I’ve suffered with anxiety since late 2019 and went on to experience my first ever panic attack in February 2020. From there, it’s been a frustrating journey: where did this come from? What triggers it? Which anxiety symptoms are perfectly normal and which are something to be concerned about? These are all questions I’ve had since day one, so I know there are others out there who are in the same boat.
I wasn’t sure how open I wanted to be about my experience. I have no shame in talking about, as should no one, but it can leave you feeling quite vulnerable opening up about something that affects your day-to-day life. So, I wanted to share my health anxiety story, experiences with panic attacks, techniques that help me cope and more, with the hope someone finds this information useful.
Would you like to share your own health anxiety story and content? I offer guest blogging opportunities at KayCaton.co.uk, so if you’d like to submit your own guest post around your experience or any anxiety-related content, feel free to get in touch.
Pregnancy is something I’ll forever be grateful for experiencing. But just because I’m grateful for embarking on this journey does not mean it’s been an easy ride. Pregnancy…is tough. From the chaotic first trimester with all its new and sometimes odd symptoms, to the breeze of a second trimester (in my experience), through to the […]
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I’m not far from my midwife/antenatal appointment where I have to go through the dreaded birth plan. When I say ‘dreaded’ I don’t mean having a birth plan is a negative thing or something we should fear, but as a first-time Mum and someone who gets easily overwhelmed, the idea of having to discuss birth […]
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In 2015, I stumbled across an ASMR video as a recommendation in my YouTube feed, and from there I’ve always found ASMR content to be a form of relaxation for me. If you’re not aware of what ASMR is, it stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is what defines the tingling feeling some people […]
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Trying to conceive is exhausting and a rollercoaster of emotions; you’re happy and excited one moment, and feeling your lowest just hours later. It may not be like that every day, but for me, it certainly felt like it sometimes. There were various things I struggled with throughout our journey of trying to conceive which […]
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Health anxiety has its own challenges, but throw in an Apple Watch that detects your heart rate, VO2 max, blood oxygen and can even do an ECG…well, your anxiety is going to heighten and progress to a whole new level – in my experience. That’s when I realised an Apple watch and anxiety do not […]
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Like for many, our journey of trying to conceive had been a rollercoaster of emotions: from being excited, to fearing the worst, and everything in between. Every waking moment is consumed by constant changes in emotions over trying for a baby. No matter what you do though, it only gets harder as each new cycle […]
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I suffer with morning anxiety, but in recent weeks I’d started to suffer with bedtime anxiety too. Intrusive thoughts would come over me: “what if this or that happens in my sleep?”, and would cause me to overthink as soon as I settled under the duvet – even if I felt no anxiety moments prior […]
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Panic attacks, no matter the severity, are awful. The physical sensations consume you and make you assume the absolute worst case scenario – “I’m dying”. In my experience, panic attacks build up over a couple days or weeks until you break down and work your way through it. Other times, they’re so sudden and intense […]
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There’s no short story for health anxiety, and sometimes no clear explanation for what triggers it until you start to seek professional help. Or, in some circumstances, you never find the root cause, but learn how to cope through various exercises; physical and mental. One of the main things that helps me when I feel […]
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