I hope that I'm not upsetting anyone by starting a new thread, but I think that this is imperative information for those who suffer from any kind of anxiety. I have pulled this list from a website, and it can be accessed easily by anyone, should they care to do the right kind of research.

My suggestion to all of you with anxiety, like me, is this:

Before presuming that you have any sort of rare (or not so rare) disease, take into account all of the other times that you believed you were ill and dying, and remember that you weren't. It's very easy to get Google'd here and fall into the same old anxiety trap. You have one symptom and before you know it, things have mutated and you have EVERY symptom in the book. Your mind is a powerful tool that can manifest all kinds of things when provoked by fear. Also, it is so easy (unintentionally) to be insensitive to the people that are here with valid reason. This is their community, not yours, but should you ever need to be here (and they all hope and pray that you don't) they will welcome you with open arms and heavy hearts. Mind your words and be respectful. Always see your doctor first. It has been said before that Dr. Google is worth what you pay him, and well, that's true. You're getting advice from a search engine, not a medical professional. Expect bad things to pop up when you do that.

Here's the list:

***Common anxiety symptoms include:

**Body (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the body in general):

Allergy problems, increase in allergies (number, sensitivity, reactions, lengthier reactions)
***Back pain, stiffness, tension, pressure, soreness, spasms, immobility in the back or back muscles***
Blanching (looking pale, loss of color in the face or skin)
Blushing, turning red, flushed face, flushed skin, blushing, red face or skin
***Body aches, parts of or your entire body feels sore and achy, feels like your body and muscles are bruised***
***Body jolts, body zaps, electric jolt feeling in body, intense body tremor or “body shake”***
Body temperature increase or decrease, change in body temperature
Burning skin, itchy, “crawly,” prickly or other skin sensations, skin sensitivity, numbness on the skin
Burning skin sensation on the face, neck, ears, scalp, or shoulders
***Buzzing sensation in the feet, toes, hands, fingers, arms, legs***
Chest pain, chest tightness
Choking
Chronic Fatigue, exhaustion, super tired, worn out
Clumsiness, feeling clumsy, co-ordination problems with the limbs or body
Cold chills, feeling cold
Craving sugar, sweets, chocolate, usual craving for sugar and sweets
***Difficulty speaking, moving mouth, talking, co-ordination problems with the mouth or tongue***
Dizziness, feeling lightheaded
Dizzy, feeling dizzy
***Electric shock feeling, body zaps***
Excess of energy, you feel you can’t relax
Falling sensation, feel like your are falling or dropping even though you aren't
Feel like you are going to pass out or faint
Feeling cold or chilled
***Feel wrong, different, foreign, odd, or strange***
Flu-like symptoms, general malaise, feel ill, like you are coming down with a flu
Flushed face, red face, flushed skin
Frequent urination
Hair loss, hair is thinning, or clumps of hair are falling out
Head Zaps
Heart palpitations, racing heart
Hyperactivity, excess energy, nervous energy
Increased or decreased sex drive
Infection - increased infections, persistent infection
***Mouth or throat clicking or grating sound/noise when you move your mouth or jaw, such as when talking***
***Muscles that vibrate, jitter, tremor, or shake when used***
***Muscle twitching***
Nausea
Nausea vomiting
***Neck, back, shoulder pain, tightness/stiffness***
Night sweats, waking up in a sweat, profusely sweating at night
***No energy, feeling lethargic, tired***
Numbness
***Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling***
***Numbness and tingling, and other skin sensations on hands, feet, face, head, or any other places on the body***
***Persistent muscle tension, stiffness***
Pounding heart, heart feels like it is beating too hard
***Pulsing or throbbing muscles. Pulsing or throbbing sensation.***
Red skin, skin looks like or is turning red
Rib or rib cage tightness, pressure, or feeling like a tight band around the rib cage
Sexual Dysfunction, sexual uninterest
***Shooting pains, stabbing pains, and odd pressures in the neck, head, or face***
Shooting pains in the face
Shooting pains in the scalp or head
Skipped heart beats
Sore or tight scalp or back of the neck
Startle easily
Sweating, uncontrollable profuse sweating
The floor feels like it is moving either down or up for no reason
Tightness in the ribs or rib cage area, may also feel like a tight band around the ribs or rib cage area.
***Tingling sensations, anywhere on the body, including the hands, feet, legs, arms, head, mouth, chest, groin area***
***Throat or mouth clicking or grating sound/noise when you move your mouth or jaw, such as when talking***
***TMJ***
***Trembling, shaking, tremors***
***Twitching***
***Unsteadiness, dizziness, feeling dizzy or lightheaded***
Urgency to urinate, frequent urination, sudden urge to go to the washroom (similar to urinary tract or prostate infection symptoms)
Warm spells
***Weak - feel weak, weakness, low energy, light, soft, like you may faint***
***Weak legs, arms, or muscles***
Weight loss, weight gain
Chest (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the chest area):

