Everyone who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks at some point have a fear of having a heart attack or a stroke. Or for some, fear of passing out, having a seizure or some kind of neurological issue. And nothing, I mean nothing, can bring up and intensify those fears better than the numb, tingling, pins and needles sensation that anxiety causes.
This one was a big one for me. I had these sensations all day long, all over my body. I remember one day I was at the checkout line at Walgreens and a wave of tingling sensation ran from the back of my neck up to the left half of my head. I thought to myself: “oh my god, this could be a sign of a stroke”. As soon as that thought came up, my hands and feet went ice cold, pins and needles sensation spreading all over my body. I ran out of the store, expecting to collapse, called my mom telling her that I might have a stroke, like the one my dad had. My mom tried to talk me out of it, but the fear was too much, I ended up driving myself to the hospital. And you can guess it, I was released with a clean bill of health.
Please remember that when suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, our nerves are sensitized and overworked. These tired nerves can cause sensations described above as a signal that they are in dire need of a break. But do we, anxiety sufferers, ever give them that break? No. We let our fear bluff us. So, our nerves continued to be under stress and more numbness, tingling, pins and needles sensations are guaranteed to return.
My issues with these symptoms went away as I slowly recover from anxiety. They came less frequent and in much lower intensity. I haven’t experienced one at all since fully recovered. I know these symptoms are very scary but if you’re checked out by your doctors, please trust that anxiety can be the cause and you are perfectly safe.
Don’t chase these sensations, focus on working on your anxiety and you will come out victorious.