anxiety & health problems

sammojimaker

i would appreciate any help and advice ok so im having debilitating physical problems but no clear cause so everyone just says anxiety that not very helpful because im not anxious at all ik anxiety can display itself physically with and emotional cause but I've tried all the typical routs to help "anxiety" -breathing, meditation mindfulness, body scan, ect and they've made no change to my condition what's so ever so really im looking for solutions that will work or how to convince professionals that my problem is not based in anxiety and is not the root cause and not the pathway for a solution

Callum208

Hi there, I'm Callum and have just read your post. I'm so sorry to hear that you are experiencing this right now. I have been diagnosed with Autism, but at first, I was misdiagnosed because the psychologists thought that I just had severe anxiety, but both me and my mum knew that this wasn't the underlying cause. So we stood up and said to them that we strongly believe I have autism, and we listed every struggle that I had been having and explained honestly that we think anxiety is not at the root of the problem. I was rediscussed at the assessment panel meeting, and the original decision was overturned, and I was diagnosed with Autism. It has become such a present and increasing issue, with so many people's personal struggles being put down to anxiety. Yes anxiety is a big issue in today's society, but that doesn't mean that it is all of a sudden the cause of every struggle out there. Professionals need to realise this, and I'm so sorry you have experienced this. You're not alone x

If you really do believe that anxiety is not the root cause of your physical problems, then that is completely valid. You are the only one who truly knows what you are going through, so never let anyone, be it professionals or peers, tell you that you are wrong. The fact that you have tried methods to cope with 'anxiety' shows a real strength in character, and you should be really proud of yourself for giving them a go, regardless of whether anxiety is the problem or not. Everyone could benefit from these techniques on a daily basis. I am not 100% sure what physical problems you are experiencing, and I understand that this might be triggering to bring up, so don't feel the need to explain anymore than you have, but I am guessing that because professionals have said it's anxiety and that they are debilitating, that you are struggling with issues such as shortness of breath or a racing heart? Or feeling faint or sweaty? Regardless of whether those are your struggles or not, my first piece of advice I could give you is to keep a journal close by and, every time that you experience these problems, write down what you experienced, when it happened, where you were when it happened and what you were doing when it happened. This can act as a really good log for what you are struggling with, and can provide so much more evidence than a simple talking explanation at the GP surgery can. For example: I experienced sudden shortness of breath, it happened at 2PM on Sunday, 5th November 2023, I was chatting to a friend on the phone in my bedroom.
Keeping a thorough log like this should be a really useful tool to show professionals so that they can see exactly what is going on, and analyse any patterns in the data you have provided. Just try to relax when recording what happened and be as detailed as you can be so that the professional doesn't have to bombard you with questions when they read through it.
My second piece of advice would be to be really brave and confident and stand up for yourself. If whoever you are seeing about these struggles still puts it down to anxiety, calmly explain why you feel so strongly that the issues are not down to anxiety, and tell them that it's seriously affecting your mental health not knowing what the true cause of the problem is. If you feel that you aren't being listened to, stand up for yourself. You are strong. The fact that you have come onto this forum and asked for help shows a real strength of character once again, so take this strength of character in your stride and fight for what you know is right, but in a calm and controlled manner .
Another really good thing you could do is think of times when you have experienced these struggles where it definitely couldn't have been down to anxiety. For example, if you were talking with a group of friends and joking around, feeling really happy and at your best, and then you suddenly felt really short of breath and like you were going to faint and needed to sit down out of the blue, then this shows that your struggles might be down to something deeper that needs more investigation than just being put down to anxiety all the time. Try and think of times when you definitely weren't anxious and experienced these struggles, and speak to the professional about these times, making it clear that you weren't feeling anxious at the time.

Thank you so much for reading through my advice. This is the first piece of advice I have given on the Mix forums I hope that you find out what is truly causing these debilitating physical struggles for you, and that my advice somewhat helps in all this. Lots of love, and remember, you are strong, and deserve a place in this world free of people telling you that you are wrong

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