Chest tremors, trembling in the chest, chest feels like it is vibrating
Chest pain or discomfort
Concern about the heart
Feel like you have to force yourself to breath
Find it hard to breath, feeling smothered, shortness of breath
Frequent yawning to try and catch your breath
Heart Palpitations – beating hard or too fast, rapid heartbeat
Heart - Irregular heart rhythms, flutters or ‘skipped’ beats, tickle in the chest that makes you cough
Pounding heart, heart feels like it is beating too hard
Rib or rib cage tightness, pressure, or feeling like a tight band around the rib cage
Emotions (see mood) (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with emotions, mood, and feelings)

Fears (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with fear):

A heightened fear of what people think of you
Afraid of being trapped in a place with no exits
Constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
Fear of being in public
Fear of dying
Fear of losing control
Fear of impending doom
Fear of making mistakes or making a fool of yourself to others
Fear of passing out
Fear that you are losing your mind
Fears about irrational things, objects, circumstances, or situations
Fears of going crazy, of dying, of impending doom, of normal things, unusual feelings and emotions, unusually frightening thoughts or feelings
Heightened self awareness, or self-consciousness
Need to find nearest washrooms before you can feel comfortable
Need to seat near exits
Head (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the head):

Brain fog
Burning, itchy, tight scalp
Dizziness
Dizzy
Dizziness or light-headedness
Frequent headaches, migraine headaches
Feeling like there is a tight band around your head, pressure, tightness
Hair loss, hair is thinning, or clumps of hair are falling out
Head, neck or shoulder pain, tightness/stiffness
Head zaps, head tremors
Giddiness
Numbness
Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling
Shooting pains, stabbing pains, and odd pressures in the neck, head, or face
Shooting pains in the face
Shooting pains in the scalp or head
When you close your eyes you feel like are beginning to, or will, float upwards
Sore jaw that feels like a tooth ache
TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint) - clenching of the jaw or grinding of the teeth
Hearing/Ear(s) (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with hearing):

Feel like there is something stuck in your ear, that your ear canal it plugged or blocked, that there is a pebble in your ear that you can't get out
Low rumbling sounds
Reduced hearing, frequent or intermittent reduced hearing or deafness in one or both ears
Ringing in the ears, noises in the ears, noises in the head
Pulsing in the ears, throbbing sound in the ear(s)
Tickle or itch in your ear that you can't seem to get at
Mind (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the mind and thinking):

Afraid of everything
Altered state of reality, consciousness, or universe feeling
Brain Fog
Deja Vu, a feeling like you've done or experienced something before
Depersonalization
Derealization
Desensitization
Difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss
Difficulty thinking, speaking, forming thoughts, following conversations
Disorientation
Fear of going crazy
Fear of losing control
Fear of impending doom
Feelings of unreality
Frequent feeling of being overwhelmed, or that there is just too much to handle or do
Having difficulty concentrating
Nightmares, bad dreams
Obsession about sensations or getting better
Repetitive thinking or incessant ‘mind chatter’
Short-term learning impairment, have a hard time learning new information
Short-term memory impairment, can't remember what I did a few days, hours, or moments ago
Spaced out feelings, feeling spaced out
"Stuck" thoughts; thoughts, mental images, concepts, songs, or melodies that "stick" in your mind and replay over and over again.
Trapped in your mind feeling
Underlying anxiety, apprehension, or fear
You often feel you are carrying the world on your shoulders
Mood / Emotions (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with mood, emotions, and feelings):

