Anxiety strikes
For the past month or so I have experienced a new, unwelcome, sensation. It happens when my thoughts turn to something I did which I regret doing, when I do something at the moment which I am embarassed about doing or when I am late. Parts of my skin tingle and I feel warmer.
It is not "pins and needles"--what happens when blood circulation is limited in a certain part of the body...when that part "falls asleep" and begins to have feeling again.
It is almost the reverse...when a certain part of the body was already awake and then gets a super-charge.
It is not like I have not had these feelings of anxiety before, but the physical effects are new.
It happens in the subconscious as well. Dreams can cause this sensation. In fact, the sensations are far worse from a dream because I can't easily shut down the thinking causing the sensations!
When I am awake and this happens I immediately try to think of something else and the sensation fades away.
I would really like to know what this physical manifestation of my anxiety comes from and if there is something I can do to change what is happening in my body so it no longer happens. It is not that I want to stop the anxious moments: they can tend to help me, direct me, motivate me. As Captain Kirk said in Star Trek V, "I need my pain!"
However, I don't want the tingling.
I also worry the tingling is the pre-cursor to something else...like a heart attack.
Around 2011 or so I was stressed at times and felt pain in my chest muscles. I haven't had that happen in a while because I have managed my stress better and have a job I like (even though there are moments of stress).
Yet, then...as now...I am overweight and blood pressure is higher than normal.
People look at me and say I am not overweight. Well, there are some people who can be overweight and their bodies can handle it, so the physicality that comes with that becomes what is "typical." However, being overweight is a matter of weight vs. height: body mass index. And if the BMI is too high you are overweight. My body does not handle being overweight very well. My liver starts reacting, my blood pressure goes up. It is pretty clear from several years of following the body chemistry that a few pounds too much make a big difference to my health.
So, if this tingling is a manifestation of the higher blood pressure, and the BP is a function of my weight, then there are even more reasons to get professional help to reduce my weight.
It is not "pins and needles"--what happens when blood circulation is limited in a certain part of the body...when that part "falls asleep" and begins to have feeling again.
It is almost the reverse...when a certain part of the body was already awake and then gets a super-charge.
It is not like I have not had these feelings of anxiety before, but the physical effects are new.
It happens in the subconscious as well. Dreams can cause this sensation. In fact, the sensations are far worse from a dream because I can't easily shut down the thinking causing the sensations!
When I am awake and this happens I immediately try to think of something else and the sensation fades away.
I would really like to know what this physical manifestation of my anxiety comes from and if there is something I can do to change what is happening in my body so it no longer happens. It is not that I want to stop the anxious moments: they can tend to help me, direct me, motivate me. As Captain Kirk said in Star Trek V, "I need my pain!"
However, I don't want the tingling.
I also worry the tingling is the pre-cursor to something else...like a heart attack.
Around 2011 or so I was stressed at times and felt pain in my chest muscles. I haven't had that happen in a while because I have managed my stress better and have a job I like (even though there are moments of stress).
Yet, then...as now...I am overweight and blood pressure is higher than normal.
People look at me and say I am not overweight. Well, there are some people who can be overweight and their bodies can handle it, so the physicality that comes with that becomes what is "typical." However, being overweight is a matter of weight vs. height: body mass index. And if the BMI is too high you are overweight. My body does not handle being overweight very well. My liver starts reacting, my blood pressure goes up. It is pretty clear from several years of following the body chemistry that a few pounds too much make a big difference to my health.
So, if this tingling is a manifestation of the higher blood pressure, and the BP is a function of my weight, then there are even more reasons to get professional help to reduce my weight.