Stress Center Peer Support

I am sitting at the computer at work and I just got this very blurred vision ad felt like I was whirling and it scared me sooo bad! I am now sitting here wondering what it was from and I looked up brain tumor symptoms and I am afraid that I have one. I also had a pain in my left leg that I have had for a while that isn't severe just sometimes annoying and I am afraid that it could be a blood clot. I was on this website that listed symptoms of a brain tumor and I have ALOT of them but they are also the same as alot of th anxiety symptoms. I want to think POSITIVE and notworry about this stuff. I was doing pretty good but this is horrible Can you relate? Thank you for reading!

Ethans Mommy - I am sure you are fine. We all have times when we will get alittle lightheaded and feel that we are whirling and dizzy. Then we start to worry and investigate. That is usually when we get ourselves into more trouble. I am sure we have all done it, but sometimes to much information is not good when you are already anxious. Just take a moment and make sure you are breathing deeply, because that to can cause the symptoms you explained. I used to mildly hyperventilate and feel the same. Enjoy you day, and know that you will be fine.

Hi,

I'm sorry. I know those symptoms aren't fun:(. I've had them numerous times, and they were from anxiety. I know when starting this program, they recommend that you have a physical, etc. to rule out physical causes. Once you get that taken care of, I think it's easier to talk yourself down out of the fearful state over body symptoms.

Well, I have some things that work for me now, but I'm not sure they work for everyone. My tactics make some people more anxious, so just see if it works for you. Also, depending on my level of stress, I sometimes revert back to my old ways, but at least I know what's going on.

I know the internet lists a lot of symptoms of anxiety as symptoms of other more dangerous problems, but the truth of the matter is that if you had a blood clot or a brain tumour, you would just have more apparent symptoms that would increase in severity over time. I get aches and pains all of the time, and sometimes, I say it's a blood clot. However, the truth of the matter is that my husband worked with a guy who had chronic problems with blood clots in his legs. The pain was very intense where he couldn't even walk, and his legs became huge, red and swollen. I also like to point out, that he lived with blood clots. He didn't die. It really usually is more obvious than we realize from reading a website check list. In addition, unless you have some type of health problem that puts you at risk, blood clots are very easy to prevent. Make sure you get up and stretch your legs every thirty minutes to an hour. Keep your feet propped up, and wear support hose. As far as the brain tumour goes, it really is the same thing. I don't want to scare you, and I am not a medical doctor, but you would probably have stronger symptoms that got more intense over time. I have an acquantaince that's recoving from leukemia, and needed a bone marrow transplant. Yes, there was one month where her gums were majorly swollen, and no one thought it was leukemia. However, within the next month, she had more severe and obvious symptoms. Her arm swelled up about five times its normal size and turned completely black and blue. I know that sounds scary, but here's the positive from that. It was obvious that something was wrong at that point and not just a little ache or pain or twitch. Secondly, knowing that it was leukemia after a month of experiencing more subtle symptoms did not hinder her chances for getting treatment and healing. She's been through a lot, but she is alive right now. I've often used her to put my anxiety into perspective. What I'm trying to say is that I can see the reality of her symptoms, and compare them to my symptoms from anxiety to see the reality of them being from anxiety.

So, at this point, it helps me to compare my symptoms from anxiety to someone who is experiencing severe and obvious health problems. I'm at a place where I don't run with what they have and interpret every twinge or dizzy spell as possibly being what they have though. That's why I'm saying it doesn't work for everyone. Some of us with anxiety start to take on the symptoms and that's not what I want to encourage. I just wanted to throw out my technique if it can possibly help someone.

I also want to add that I have a huge problem with a lot of public health commercials, etc. Yes, we need to be informed about heart disease, etc. However, using fear and alarm in those messages or on the internet sites to make someone think that they are going to die from every little ache and pain is completely inexcusable. It's not a good way to save lives. Most of the time, things are more apparent and obvious when something is terribly wrong.

Try not to beat yourself up for having symptoms of anxiety after doing well. It happens to all of us. Are you tired today? Did something stressful happen at work or did something stressful happen at home? There's so many possibilities. Look at all of your options instead of the worst case scenarios. As far as the worst case scenario is concenered. Try to calmly and rationally think about that if you can't get that out of your mind. If you did indeed have a blood clot, it would get worse with swelling, pain, etc. like I described. You would seek treatment at that point. If you had a brain tumour, you would get more severe and prolonged obvious symptoms. You would get the proper treatment at that point. It's not necessary to deal with how you would handle those possibilities because at this point, you do not fully express those symptoms. You have symptoms that could either be anxiety or those more severe options. You do know for a fact that you have anxiety, so that's the more rational option.

I'm just really a believer at this point in knowing that my body symptoms are usually the result of being tired or anxious. I also believe that body symptoms are usually a psychological distraction from something else that is stressing me out. I also have a son with severe autism, so I know that the truth of the matter is that no matter what happens to us in life, we never know for sure what we will do, how we will handle it, etc. Anxious people usually handle emergencies better than anyone too:). So, it's best just to do deal with reality. The reality is that you are feeling a little weird for some reason, and if you go through a check list, you will probably find less "dangerous" reasons for your body symptoms which could be physical such as being tired or emotional such as something relationally may be stressing you out.

Hope something I said helps in some way. How far along are you in the program?

Take care,
luvpiggy