I need help…I read your article and it describes me…when I’m in a social situation or a business meeting my pupil dialate..I start to sweat and I get really bad headaches…How can I prevent this??? Thanks for your help

The best advise I can give you is that you should understand and accept that when anxiety fills you it is not dangerous and you will not be harmed any way.

When you are in a social setting you need to take deep breaths through your nose and slowly out your mouth.

Don’t let the tension mount – instead bring your focus outside of yourself and allow yourself to be distracted.

You have to tell yourself that you are ok, there is no danger, be calm, be calm.

It is a mixture of breathing, self talk and the realization that despite the fear and physical symptoms you are 100% safe. It is fear nothing else.

Hi, you are doing a great service. Thanks!

Last year I had spiral fracture. After that I was quite stressed out. Then my right hand fingers started trembling. It subsided a lot over a year, but I still experience mild trembling now and then. Can anxiety cause trembling in fingers?? Thanks!

Hi Vinay, to answer your question yes anxiety can give you the shakes. But not to worry, this is usually related to short term high levels of stress. Just remember if your hands tremble, no big deal. It will not hurt you and adopting an accepting attitude will help you to speed up recovery.

Hi, this is a great article. One question I have is around adrenaline regulation. I used to suffer regular anxiety attacks but realising what the cause and science behind them were prevented them fully. There are some situations where the symptoms pop up and there is nothing really I can do about it. My question is, is there a chemical way to supress the production of adrenaline, I know that in the long term it is a vital hormone but as a stopgap is there a reverse method of what an epinephrine shot achieves?
Thanks!

Hi Marko, there is an adrenaline blocking drug called phentolamine. It’s usually given to people with a condition that causes adrenal gland tumors. It blocks the production of adrenaline.

But this drug can be dangerous. A good alternative would be sedatives, if blocking the feelings of adrenaline is the goal.

Remember to always to talk to your doctor first. They can give you a wide range of options to counter the effects of adrenaline. Cheers.

is excessive masturbation causes increase in adrenaline harmones?

Hey Guru, The answer is yes! It sure can.

is excessive masturbation and increase in adrenaline converts into anxeity disorder.because i m masturbating from 10 years.its too long.

Thanks for this post. I have suffered from anxiety for years. I just went to the DR to get meds…I hate being on meds but I hate having to live alone, more. Anytime I go anywhere, my heart pounds, my chest hurts, I can’t breathe, and just want to go home…they call it generealized anxiety disoder with panic and agoraphobia.

I know it’s life related, I’ve had alot of tragedy. Husband became qualdripalegic in auto accident at 31…died at 32…after he died I found our Daughter has a rare degernative brain disorder…add to that a challenging childhood…and voila! ME. I’ve done counseling for years, with some of the best. Now, I just want to lelarn how to live with this. Your posts help, thank you. p

You’re welcome P.

hi can masturbation increase anxiety syndrome/ how?

Masturbation could possibly make you anxious temporarily since this kind of activity could increase your heart rate and excite you to the point of nervousness.

But I would also say that it is harmless. Some people get nervous when they run too much or feel exhausted, this is not very different.

In the case of masturbation, I suppose you could get tired and excited at the same time, which could make you feel uneasy if you having a tendency to get nervous easily.

San, I have to say I did laugh when I read your post – not that I don’t sympathise. I think it must be the schoolboy part of me trying to get out.

Wow, if anything I thought masturbation would be a way for EVERYONE to calm down. Guess I was wrong on that one.

Do you think by increasing glucose levels or any other food/drink with high energy in your diet, this will reduce the amount of adrenaline the body thinks it needs? ie Less shaking?

The only thing that I know will reduce adrenaline levels for sure would be frequent activity. This tends to “burn” off the excess adrenaline.

I also wanted to say that for the folks that has already been exercising for awhile before experiencing any anxiety disorders in higher levels that it may be a little more difficult to NOTICE how effective the amount of exercising you’ve been doing is actually making a difference in your mind and the amount of adrenaline that’s actually “burning” off. Because most likely, if you never did exercise, you’ll feel worse. So therefore, keep exercising!

Does anyone meditate? I hear so much about how it calms and centers a person, and how it seems to be a cure-all for so many things. Just wondered if anyone has given it a try and if it works. I have tried it occasionally, but maybe if I did a bit everyday it might work better for me.

Almost everytime I read on how to moderate and overcome anxiety disorders on different websites, the majority of the articles mentions meditation. Even though I’ve read a couple things on actually HOW to meditate, I still do not fully understand how to meditate overall and everything of what meditation consists of. Since I am not a religious guy of any sort but do consider myself spiritual, I will eventually read more on meditation so I can practice and use it as another tool to help overcome my anxiety disorder on higher levels.