Always feeling angry and lack of patience
Depersonalization
Depression
Dramatic mood swings (emotional flipping)
Emotionally blunted, flat, or numb
Emotional "flipping" (dramatic mood swings)
Emotions feel wrong
Everything is scary, frightening
Feeling down in the dumps
Feeling like things are unreal or dreamlike
Frequently being on edge or 'grouchy'
Feel like crying for no apparent reason
Have no feelings about things you used to
Not feeling like yourself, detached from loved ones, emotionally numb
Underlying anxiety, apprehension, or fear
You feel like you are under pressure all the time
Mouth/Stomach (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the mouth and stomach):

A ‘tinny’, ‘metallic’ or ‘ammonia’, or unusual smell or taste
Aerophagia (swallowing too much air, stomach distention, belching)
Burning mouth, feeling like the inside of your mouth is burning, or tingling, or like pins and needles, or all of these together or at different times
Burning tongue, feeling like your tongue is burning, or tingling, or like pins and needles, or all of these, or all of these together or at different times
Choking
Constant craving for sugar or sweets
Constipation
Diarrhea
Difficulty swallowing
Difficulty talking, pronouncing certain letters or sounds, mouth feels like it isn't moving right, slurred speech
Dry mouth
Feeling like you can’t swallow properly or that something will get caught in your throat
Feeling like your tongue is swollen
IBS
Lack of appetite or taste
Lump in the throat, tight throat, something stuck in your throat
Mouth muscles twitching/jumping
Mouth or throat clicking or grating sound/noise when you move your mouth or jaw, such as when talking
Nausea
Nausea vomiting
Nausea or abdominal stress
Numbness
Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling
Stomach upset, gas, belching, bloating
Teeth grinding
The thought of eating makes you nauseous
Tight throat, lump in throat
Throat or mouth clicking or grating sound/noise when you move your mouth or jaw, such as when talking
TMJ
Tongue symptoms - Tingly, “stretched,” numb, frozen, itchy, “crawly,” burning, twitching, “jumpy,” aching, sore, or swollen tongue (when it isn’t).
Urgency to urinate, frequent urination, sudden urge to go to the washroom
Vomiting
Skin (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with the skin):

Burning skin sensations, skin sensitivity
Numbness
Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling
Skin problems, infections, rashes
Sleep (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with sleep):

Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Frequent bad, bizarre, or crazy dreams
Hearing sounds in your head that jolt you awake
Insomnia, or waking up ill in the middle of the night
Jolting awake
Waking up in a panic attack
You feel worse in the mornings
Sight (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with sight):

Distorted, foggy, or blurred vision
Dry, watery or itchy eyes
Eye tricks, seeing things our of the corner of your eye that isn’t there, stars, flashes
Eyes sensitive to light
Spots in the vision
Flashing lights when eyes are closed
Your depth perception feels wrong
Touch (anxiety symptoms commonly associated with touch):

Burning skin sensations, skin sensitivity
Feeling cold or chilled
Numbness
Numbness tingling, numbness and tingling
Pain
Tingling, pins and needles feelings
Other anxiety symptoms are described as:
Being like a hypochondriac, muscle twinges, worry all the time, tingles, gagging, tightness in the chest, tongue twitches, shaky, breath lump, heart beat problems, head tingles, itchy tingling in arms and legs, and so many more.

