my minds giving me another problem cos i need something to worry about?
I even start to question weather I have anxiety or not cos I don't have anxiety attacks as such. I just worry constantly, I don't remember the last time I didnt feel an overwhelming sense of dread :(

I just wanna cry all the time and have constant reassurance. I hate who I've become.
I hope your okay xx
Posted 12/18/2012 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
I feel like i'm losing my mind sometimes too, I know exactly what you mean. And what you said about your mind giving you another problem to worry about makes total sense to me. I think I do that too. Even when I am feeling healthy and can stop having health anxiety, I will pick up another random phobia, its like I constantly need something to worry about, I can't just be happy and care free. I would classify worrying all the time as anxiety, some people don't get full blown panic attacks, its more a chronic level of worry and dread. Maybe thats whats going on with you and causing your symptoms. Wish I had some advice on how this could be dealt with :(
Posted 12/18/2012 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah its so horrible. The loneliness it makes you feel is the worst. I'm going to be attending counselling sessions from January. They're only an hour a week but at least its something. It couldn't come any sooner.

I also hope you can access the help you need. There must be a way out of this
Posted 12/18/2012 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks. Good luck with the counseling, I hope it helps!
Posted 12/19/2012 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
I just started a thread last week about numbness feelings myself. I was lying in bed and experienced out of no where a numbness type sensation even though I could fully move and feel everything (more a parasthesia then) and it was only the left side of my body, including my face. It sent me into an absolute panic & I was up the majority of the night restless. I went to the doctor the next day and got an evaluation as well as got checked out by the chiropractor and neither of them found anything. To ease my mind my pcp referred me for a head MRI and that is scheduled for tomorrow evening. I will keep you updated and let you know what the outcome of that is. I have a hard time distinguishing between my anxiety and something real. If the "what ifs" that get me. I currently go to a therapist once a week for an hour session (CBT) and I love it. Definitely a great place to start & it helps reduce stress just talking to someone! Best of luck!
Posted 12/19/2012 6:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi. Its so weird isn't it! The strangest part is that I wasn't particularly anxious at the time. I always feel worried at the back of my mind but I was still in one of my calmer moods, and like you.. it came out of nowhere. Do you think that subconsciously our minds are doing this to us?

I hope everything comes back okay tomorrow. I'm sure it will.

When I get a symptom I don't view it as it is, but my imagination kicks in and I think I'm going to end up disabled or really suffering. Thats the worst part. The symptoms on there own aren't even that bad, its what they might lead to that scares me.

Due to my anxiety, I spend a lot of time in doors/ sat down. This within itself probably causes a lot of the problems. Bad circulation etc. This might apply to you too.

Its crazy what our minds can do to us. I still can't believe that all these sensations are a product of my imagination. I know there not. Its so weird

I really do think something like anxiety is something you have to fight your way out of.
I plan on reading a lot of self help books and can't wait for my counselling to start.

Good luck to you too, thankyou for replying x
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