At one point or another we have all seen the high wire act during a circus performance or on a t.v. show. The performer steps out onto the tightly stretched rope and slowly puts one foot in front of the other doing all they can to avoid a nasty spill. We all look at the performer and think “yea you’re gonna fall” but of course they usually don’t.
The high wire reminds me a lot of what its like to have an anxiety disorder. Feeling off balance, woozy, lightheaded, faint are all sensations I’m sure a performer might feel while hoisted 50 feet in the air, but should we be feeling the same way?
Some time ago a wrote an article about my top ten most hated anxiety symptoms. One of those on the list was the all encompassing term “dizziness”. Now I put the word in quotations not because its a metaphor but because its a lot more than just a feeling of hum drum dizziness.
Anxiety related dizziness can feel like you’re falling, about to faint, or the floor your standing on is moving. The falling sensation is not an exaggeration either. I have been standing firm and literally lost my balance to the point of half jogging to the relative safety of my bed. So in case you were wondering it is normal to feel dizzy when you have an anxiety disorder.
Maybe dizziness doesn’t cut it so let’s use a different word to describe this feeling – let’s go with vertigo. Vertigo is the sensation that either you or your surroundings are spinning or moving about when they actually are not moving. This I think sums up the feeling of imbalance produced by an anxiety disorder. O.K. so we named the feeling – what is going on?
The most clear answer I have found is nobody really knows. This explains the name that is given to this condition which is sometimes referred to as Chronic Subjective Dizziness or CSD. Now the word subjective is telling in this instance because subjective means “proceeding from or taking place in a person’s mind rather than in the external world”.
Although the cause is unknown studies have shown that treating your anxiety will stop the dizziness slash vertigo. Whether you use drugs, exercise, diet, breathing techniques or a mixture of all these the idea is that you treat your anxiety to help all your symptoms including this one.
So is it all in your head? I doubt it because feeling dizzy is real. You don’t kind of feel dizzy you just are. Don’t feel discouraged by the non reason for this symptom occurring. Again, just focus on dealing with the underlying issues that sustain your anxiety and you’ll go much further in solving this problem.
Thank you sooo much for writting this! I have been battling with a chronic (almost constant) wobbly,dizziness and the falling sensation is the worse! I try and explain it to my husband or doctor and I cannot assimilate it.It’s almost like my brain suddenly falls to the floor and my legs go weak and numb.It’s such a scary feeling. And its so hard to accept that its all because of anxiety.I’m working and praying hard to get through this and day by day it has gotten somewhat better and more manageable but I feel like when it starts to get better I get another “attack” and it sets me back. It’s nice to know Im not alone and someone else experiences it and is still here! lol I was recently given ativan to take during an episode and I did and it helped. All my anxiety didnt go away but it became manageable. So I told myself if the ativan helped it must be anxiety and not the stroke or heart attack or brain tumor that I scare myself to death over. 🙂 Thank you again
Dear paul,
I used to blog as kenyanscorp. Hope you are fine. I had a surprising stuff this week. I was prescribed pantaprazole and cisapride for GI issues. Nine days after taking it i got constipated but relieved. That is not the crux. I stopped the drugs three days ago. I got dizzy spells after nine days of usage. I became lightheaded and weak. But the moment i went out in the cool air, it improved, and again the moment i was indoors it aggravated. When i workout in the gym it improves and when i walk for 2 km with music i feel improved. On a scale of 1-10 i would call it 4. If i think of tense incidents or angry thoughts i feel more dizzy. I feel imbalanced and a bit uncoordinated. I feel fine when i am asleep and a bit insecure as if i might lose consciouness. There is no blackening or floaters in my eyes. Also there is a sort of mild pain in the back of my head. Initially my symptoms were about shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat not it is this. Going to a doc is a total waste for most just give you a battery of expensive tests and dismiss the patient as nothing. Interestingly i found another forum where people have such symptoms for the past few months to a few years. Has the drug aggravated the anxiety. Or is it in the omega 3 fish oil i take, for cod liver oil has a zombifying effect and spontaenity is sacrificed. I stopped the cod liver and bcomplex that i used to take for the time being.
Paul pls do reply as this is something new.
Hi plutoproserpina, it ain’t the fish oil! Seriously, that stuff is great. Unless you’re taking a massive dose, I doubt this is the problem. Not sure how long you were on the meds, so it’s hard to say if this is the problem. To me, this sounds primarily like stress/anxiety. The symptoms you described are classic anxiety. If doctors are of no help then you know you don’t have a physical issue – that’s good news =). Now, the issue is how do you reduce stress? What have you tried? Is that enough? It’s a challenge sometimes to stay focused long-term. But I encourage you to continue the search for effective stress/anxiety reduction. It’s easy to externalize and say well, it’s ‘this’ or ‘that’ causing my anxiety. But in most cases, it’s stress and anxiety. Steady efforts to calm your self will be the best option… steady is the operative word.
Paul thanks for your compassionate reply. I consulted a ENT and he put me through 30 tabs of amytriptilline. When asked he totally denied any side effects and he assured me that it would cause no sleepiness and that i can workout in the gym. When i took it, this is my first time on a psyche med, i was knocked out for 15 hours and was totally numb. Imagine having to lead a normal work life and family life on such a dangerous drug which does not cure your anxiety but makes you oblivious to sufferings and pleasure. It merely zombifies people. What is even worse is that these psyche meds are promoted endlessly by doctors and each doc supports the other in his criminal silence and assent as to the side effects. It is stated simply a hypnotic. Your article on antipsychotic meds is spot on. Thanks for everything.