Is it Anxiety that is ruining my life?

[wheresmyheadat]

Hi, I am new to this, stumbled across this after looking for help for my situation on the net....long story so bear with me....

About a month ago I got a really sore throat and had penicillin to help but after that I was left with a terrible cough/cold/blocked up feeling which i've had now for a month and can't seem to shake it. Really wot i'm asking is can anxiety make u ill cos in the weeks leeding up to my sore throat I was getting dizzy all the time and feeling faint.....can't get in to see my doc for 10 days.....I feel like I am going crazy and find my symptoms so embarrassing when they are at theie worst, and along with all that I still have this irritating cough/cold.....is this not going away cos of my anxiety? symptoms that I get are as follows:

"surges" in my head and/or chest when trying to sleep
can't get to sleep
heavy head feeling/feel very lethargic
sharp chest pains randomly
dizzyness
"shaking" head when walking, feel faint like I could collapse
ears feel blocked (is this anxiety or my cold?)
occasional heavy sensation in chest like I'm being pushed on
general headaches
"rush of blood" when I stand up
I'm eating as normally as possible but don't have my usual appetite

These all happens at different times but afternoons seem particularly bad and when i'm trying to sleep, also I dread driving any significant distance cos I get the weird head feelings and heavy chest.....

sometimes if I drink alcohol I feel better but sometimes I can still feel things and the next day I feel miserable.....

when I think back now over the past 6/7 years or so I can recall times when this has happened and it all makes sense but its never lasted this long before..... although I had a panic attack on a flight about 6 years ago(at the time I thought something was really wrong) and was ill for some time but I don't know if I was really ill or it was all anxiety......

Any help/advice you can give me would be appreciated.......

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

It is true that each of those symptoms could be caused by anxiety but it's also true that some of those symptoms could indicate a severe infection somewhere in your body and I strongly suggest that you have that investigated before you jump to the conclusion about anxiety. In the interim you can ask your doctor to experiment with Klonopin which will reduce the anxiety symptoms and help you and your doctor make a proper diagnosis.

[Jaquta]

Anxiety (and stress) can weaken a persons immune system.
I had an infection at the end of last year and I think it was mainly due to my anxiety.  Because I was stressed it also took a lot longer to recover.

I've heard that sore throats can also trigger ocd behavior.

It's possible that some of your symptoms were due to not feeling well.
Are you keeping well hydrated?

You definitely need a doctor's opinion.  It is difficult for a lay person to tease stuff out (and is really dangerous and inappropriate too).
You probably do have anxiety that needs addressing but then you possibly have physical stuff that needs working through too.

It may not be going away because you're stressed and run down.

J