Hi Sue/Jaywood,
Yes, definately it works!
But unfortunately its not an instant remedy. It needs to be practised for quite some time before you reep the benefits.But I would highly recommend you give it a go.Its not diifcult to do but what is difficult is to make it a point of doing it daily and continueing the practise. It only takes at first about 20 minutes but our modern way of life makes it difficult to allocate that time to practise it and ultimately miss sessions. But if you are up to it and willing…..try it.
Religion has got nothing to do with this(but if you want to incorporate it theres no problem). meditation should be seen as the art of controling your mind…that is your ultimate goal.
There are many ways to meditate, visualisations,music,mantras.
I would suggest to start of that you start with about 15 minutes a day ,at whatever time suits you so long as its over two hours after a meal.Light a candle and just gaze at the light!or just put on some meditation music(widely available) Your aim is to concentrate on the light/music and get rid of thoughts! It takes time and practise and further reading will no doubt help you understand which is the best way for you to meditate as everyone is not the same. Try to meditate in the same place every day (ie in the bedroom)and if possible sitting on the floor with legs crossed(never lying down). Good luck!

Thanks Steve! I will definitely give meditation a try this week. As of right now, I’m going to plan on practicing it during the afternoons right before my daily workouts.

Hi,

I have had GAD with a few Panic attacks for years. I know what it is and just deal with it. I hate it! But we get delt cards. My question is? My heart skips beats when I am tensed and start feeling the anxiety! Ben to the Doc. for it they did all the tests. Said I have a perfect heart and rythem. With no answer as to why it does it. They call it PVC’s but I know it is related to anxiety. Any insight on this? I hate them they freak me out and make the anxiety worse. It’s an evil loop!!

Hi Jason, An evil loop indeed. But, honestly I don’t have much to add on top of what your doc has already said. With respect to anxiety, some people some times experience “excess” adrenaline production which acts on the nerves of the heart and causes it to beat faster, slower, and even “skip” beats. So, anxiety can certainly cause this phenomena, however if you don’t have heart disease then this is just benign anxiety induced craziness. Non of it dangerous or harmful.

Hi, I have started suffering anxiety after some months of taking lanzoprazole, which is an inhbitor of the protonic pump (stops acid in the stomach). I discovered that there exist some post-marketings reports about anxiety, depression and panic episodes after consuming this drug for at leat two montns.
Well, after 2 months of taking lanzoprazole 15mg every day I started manifesting some brief moments of confusion and sadness. After those 2 months the disturbs in the stomach diminished considerably. so my doctor told me that it was enough to take the inhibitor just once every 2 days. By the time I did’t know anything about possible side effects but I can say that the confusion and sadness disappeared.

Two more months later I had to take an antibiotic that was dangerous for my stomach (I have an hernia). So the doctor prepared for those antibiotics. I restarted taking lanzoprazole 15 mg each day for almost one month and then, together with the antibiotic I took lanzoprazole 30mg. This had to be done for 15 days, Well at day 12, during the sleep my heart started beating so fast that it woke me up in panic, for first time in my life.
Today, some months later, I still feel anxiety. I stopped taking the acid inhbitor because of this. Amazingly my acid levels in the sotmach seemed reduced permanently and my psychic equilibrium still remains fragile. I can say I don’t feel the same person, something has changed inside me.

In this last months I’m trying to learn to live with anxiety. Even if the neurologist have give me zoloft 100mg, after 50 days of taking it I still feel anxiety, moreover, recently instead of diminishing it seems that it wants to increase…. I hope just a fluctuation.
My neurologist does not believe there’s a link between lanzoprazole and anxiety. If somebody would ask my opinion, I would say yes there is, since never before I had felt neither anxiety nor panic!
Does somebody know something about??? …after all… stress produces ulceras, isn’t it.

Hi, I am a 60 yrs young woman that rides MTB every week and have been extremely active all her life. I have been suffering with PTSD for around 3 years. The thing is that last week I was riding and my heart rate when up to 200bpm (I wear a heart rate monitor) and it did not go down until half an hour later, it was going up and down. That happened last year also, so I have that twice last year and now and it is very scary and not normal, Reading the posts I think it might be the adrenaline and would like to know if I could do something about it. I am always in a state of “fight of flight” and can’t seem to come down, my heart is always beating fast and it is really very bad and unconfortable. Please help in any way. Thank you kindly..

Hi Khal, I so sorry to hear about your racing heart, I know that could be very scary. Well, firstly I’d say that a good step- if you haven’t already- is to see a doctor. You want to make sure that you don’t have an underlying condition. If things do/have been cleared medically then you have to focus on controlling your breathing and remaining calm. Usually only time allows these types of episodes to pass. Hope this helps. And remember, don’t fear anxiety!

Hi Lewis, I have heard about proton pump inhibitors doing this to people, so you’re not the only one. If you are no longer on the meds causing anxiety then this will likely all pass soon. Sometimes when we (any of us) experience intense anxiety that is unexplained it causes a deep fear that fosters anxiety and panic even when we don’t think about it. Just kind of happens. But if your doing well without the drugs, give it a week to see if this all goes away. If things don’t improve see your doctor. And remember, anxiety and anxiety symptoms cannot harm you, even if they feel disgusting.

