Lightheaded/Dizzy and very sensitive to Movement

[srw2016 1]

Hello All,

 

I find that ever since this anxiety set in and took over almost two months ago, the physical symptoms are worse than the mental aspects.  I find that I'm very often dizzy and lightheaded and have back pain, tingly arms/legs, etc. 

The most bothersome for me is being so dizzy and lightheaded out of the blue!   How can I truly know (although I've seen 3 doctors) that it is not something else?  I'm also extremely sensitive to movement.  For example, if my husband moves in bed next to me, it makes my head feel wobbly/dizzy.

Does anyone else experience this symptom!?

[lonesailor14 653]

Hi srw2016

The dizziness/ lightheaded thing is probably the most common symptom people talk about. 

I too worried that it was something else, I mean, how can anxiety cause dizziness? I'm not even a stressful person! In the end I realised it was me worrying about the way I felt that was causing the stress and anxiety. The stress and anxiety in turn causes the symptoms. It's a perpetual circle of anxiety. In the end I stopped letting it frighten me. Actually I got angry at it. I don't know if it's dizziness or a lightheaded feeling but what I do know is it was a feeling that 'something' was going to happen. Like I'd faint or pass out. Even then I couldn't quite put my finger on just what this feeling was but it was a threatening feeling, that something was wrong with me and I may fall over or something. Eventually I got angry at it. As though it was a bully always there threatening and taunting me. I'd feel the feeling and add more fear by worrying about it. But now I'd feel it and think "stuff this! If it's going to make me faint, do it! I'm sick of this! I want to go out, I've got things to do, stuff this!" I'd give it 5 second's to do its worst. "Come on then! Do it!" I'd think. Nothing would happen. I was fine. This is how you can tell it's anxiety and nothing else. But you have to mean it. You have to be well and truly 'over it' & ready to face whatever it throws at you. Any shadow of doubt or fear & the anxiety will keep up. 

This funny symptom, as with any anxiety symptom is fuelled by fear. The more you let it bother you, the more you over analyse it and pay it attention, the more you fuel it. Like quicksand. The more you struggle, the worse it gets. If you turn the tables on it and allow it to do what it wants, feed it with anger or laughter, acceptance or anything but fear, it won't perpetuate. Eventually it will settle down and go away all together. Be willing to face it and let it do whatever it threatens to do. I assure you it is harmless. Just annoying. If a doctor said you're OK, believe it. 

It's hard at first but eventually you'll look back and think "I've been afraid of fainting for months and it's never happened". Or something similar. Then you'll have more faith that this is nothing to be afraid of. Then you'll be ready to face it. It may not be today, but one day, you'll be ready and you'll drop your guard about this feeling and then it will go away. 

In the meantime we're here at AC when you need more advise or just to vent?

[jonathan123 2368]

Hi There. Welcome to AC..

Dizziness is one of the most disconcerting symptoms of anxiety and one about which more people complain than any other. The mechanism of our balance is in the inner ear, and that is very much affected by tension, as are eyes.

How can I truly know (although I've seen 3 doctors) that it is not something else?  

Well, you have answered your own question. '3 doctors', that's how you know. These guys spend five years at medical school, years in internship and often many years in practise, but we still don't believe them. Anxiety is a real troublemaker that's for sure. You just have to trust their knowledge and advice. They can't afford mistakes and are extra careful these days.

'lonesalior' has said so much that she and I believe to be true. Like me, she really suffered and still, like me, has setbacks, but we both have learned how to cope so that its effect on our lives is minimal. Your temperament may be, as most anxiety sufferers are, liable to moments of anxiety, exaggerated by fear. But you can learn to manage those moments so that they no longer affect your life. One important thing to remember is never retreat in the face of anxiety. Never back off or run away in fear. You will only have to come back and do it again. FACE and ACCEPT how you feel. Acceptance may not give immediate relief but it eventually slows the flow of adrenaline and you begin to calm down. Look under 'Articles' at more on acceptance.

Being calm gives you the chance to reason and that's when you begin to recover. It's not easy; nothing in anxiety is easy, but with perseverance and hope in your heart it can be done. Good luck, and we hope to see you again.