Can anxiety cause aches and pains in your hands and feet?

Hi S2d and welcome.

I am sorry that you are dealing with anxiety and the fear of health issues at the moment.

Anxiety can certainly cause us physical reactions, and cause us to react to irregularities in our bodies...such as aches and pains, that are typically common in nature.

Determining what is our anxiety, our sensitivity to our body's normal sensations, and what is truly a medical issue can be extemely frustrating! Know that you are not alone in this, and that there have been many, many posts similar to yours.

Ask yourself this: "Have I in the past thought that I might have had a serious medical condition that turned out to be anxiety related...or a result of my anxious thinking?"

If the answer is yes, then what are the chances that this is a similar circumstance?

Have you sought help for your anxiety in the past? Did you find it helpful? Do your worries center around health anxiety, and if so, have you sought help specifically for this issue?

I ask, because I used to worry about every pain, twinge or 'off' feeling that I experienced. It turned into full blown health anxiety after a panic attack, and I suffered until I went through CBT for recovery.

I hope that you can find the answers that you need soon. Have you consulted with your doctor yet? If you can, get a check-up and if you are given a clean bill of health from a medical standpoint...then perhaps you can look into treating the anxiety.

Keep posting with us as well. We are here for you anytime...to listen and support.;)

Scaredy Cat

Okay, so it sounds like you have two issues that you need answers for...the h.p. and the pain in the extremities.

These are unlikely related, right? And the h.p. is not medically induced?

So I would definitely pursue the answers to both of these issues. If you can not get a doctor to take your hand and foot pain seriously...then perhaps a chiropractor would be able to tell you something? It could be nerve related perhaps?

But of course addressing the heath anxiety is also going to be a priority if you want to feel better in terms of the fear of impending illness and death.

With some perseverance and work, you can hopefully find all of the answers that you need.

Keep us posted!

S.C.

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is very effective in treating the wide variety of issues in the anxiety spectrum including health anxiety.

It basically teaches you how to change your thinking patterns and behaviors, since it is believed that our thoughts are directly related to our feelings.

We have a free on-line version in our Resources if you would like to get a feel for it...but if it is possible for you to see a therapist for sessions that would be great!

S.C.