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Can anxiety cause hand tremors?

I am a 25 year old female.  This past six weeks I have noticed that I have developed hand tremors.

I have been through an extremely stressful period since summer, but those situations have calmed down now, and my tremors have come on since the stress eased off.

I am reasonably healthy and cannot see a reason for this to start happening.  Is it possible that the stress and anxiety that I have been through could have manifested itself in my hands (and what feels like my arms)and make them shake?  I feel like I am picking things up and moving them about as if I was extremely nervous.  I also feel like I can feel the blood pumping through my upper body as my heart beats and I am constantly tired.  I haven't had to stop doing anything.  I have full feeling and can type/write etc perfectly fine.

I am driving myself crazy noticing every little abnormal movement and twitch.  I saw a doctor and she said it was like my mind was that tired/fatigued that my body has decided to do something about it.  Could this be true?  And will my symptoms ever go away?  At the moment it seems like I will be living with them forever.  I just want to be normal again and stop shaking.  Please help.  Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
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Avatar universal
Hi if u have any feedback or answer pls share with me as I'm totally same condition like u , my name is Bernard email me pls ***@****
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Avatar universal
Ijust came through this post.I known its the worst situation and the last thing you want to happen.
I never knew these much people are facing this problem. I think i can help you. But i need to know the symptoms and the reason for that.
You may call/text me on +917 907 830 254
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1 Comments
Same, till i got it myself 5 months ago, it first started with waking up with an racing heart and it got more frequent so went to a doctor and he prescribed me metroprolol and good lord it worked every night. Been using it the last few months without waking up in the middle of the night. Then one night i woke up and i forgot to take it, i had the worst attack ever that night and after that i got so depressed, i didn't sleep at all at night i was awake till morning and then i would go to sleep on the couch.
Now i'm taking oxazepam to help me sleep, but soon the doctor will stop giving me them and now i'm using citalopram 20mg and don't suffer from the horrible side effects it can give, still waiting for them to work cause it's only been 3 weeks and they only start working after 4-6 weeks.
This morning i had another symptom of anxiety, it was the worst one i've ever had. My whole body became cold as ice and my heart was racing so badly and all i could think of was this is it, i'm going to die.
It stopped after 15min, i got very warm/hot and my heart was calming down.
Now i'm trying to find what this was, cause my doctor has no clue! and that makes me even more scared but he assured me it was probably nothing and didn't really mean that it could be dangerous.
18141057 tn?1463300972
I have the same thing  shaaaaaky hands so bad heart poounding   afraid all the time
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Avatar universal
First stop think about anxiety and listen song walking talking friend and kick anxiety after take medication 1.5 year
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hi i am 60 and have fibro mi-alga and rheumatoid arthritis have had many surgery's due to the r/a all replacements but the last 2 to 3 months my hands and fingers are so bad it is almost like i am punching something my hands  are out of control the doctor has done blood tests i am waiting for that but even typing this has been fixing letter after letter because i have no control to stop it so it is good to read what everyone is saying and i can get the doctor to check things he probably wouldn't check otherwise  
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Avatar universal
I had a huge fight over the phone with my brother in early 2012, at 2 in the morning, after drinking coffee all night. It was a really stressful situation because business was involved, and I remember being so upset that I could have punched through steel. I went to bed, only to wake up a couple hours later with my teeth chattering slightly. I was super anxious and freaked out in general. The teeth chattering thing made me more anxious which made me start searching Google... which lead to more anxiety (I know all of you do that, but you won't talk about it here, because even mentioning the things you find scares you).

I've had non-stop anxiety ever since that night, and I have panic attacks in the early morning (usually 2-4 am), and sometimes nightmares which, in their content, aren't very scary, but which scare me half to death. My hands shake when I do things like raise my index fingers up off the keyboard and hold them up. If I try to do yoga, my arms get really shaky and I have to quit. I have plenty of strength to lift weights, but after doing so I'm super shaky. I can't stop and I'm afraid I never will be able to :( I also get muscle spasms when I'm really anxious. They're usually in my left arm or chest (fluttering as mentioned above), and sometimes in my eyelid muscles, and once in a while in my quad muscles. The more I worry or the more caffeine I drink the worse they get. I have to drink caffeine to stay motivated because I work on a computer all day (not exactly exciting), so it's a catch-22.

I did take Lorazepam in 2012 about 6 months after the anxiety started. That helped tremendously in the short term (couple months), BUT your body quickly begins to acclimate to benzodiazapines (which is what Lorazepam is), so eventually you have to increase your dose. After increasing from the lowest dose (half a 5mg pill in the morning and half at night) to a slightly higher dose (1 5mg pill in the morning and half at night), I began noticing that I was acclimating even more quickly, which caused me to have more anxiety (I know, right?), so I quickly waned myself off of the pills (took another month to do), which resulted in way worse spasms and anxiety, because unfortunately the reason Lorazepam works so well is because it dulls your senses, which results in heightened senses when you get off of it. For people who have taken it for years, I hear it's a living nightmare to try to get off of it. In other words, I wouldn't recommend this stuff for anything other than getting rid of a panic attack (like, to use 1 time per week or less - any more will lead you into the same rabbit hole).