Thanks Paul for your answer. Maybe lanzoprazole has been the straw that broke the camel’s back because I’m still in trouble. Otherwise I can’t explain myself what is happening to me. Maybe obssssive people (according to my doctor it seems I’m one) shouldn’t take proton pump inhibitors. They risk their frustrations or fears become anxiety or panic.
That’s what has happened to me. Frustrations of 10-15 years ago, completely under control and forgotten turned to life as anxiety and panic during the sleep!. I did panic not because I was affraid about my heart, that just woke me up. I was in panic because of my dreams that weren’t nightmares but just recalls of my life. I could sleep just 3 or 4 hours. After 40 dyas like this I had to go to the doctor.
Currently, after 4 months of the beginning of this crise, and 2 moths without lanzoprazole I still live with anxiety and light panic.

I’m really scared and need help. I want to stay away from meds because of the risks and do not want to be depending on them.

At the end of June i had a panic attack that came out of no where,so naturally i feared another one and of course i had another one a couple of days later.

I looked up information on panic attacks (big mistake) and came across one of the symptoms which was suicidal thoughts if the disorder is left untreated,so days later i woke up thinking i was having the thoughts or scared of developing them and i have no desire to do any harm to myself.

5 days later i decided to test my mind (another big mistake) with the most terrible thing that can happen and that was the thought of harming my siblings and all of a sudden i got up and got very scared,sick to my stomach,couldnt sleep at all.

It’s been 5 weeks now and i still have them thoughts and even tho they seem to have become less of an impact they still scare me and i question myself “what if i end up killing them?”,”what if i go crazy and become emotionless?”

My questions are, will GAD symptoms pass with time?,will i ever do these terrible things?,and will my mind EVER control me?

I come to you because i know you’ll give me honest answers and not have my money on your mind like Therapists do.

P.S. through the month of all this i questioned my thoughts as maybe i have OCD,Depression,a psychotic disorder and i would believe every disorder i read.

Tip: people with GAD do not read too much into other conditions and their symptoms listed.

Hi Jason, sorry to hear about your recent struggle. Just wanted to tell you that the first thing you have to do is stop reading the internet for information about what could happen. You are not crazy and you are not going to harm anyone. Anxiety can make you think that you might, or that you will go out of control, but the fact that you’re scared of this stuff is an indication that you are a normal person in a high state of fear and anxiety – nothing more. The more you think about this stuff the stronger it will get. So, if it continues you can think about seeing a therapist. Otherwise, be patient and understand that anxiety usually has an element of depression, which could prompt suicidal thoughts, and other disturbing thoughts. But, in the end, thoughts are only thoughts. You will be OK. Just stop looking for information that will only scare you and breath easy.

Paul

Jason…I was right were you were not even a few weeks ago. I had a friend committ suicide and started to have similar thoughts about me hurting myself or others, even though I didn’t want to. On top of the fact that I read something about medication making you suicidal and got all freaked out about meds I was taking (for my thyroid).
It was a tough struggle to understand that these thoughts were just my anxiety playing tricks on my brain, not what I was REALLY feeling. I was scared that it would develop into something else and that I was going to become suicidal eventually or lose control. That really isn’t the case as scary as it may seem.
I’ve learned that letting the thoughts pass and NOT testing your mind…not trying to think about it to “process” it allows the thoughts to start becoming a non-issue. As soon as you try to process and analyze them, you give them more power than they really have.
I highly recommend Paul’s podcast on disturbing thoughts (Anxiety and Your Mind). That was one of my saving graces when I was going through it all. Also knowing that people have have gone through the same things helps.
I went to a therapist (actually coincidental that my anxious episode happened the day before my first session). Having that professional opinion that I wasn’t going crazy and that my brain was really just playing tricks on me really helped. It might be something to look into if you’re having a hard time. Otherwise, just try to remember the real you, try to get out of your own head and remember to enjoy the life you’re living rather than focusing on the “what if”.
Self-diagnosis is never a good thing. There are too many overlapping symptoms to many conditions that it’s easy to think you have all kinds of things. There was a while where I was afraid of becoming depressive and that leading to me ACTUALLY being suicidal that I tested my feelings all the time and that caused me to have other thoughts I didn’t really feel.
Hang in there. It’s scary, there’s good and bad days, but in time you’ll look back and not even recognize the person you are right now…heck…you might even laugh about it.

It was a tough struggle to understand that these thoughts were just my anxiety playing tricks on my brain, not what I was REALLY feeling. I was scared that it would develop into something else and that I was going to become suicidal eventually or lose control. That really isn’t the case as scary as it may seem.

I’ve learned that letting the thoughts pass and NOT testing your mind…not trying to think about it to “process” it allows the thoughts to start becoming a non-issue. As soon as you try to process and analyze them, you give them more power than they really have.

I highly recommend Paul’s podcast on disturbing thoughts (Anxiety and Your Mind). That was one of my saving graces when I was going through it all. Also knowing that people have have gone through the same things helps.

I went to a therapist (actually coincidental that my anxious episode happened the day before my first session). Having that professional opinion that I wasn’t going crazy and that my brain was really just playing tricks on me really helped. It might be something to look into if you’re having a hard time. Otherwise, just try to remember the real you, try to get out of your own head and remember to enjoy the life you’re living rather than focusing on the “what if”.