HELP I can't stand my life anymore

I have GAD really bad and really bad dizziness. My life is tortured and a cruel life. Nobody understands the way I feel and never will. I have so many physical things wrong with me and doctors tell me it's not the cause of my dizziness. So I just go home to live my torchured and cruel life which consists of no life. If I take a valium or any of those drugs they just make me more dizzy and more anxious. I use to be such a happy and healthy person, now I'm a bag of trash ready to be thrown out. I have spine degeneration, bone spurs, liver problems, fluid around the heart, vestibular disorder which is a damaged nerve in my inner left ear. What kind of a life is that. I could live another 30 years like this if the stress doesn't kill me first. I cry everyday hysterically and the only thing that hears me is my cat trying to figure out what's wrong with this person, why was I sent here to live with this constant yelling and crying hysterically person. My husband that doesn't live with me he just thinks a mental person, yeah I am but you would be mental to if you lived a life like mine. Please respond you are the only ones that even care.

I have seen every doctor under the sun. Each doctor that I go to they find something wrong with me, but then thy say its not the cause of what I feel. Today i went to my ears nose and throat doctor for a follow up he said I look better and that my balance has improved, but then I asked him why am I still dizzy when walking and why does it get worse when my anxiety worsens. He wants me to have a MRI with contrast of my brain to make sure I don't have something going on like MS. I'm scared and he really freaked me out bad. I called my husband crying hysterically and he told me that what I'm feeling is all in my head. I screamed so loud with him I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the police on me. A few months ago I went to the cardiologist my EKG was fine but she did an echo cardio gram on me and she found fluid around my heart. I've had an ultra sound of my stomach and they found liver cysts. They x-rayed my spine and neck last week and I have bone spurs from c4 through c7 and there were other things wrong that I don't understand.

Doctors don't seem to think any of them are life threatening. I wish it was I wouldn't have to live like this. No they aren't going to do anything about it just more follow up appointments. They take my money but don't fix the problem.

I have a therapist and have a psychiatrist appointment may 6th. My therapist I explained what was going on with the dizziness and the really bad anxiety and she never heard of this before. She thought it was a mental problem.

Your 100 percent correct I think about the dizziness every day, every moment even when I wake up. It's not like I have a pain in my arm it affects everything I do especially if I have to walk from a to b. it's not like I have family or friends that really give to living craps bout me. I'm ignored like I have the plague. So my brain doesn't know how to think about anything else cuz I'm always in my head cuz I spend everyday all day with myself by myself.

Great conversation here guys...so much support and caring...I hate to butt in, but I have a couple of suggestions H.T.

First of all big hugs to you, and I am so sorry that you are feeling in such a low spot right now.

Can I suggest that you call your p-doc or therapist if you start to feel any worse? Even though you have an appointment on Monday, I would really want you to make an emergency call if you have any feelings of self-harm or dark thoughts. It is hard to get just how someone is feeling in a post...but I would rather over react, than under react...so I hope that I am reading more into your words than they are perhaps intending...but I am concerned...so please call if you need to!

Second, can I suggest that you check out this website? It is called Moody Gym, and I use is when I am feeling down and/or negative.

It has many exercises, one of which is changing what they call 'Warpy Thoughts' When I read that you say that no one gives a crap about you...that my friend is a warpy thought...and needs to be redirected into a neutral...or even positive thought. This is how we gain the tools to have freedom from anxiety and depressio!

Here is the addie...give it a try. The exercises can be done at home, it is free, and you can go at your own pace...there's nothing to lose.;)

https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

I am sending much encouragement, and hope that you will keep reaching out here..it is a great step in the right direction!

S.C.

WHY DOES ANXIETY CAUSE DIZZINESS?

There are 4 main ways that anxiety causes dizziness:

1. your anxiety may turn into a panic attack, which will cause an adrenaline rush. This will speed up your breathing and your heart rate and increase your blood pressure and your temperature. So many significant physical changes can overwhelm your body and leave you feeling dizzy

2. your anxiety, if severe, may cause confusion and disorientation. Confusion and disorientation, in combination with your anxiety, can lead to overwhelming dizziness

3. your anxiety may cause visual disturbances. This can lead to a “seasickness” type of dizziness where the world seems to move independently around you

4. your anxiety may cause you to breathe too quickly or too shallowly, causing an imbalance in the oxygen levels in your blood. This imbalance can affect the levels of oxygen in your brain and cause severe dizziness



What Does Dizziness Caused by Anxiety Feel Like?

A big part of dealing with any physical symptom of anxiety is becoming familiar with how it feels. This will help you recognize the symptom when it happens and find reassurance that it’s your anxiety causing the symptom and not something more worrying.

