Hi /adv/, I've been having some really bad pains in my body the last 6-7 months. They sparked up with my first anxiety attack, and have progressively gotten worse as time's gone on. The pain specifically radiates from my chest, shoulders, abdomen, and arms. This caused me to have my first anxiety attack in my life, and I was taken to the ER by ambulance. My first anxiety attack struck me so hard I believed it was a heart attack, and of course it was not. I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder, and well now things are a bit shaky in my life. I feel the pain constantly now, and it makes it terrifying to even consider working out. I want to get my life back together, as I've recently started a relationship with a great girl, and the last thing I need is to let simple aches and pains cause me to believe that I'm dying every time I get them. Doctors/Therapists have given me very superficial advice as to how to fix these problems, and have done precious little to help with the pain as it's the only real trigger for my anxiety attacks at this point. My general physician told me the first time it was muscle pain, and when I returned and told him it was consistently getting worse he told me possibly a neck injury/GERD. The former is unlikely to me, but I do have a soft point on my neck that could've been injured during weight lifting. The latter is possible because I have developed acid reflux problems since being diagnosed with anxiety. I've had tests run on my heart multiple times to confirm I was fine cardiac wise, but the pain still makes me paranoid.
I currently take painkillers to dull it, but this is only a mild solution as the pain is still present. Any advice on what is causing the pain, how to fix it, or how to manage it would be appreciated.
>>17006622
Hey man, GAD sufferer here. I haven't had GAD as bad as you're having in a few years now, but having a bad pain flare up from nowhere was very common and still occurs every now and again. I think you've got the order wrong: The GAD was already present before the pain made itself known.
Basically, what you are probably experiencing is real pain, but it's a response to your body's natural responses being all fucked up because of anxiety. If multiple tests proved nothing is physically wrong with you, then it's definitely anxiety. Heart attack false alarms are incredibly common with anxiety attacks, so I would think pains would fall under this category as well.
The closest things I had to what you're having were 1) a really bad neck pain for a day when my anxiety first became present and 2) repeated extremity numbness. Not as painful as what you're describing, but anxiety manifests itself in many ways.
tl;dr It's the anxiety man. Continue taking steps to alleviate your anxiety and I almost guarantee that pain will dissipate as well.
>>17006667
Thanks for the advice anon. My utter disbelief in the idea that it could be anxiety is just the fact that it's so new and terrifying to me. At least in the sense that it's never been this bad before.
The first experience I had was right after a weight lifting session, and it's always been on my mind of that happening again that same way. However you're most likely right, and muling over it and banging my head against the wall like a hypochondriac isn't going to do much good either.
I appreciate the advice, and I'll try and do more to be less apprehensive. Hopefully slowly work my way from all of these irrational fears I've been having.
Anxiety can mimic everything, it really sucks. I'd suggest going to a therapist, even though you might think don't need one. It does really, really help.
Try getting Oxys, Tramadol or Percocet and if the symptoms don't disappear, it's in your head.
Yeah, I suffer from panic disorder only recently within the last 9 months (depression for years). For the longest while I didn't even realize it was anxiety, just thought there was something seriously wrong with me.
I'd get muscle spasms, vomiting, etc. Took me months and a few hospital visits to realize I was physically healthy.