I haven't tried much else, but that's because I have a hard time finding any good advice and I hear almost nothing good about any of the meds out there (Xanax seems to be the closest thing to "maybe I should try it" for me, but I've yet to do so). I don't know what to do. If somebody handed me a 1 million dollar check, my anxiety would be gone. I suspect the same is true for a great many of you who stress day in and out about money. I make good money (more than 150k/yr), but that only makes my anxiety worse. When I made less money (~40k/yr) I was way less stressed out, not because my job was easier (it wasn't), but because I didn't feel so much pressure to continue doing so well. I have so much fear because of "moving up in the world" (it's not really moving up - it's just running faster on the hamster wheel), and what I really want is financial freedom, the ability to take time off when I want, the ability to not stress, etc., but unless that happens I feel like I'm stuck in a spiral that will lead to me falling apart :(

Lessons for those whose anxiety is largely due to social pressure and finance:

1) Don't try to make more money - it's a trap
2) Try to find a way to do less while making the same money
3) Have fun doing the things that you did "back in the good old days"
4) Stay on top of everything
5) Seriously, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. IT MAKES EVERYTHING WORSE
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Avatar universal
Good Luck and God Bless everyone who has this issue.
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Avatar universal
I completely know where you are coming from. I am 28 and have been experiencing social anxiety over the past year, however mostly for staff/student meetings at work. I am really good at my job, but somehow I feel I am going to sound stupid so I begin this overwhelming fear in my meetings.  It gets so bad that my neck is extremely tense and I have a tremor/jerk.  It is so embarrassing and makes me hate myself.  I can't explain myself to people when I have such high anxiety.  I just wanted to say that I know what you are experiencing; however, I have not found anything to help me YET!   I am seeing a therapist for cognitive based therapy; however, everything is easier said than done!  

Good luck and my hope is that it goes away for you!   It's hard to enjoy life at times because of this overwhelming social anxiety!  
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Avatar universal
Meditation helps great with the anxiety, I recently got really bad treamours and have started to train to be a chef, holding a knife can be a ball ache or even just carrying things. Hope i'm in the right carrer,as I do enjoy it :), I also wonder if littleomlette got over the tremours as this post is from some time ago, would be nice to know.
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Avatar universal
You might want to consider going to psychiatrist it might help with the tremors i have them as well but  am only 14 years old. but yeah good luck
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Avatar universal
i m also suffering from this problem. Take Ayurvedic medicine ASHVAGANDHA, it will surely help you to get over it
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Avatar universal
Have you recovered now..iam looking forward forward for some tips..
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Avatar universal
does meditation help you..even iam in similar trouble..
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Avatar universal
Tis the green dragon of Anxitey blow out its fire with your water cannon of might.  Go forth now brave warrior you shall succeed!!
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Avatar universal
Hi

Have you tried doing yoga. It works wonders for anxiety. It clears the head and make you feel you have a purpose in life.

Preferably do it in the early hours of the morning. But, before you start on your own I advice you to learn it from a yoga trainer. They have specific exercises for it.

I have had the same problem for years. How ever mine are related to my financial problems that arose after divorce. Insecurities are the reasons for anxiety.

All the best try it.

Jill
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Avatar universal
i went to doctors, but they said its just tension and not a disease. they gave me medicine but it didn't work. many nights, i can't move my body and feel that there is so much load on my body. it continues for 10 to 15 minutes. and also i feel that my heart is beating so fast many times when i do my usual works. it looks like some day my heart will come out of the body.
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Avatar universal
I am a 26 year old female and have been experiencing hand trembling, loss in appetite, constantly worrying and heavy heart beats almost daily for the past few months. You cant help but wonder if it is serious and whether it will become more exaggerated and permanent. I am convinced it is related to anxiety and stress. Being only in my twenties, it is really frustrating to experience - as I would think that I would be able to handle my stress better at this age. I have been through some difficult times but I dont believe they have been extremely bad experiences... should be manageable..  I first started experiencing these symptoms when I was really upset over a particular situation.. and now - I feel  like I continue to have anxiety and hand shaking over silly daily incidents that stress me.. I get annoyed with myself for reacting this way.. But I must say - it is comforting to know that I am not the only one! I shall try to meditate and bring a routine to my lifestyle - to help both manage current and avoid future attacks.. (the exercise tip is on my future to do list :S).. I am consciously making the effort not to resort to medication or alcohol as a means of relaxation!