If your anxiety causes dizziness, here’s a list of what you might experience:

you feel as if your head is spinning
you feel faint
you feel like you might pass out
you feel like you’re going to lose your balance
you feel confused
you feel disoriented
you feel like the world is spinning around you
you feel like everything around you is moving too fast
you feel sick or disoriented if you look at moving objects
your dizziness gets worse when you move your head up or down


How to Stop Dizziness Caused by Anxiety

anxiety can cause dizziness in 4 different ways:

as a result of adrenaline released during a panic attack
as a result of disorientation and confusion during severe anxiety
as a result of visual disturbances
as a result of incorrect breathing

The first 3 causes are out of your control. Once anxiety gets bad enough to cause panic attacks, disorientation, or visual disturbances, the dizziness will almost always follow, and by that time it’s too late to stop. So you just have to wait for it to pass.

That’s the bad news.

But the good news is that dizziness caused by anxiety is almost always a result of the 4th cause: the incorrect breathing. That’s something you have the power to change.

There are 2 problems with the way you breathe when you’re anxious:

you breathe too quickly
you breathe too shallowly
Breathing too quickly is a very common problem with anxiety, and at its extreme becomes full-blown hyperventilation.

Breathing too shallowly is also a common problem with anxiety, but it’s one that most people aren’t aware of. Breathing too shallowly means you don’t take deep, full breaths. Instead, you take short, quick breaths.

The result of both of these breathing problems is that your levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide become imbalanced, and either too much or too little oxygen ends up in your system.

And that means you’ll probably feel dizzy.

There are 2 simple techniques you can use to overcome these breathing problems that lead to dizziness:

1. every couple of hours, take slow and controlled breaths for a couple of minutes. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, breathe out through your mouth for a count of 8. This controlled breathing will normalize your oxygen levels if they’re low

2. anytime you feel anxious, breathe slowly into a paper bag for 30 seconds. This will prevent your moment of anxiety from leading to shallow breathing, and your oxygen levels will remain in the normal range, hopefully preventing dizziness from happening

Remember to make use of both of these breathing techniques throughout your day, and your chances of experiencing dizziness will be reduced significantly.

Nobody gets it I have constant dizziness when walking with GAD disorder. Anxiety doesn't come with chronic dizziness. Last night I spent 1 hour or more on the phone crying hysterically and screaming at my not understanding husband. He's was saying things to upset me more, and he acted like it was a joke but I'm so anxious and stressed so bad I couldn't even take it. This morning I spoke with him briefly about it and he didn't even remember. I really need help and not a phyc ward and I shouldn't be alone everyday without a support system. Nobody should have to live life like this!!!!!!!!!!'

Joja...

Nice information...thanks for posting it! I am sure that many members reading this will be greatly helped by it.:)

S.C.

Hi Igm1942
Was your dizziness chronic when walking? I'm so discouraged and I feel my life has left me physically and mentally and I'm out of control. I just need someone to hug me and tell me everything is going to be ok. I have so many physical issues I feel the doctors don't know what they're talking about. When my anxiety is out of control I feel like I'm sinking into the ground. One of my doctors told me I had chronic subjective dizziness, which is the dizziness is caused by the anxiety. If you search this on the web there is no cure for this. I never thought my life would be such a waste, torchure and cruel from all aspects.

Hey Hardtime, welcome. You have got some great people already here reading your post. I cant top it only to say, what meds. are you taking? sometimes meds can make you so dizzy, even over the counter can do it. I look forward to hearing from you often. Its so great to know we can come here for help. I had a shock today that I am trying to deal with so my brain isnt working at its best......I am so happy you found the forum, you are family now........best regards....Cathy

Of all the symptoms of anxiety which I have experience up until this point, dizziness is one of the worst physical symptoms not only because of the obvious discomfort it brings but more so because it always brings with it more anxiety. Yup, it's a real pain in the tush, no sugarcoating there. What brings me some comfort though is that none of the dreary things going on thru my mind every single dizzy spell has happened.

I bet you have a food allergy, I had severe dizziness for a long long time, months and months, doc's couldn't figure it out, I had no fluid build up in my ears or anything physically wrong with me that they could see, mine was from stuff I was eating, anything with MSG, and even gluten or wheat, could easily be the problem for ya, not to mention those things can also be linked to anxiety.

I started juicing recently and doing nothing BUT consuming juice and water, I have to say, I haven't felt better in a long loooooooong time, but when you juice and remove foods from your diet, you will eliminate the problem food, and you have to discover through trial and error what foods you have an issue with.

Keep up with your doctors, keep practicing any and all anti-anxiety exercises that help you, but please consider allergens, so many people discount allergies or sensitivities that they go on living in pain and suffering without ever giving it a chance.

Good luck, Jessie.