Thank's to ALL of you for replying and for CARING!. I really need that right now (((((((HUGS)))))))

I have really bad hypochondria, which of course, means that I have obsessive health concerns and am convinced that I have a disease. For me (and I'm only being honest), I feel that a therapist would be trying to tell me it's all in my head and I know it's NOT all in my head because I really DO feel bad from day to day. I don't think just taking deep breaths or counting to ten are going to magically make my probs go away. It may work for some milder cases of GAD/Panic but not mine. That does'nt mean I am rejecting treatment, in denial or refusing advice from people who suggest such things. It just means that everyone is different and these particular excersizes have not worked for me.

I'm also concerned that it's not *just* anxiety. I really do have some pretty freaky symptoms which I'm always attributing to some disease that has no cure (which makes it even scarier). I don't remember it being this bad or having these same symptoms in the past but I know that anxiety symptoms can change all the time. My right arm has been tingling lately and it was the same arm that went weak on me the other morning. I don't think that is a symptom of anxiety. It has'nt done that again since and I may have just slept on it but why would it be tingly and then the next morning (same arm) go weak on me?.

I did see many therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and even a hypnotist when I was in my teens (I'm 42 now). I also spent several stints in various mental hospitals so I've already been that route. I'm not trying to sound like a "pro" here but I'd be lying if I pretended that this was all new to me. I've had all the "deep breathing" and "count slowly to ten backwards" routines, tons of different drugs, therapies, etc. I imagine some of you might be asking "well why did'nt you mention this earlier?". Well, there are probably a lot of things I hav'nt mentioned because my life has been so varied and that was a long, long time ago. As with most of us here, it would be impossable to tell our whole lives in just a few posts.

What happens with me is that I will convince myself that it is just anxiety and that everything is going to be fine. Then, I'll be sitting there trying to relax or do my work and suddenly my arm will start tingling or I'll be a little short of breath or my neck will hurt a little bit or I'll get a sharp pain somewhere and that starts the whole ball rolling all over again. It's not like I have a scary thought and THEN the anxiety starts. It's actually the other way around.

Some of my symptoms include...

* Tingling/crawling sensation in arms, legs and face sometimes
* Vibrating sensation in head, eyes, face and other parts sometimes
* Keys on keyboard look distorted/double at times
* Neck feels kinked on left side
* Constant low-level anxiety/fear
* Insomnia (this is a new one and has me scared!!) - Difficulty falling asleep and waking very early
* Visual blurring or seeing double when I look at something sideways (the doc say this is normal when you look at something sideways).
* Muscle twitching
* Difficulty swallowing about a month ago but it went away

I guess if I were to ask one question, it would be "just how bad can GAD get?" because I always thought that GAD was just a mild case of "bad nerves" that came and went once in awhile and not something that could be so debilitating.

Thank's again. I know that you people care and I can't emphasize how much I truly appreciate it.

- GreyGoose