Is it normal with Anxiety...

[mousekidd]

Hello I'm a 16 year old girl currently suffering from mild depression and anxiety.
I also know i may have a gastric infection as well (i am being tested for H Pylori) but i have some symptoms i am not sure about.
Part of my anxiety is hypochondria involving panic attacks, but i feel anxious 24/7. I had being suffering from memory problems, speech problems, headaches and dizziness not long after my diagnosis and i was convinced i has a brain tumour (i know that may sound 'far fetched' but the symptoms fit and i was unable to convince myself otherwise). My belief of a brain tumour was driving me mad and aggravating my anxiety until the point that i would have emotional breakdowns at least twice a day, so my doctor booked me in for a CT scan, which -as everyone told me it would- came back clear.
But i have this mysterious constant pain in my left arm, and occasionally in my right arm, sometimes in my chest - to go along with the persistent pain at the back of my neck and high back (possibly from tension). The pain in my arms and chest will sometimes disappear if i'm doing something worth of my attention to highest extent. I know it most likely isn't anything heart related as i am only 16 years old, but i can't 'not worry about it'. I am to fearful to tell my family as they were already frustrated with me and my never-there brain tumour, i know they would sigh and roll their eyes (and more than anything i hate causing trouble for people).

It's just that, i can't get better when I'm constantly anxious. It's getting to the point in which i am scared of going to sleep at night because i may never wake up (and i don't know why i believe this).

So, are these pains a symptom of anxiety? or of H pylori? or something else all together?

[mousekidd]

thankyou for you help, i found this really comforting. My heart has been the biggest culprit to my anxiety lately. the palpitations scare me, as they are there all the time - i feel them especially when i wake up in the morning. shaking my whole body, and uneven. My muscles also seem to have a numb feeling to them, expecially on my face. But i could go on forever with this - sometimes i just want to get everything investigated rather than everyone saying 'its just your anxiety' because i am never going to believe them - i feel like just yelling at my family and doctors to tell me that it's definatly not what i believe it is, but they all tip-toe around it and treat it like it is nothing - it may be nothing to them but it is ruling my life.

I had the worst panic attack of my entire time with anxiety last night - i scratched all my arms up so now there all bruised, and like my family didn't even see it coming?

But thankyou for your help, it's comforting - and it helps keep my attention, if nothing else.

[christ58]

I can relate with your experiences with anxiety, at one point in my life, seeking a doctor's advice became a monthly habit for me because my mind was so entangled with various hypotheses for this or that pain, I suffered from constant brain fog, 7/24 heart palpitation, intenseified pain all over my body etc.. Investing your attention on having a good time, focusing on your mood changes, exercising, socializing etc. all these are emotionally beneficial. To some, it has become a survival technique. You don't need to worry about death, there is nothing to fear except fear itself. You need to accept your anxiety to free yourself from its chains, now I know this may sound very hard and impossible but take gradual steps each day and preferably work with a psychologist.

[beentherealready]

the pain in your arms and chest is from anxiety.  The anxiety makes you tense.  Sort of subconsciously, your blood veins and arteries constrict, less blood goes to the heart and that causes the pain.  It is NOT a heart attack, the reason it gets better when you get involved in something that takes your attention, is that for those moments your anxiety lessens.  Anxiety won't cause a heart attack, in the same way that you can't hold your breath until you suffocate.   At some point the body takes over from your emotions and prevents death.   You cannot think yourself into dying.   So when this happens again, do something or go somewhere.  I speak from experience because I used to have your symptoms all the time, even slept fully dressed, with shoes, on top of my blankets with the telephone in my hand so I could call 911 in the middle of the night.  Eventually, I figured out that I wasn't going to have a heart attack.  My 2 biggest clues were the fact that all symptoms went away when I was actually busy doing something, and also the fact that my symptoms tended to happen at certain times every day. (heart attacks do not follow a schedule).    Go to a health food store and buy a homeopathic remedy for Anxiety, it will help.