Good luck to everyone on the same boat! :)
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Avatar universal
Have you ever been seen by a doctor for your tremors?  They have medicine that aids in stopping tremors (beta blocker).  I would ask about it.  
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Avatar universal
hye friends, i have all these experience too. please help.
i m a 22 year old engg student. its all happening for 4-5 years. i cant write even my name on a paper. my hands tremble so badly. the worst experience was when i went to the bank, and i was asked to sign a paper just for a formality, but my hands were trembling so badly that i was unable to write my name. i was feeling so shameful. and in college, everywhere i go, i have to write my name and enroll no, but i always wait for my friends, and think that, they will write my name when writing their own names. please help, i m suffering a lot.....
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Avatar universal
I also suffer from hand shakes due to anxiety. It comes on with issues of thinking of failure and I get it during certain situations at work. I have come to the conclusion that I do have an anxiety disorder b/c it's like you have no control over your hands when it begins. It's frustrating b/c you want it to go away, but it doesn't. It's something I have been dealing with for the last 4-5 years and I have done everything I can to control it, but it still comes on when I get anxious or nervous. I like this message board b/c it lets me know I'm not alone w/ this issue. I am going to try to the deep breathing technique to calm me down when it comes up again and see how that works. However, I will tell everyone this - this is a challenge and don't ever give up on yourself. If you work at it you can control it. Thanks for all the posts to everyone!
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Avatar universal
I am currently going through stomach issues and when I start to worry because I am constipated or have diarrhea, I start web md everything and find the worst possible things associated with the symptoms. Which caused more and more anxiety which lead to more constipation and diarrhea.  I was prescribed lorezapham for anxiety and today was my first time taking it because the anxiety got so bad worrying about my stomache.  All this anxiety started a month and a half ago... I was working out at the gym and got done about two hours later( I had a lot of caffeine and workout drink prior to my workout). As I was on my way home I felt like I needed to take a deep breath and then it all started I had heart palpitations that felt like my heart was coming out of my chest.. I felt dizzy, I went home drank lots of water and juice thinking maybe I had defeated myself.... The sypmtOms went down a little but not enough to make me feel comfortable so I went to the hospital and had a ex ray on my chest, echo cardio gram, EKG and all came back normal... I even went to a cardiologist and he said I was fine.  All blood work came back normal.  I followed up with my doctor and he did more blood work and all that was normal... I was referred to a neurologist because of the tingling and burning sensations I was feeling.... MRI of my head came back normal and my neck had a slight herniated disk in the c5-6 area which was prob causing the arm pain and tingling.  After all that I felt more at was but the anxiety symptoms still where bothering me.  Last Friday I got a little bit upset about some things and ever since that my stomache has been going from constipation to diarrhea so I went to see a diff doctor and got my appendix, more blood and urine samPle done and all came back normal.  The doc told me to take milk of magnesia and to flush my system out.  Well took the milk of magnesia and it caused me to have diarrhea.... Once again I started web md things and now I have an appointment to the gastronolgist.... Once I'm done here I will be certain that this is all anxiety and will help me overcome it a lot better. I'm 26
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Avatar universal
Hello. I have had trembling hands and upper body, coupled with a heavy heart beat/pulsing blood.I sleep OK but start shaking etc a short while after waking up. I also have a nervous tummy every morning. I have just come through the worst years of my life with drug/alcohol abuse and high stress levels. I haven't abused anything now for 2 years and have been having psychotherapy. My therapist and GP both say I am suffering from anxiety. My body is exhausted because it has been in a high state of hypertension for so long. I find it frustrating that now my life has balanced out and there is no longer any serious stress going on, that I am suffering this trembling. I am fearful of social situations (not great as I attend AA and work full time).

I am grateful to have found these posts because I have been feeling isolated  and terrified that this is the start of a serious illness (my Grandmother died through Parkinson's disease). I've had blood tests and get the results this week, but I kinda know that this is anxiety, even though I am not anxious in my head. What a strange feeling this is...and so illogical! This should be the start of a new and fulfilling life but instead I'm a trembling mess. I just hope I can accept that this is just how it is right now and patiently wait to recover. I have read all your comments about medications and am worried about side affects. I take propranolol but would like to do this for myself without drugs (probably because I want to be totally clean from chems of all types).

Does anyone else feel like this? Does anyone else feel frustrated and angry that being clean and sober brings its own problems?

Thanks to everyone
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Avatar universal
I have the exact same thing as you mentioned i am 21 female and i suffer from panic attacks, these have stopped now but i keep getting this shaky feeling in my hands. when i hold things such as a fork it shakes and i dont know whether i feel its getting worse cause i am aware of it now.
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