In addition to these anxiety symptoms, you may also find yourself worrying compulsively about:
• Having a heart attack
• Having a serious undetected illness
• Dying prematurely
• Going insane or losing your mind
• Suddenly snapping
• Losing it
• Uncontrollably harming yourself or someone you love
• Losing control of your thoughts and actions
• Being embarrassed or making a fool out of yourself
• Losing control
• Fainting in public
• Not breathing properly
• Losing control of reality
• Choking or suffocating
• Being alone

These are some of the more common anxiety symptoms. This list isn't exhaustive.

NOTE: It's wise to discuss all new, changing, and persistent symptoms with your doctor to ensure that they are not being caused by some other medical condition, since there are many medical conditions that can cause anxiety- and stress-like symptoms. If your doctor has attributed your symptoms to stress and anxiety, you can feel confident that your doctor's diagnosis is correct. If you aren't confident in your doctor's assessment, you may want to seek a second and even third opinion. This way, you can feel confident that nothing more serious is causing your symptoms.

Anxiety symptoms can range in number, intensity, and frequency, with each person experiencing their unique set of anxiety symptoms.

Don't be your own worst enemy. Go see your doctor! And when he tells you not to worry, let it go and move on!

Wishing you all health and happiness,
MommyRissa

This is a wonderfully helpful post. Your efforts to help are really appreciated!

I hope that David will move it to the DIHALS forum.

Thanks taking the time to post this. The extent that anxiety can affect us physically is amazing.

Here is an article on cyberchondria...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswee...rchondria.html

However,MAJORITY of these symptoms are NOT caused by stress and could indicate a serious illness .
We all have a resposibility to report any new persistant changes to our gp.

Olly: I absolutely agree that there are many other diseases/ailments that can cause these symptoms and that no one should ever ignore anything worrisome. That's why I made sure to include the "note" that basically just reiterates what we both said. These symptoms are typical of anxiety and stress. Psychosomatic symptoms can be elicited through simply reading medical material. They often come with Somatoform Disorder, something I am no stranger too, and I promise you that everything on that list can be manifested by the mind. Of the 14 most common on that list (in a case study of 1000 patients over a 3-year period), only 16% were due to actual medical causes. A whopping 84% had no known cause and were most intense at the peeks of anxiety and stress. I should hope that if anyone were to take this to heart, it would the repeat offenders, those cleared of MND, who keep coming back with a bag of new symptoms once a week.

Rose: I'm glad to help if I can. I never understood that there were so many people constantly coming with the exact same symptoms over and over and over again. It's relentless and you all just continue to give, be it advice or a sympathetic ear or both. I hope David moves it back to the DIHALS forum too, but if not, hopefully, those who need it the most will find it. I loved the article on cyberchondria! This is quickly becoming an epidemic around the world. I looove my technology, but I wonder how people functioned way back when Google wasn't an option... Or before doctors had med school, and leeching was the preferred method of curing everything. I'm willing to bet that people would be much less willing to give in so easily to fear.

Great post! Thanks for sharing it, hopefully it will help.

There are a whole bunch of things on that list that are signs of some very serious and even potentially life-threatening problems, Rissa.

Not sure where you found it, but anyone with heart symptoms such as skipped beats, palpitations or pressure with shortness of breath has a fool for a patient if they assume anxiety. Those symptoms are call 911 now symptoms.

Sorry....but 400k people die each year because they ignore signs of heart attack. I've seen it too many times.

Notme,

I absolutely agree with you that there are things on the list that are indicative of serious illnesses. The list itself is from Anxiety Centre and it is for anxiety sufferers. It is only to show that during anxiety attacks, which can be short or long, the mind can cause the body to produce frightening symptoms. While no one should ever ignore chest pain or heart palpitations, it would do a lot pf people good to know that obsessing over a disease can cause them to manifest the symptoms. A perfect example would be some of those who come here multiple times after being seen by a doctor and cleared of having any serious illness. Anxiety is a serious problem, and when coupled with depression, or other forms of mental illness, it can wreak havoc on the body and pretty much destroy what was once a normal life. That's why I stick with all of those who recommend going to a real doctor first and not trying to self-diagnose.

I really didn't mean for this to be misleading or misguiding in anyway!