Anxiety? Something else?

[samb94]

I've had a whole slew of symptoms over the past month that have really freaked me out, including numbness/tingliness all over body (most noticeably in hands), shortness of breath, headaches. Now I'm even more worried as over the past 4 days the area of my face near the left side of my mouth has felt increasingly numb. I can still smile normally, but it feels like it's been shot with novacaine.

My doc prescribed me Xanax because she thinks a lot of my issues are related to anxiety but it hasn't resolved any of the symptoms in the long term. Does this sound like chronic anxiety or something more physically dangerous?

[TheLightSeeker]

Hmm, if you just started taking Xanax, its effects may have not kicked in yet.
To my opinion, it's a bit drastic to be prescribed a benzodiazepine drug, which is usually habit forming and comes with some possibly awful withdrawal symptoms, if you wish to discontinue it in the future.
Personally, I would first try some lifestyle improvements, optimize your diet, stay well-hydrated, eliminate anxiety/stress triggers, rule-out nutritional deficiencies
( magnesium, B12, vitamin D etc.) do some physical exercise daily,try breathing exercises ( normal breathing website), meditation, therapy, yoga, reiki, etc.
Best wishes,
Niko

[AnxiousNoMore]

There is zero physical danger and anxiety is not physically dangerous either - but it can be overbearing for some individuals. Since anxiety is frightening then it has you over-analyzing your body on guard for symptoms of danger, so you tend to think things are happening that aren't. Lots of people on this site have experienced the same thing, and you can read their stories if you wish to get an idea of how anxiety makes you think a physical thing is happening that doesn't.
The key to beating anxiety is accepting the diagnosis that it is just over-analyzing and the symptoms are non-existent - not easy for everyone but lots have succeeded.

You never over-analyzed in the past which is why you did not have the "symptoms" (although you could feel a numbness in the exact same spot back then once in a while but you paid no attention to it), so success depends on getting back to that thinking - if you can. Just thinking about that numbness you think you have makes me think the right side of my face seems to be cold - likely it isn't but  if so, then it was always that way. There is no way your entire body is falling apart to create all the "symptoms" that seem so real today, in such a short time so try to consider that you are safe and live your normal life to the fullest instead.