Is this a common symptom in anxiety/panic?

[CathyT]

Hi all,
Ever since I've been about 8 years old,( I'm 58 now) I have suffered from feelings that I'm going to pass out. I've checked my blood sugar, blood pressure, etc., during these problems, and they're normal. I've seen various doctors too.
These sensations happen even when I'm happy and doing things I love. I just never know when they're going to strike. I hate them. It always freaks me out.
Is this a common symptom of anxiety? Thanks.

[Naominjw]

My daughter got intermittent feeling like passing out (and sometimes she fell). She also had it as a child. She now has it less often after being put on hormones. Hormones are often fluctuating so it is harder to diagnose that one might think. She does have low blood pressure. You say you check yours -- but are you still dizzy by the time you check it? Some people get it from position... I think a lot of us get fleeting feeling of dizziness of unknown cause.

Personally, I do not think that if you get dizzy while just happily going on your way that it means you have an anxiety problem... although I am sure that a psychologist/psychiatrist would be happy to diagnose you with that for that symptom.

JMO
-"Naomi"

[CathyT]

Thanks Naomi,
I don't get dizzy. Its just a sensation. I have passed out in my life (with the flu), and it feels like that. Maybe its a feeling that alot of people have, but they don't freak out over it like I do? Any unusual feelings usually cause me to freak out, unfortunately.

[Naominjw]

Maybe its a feeling that alot of people have, but they don't freak out over it like I do? Any unusual feelings usually cause me to freak out, unfortunately.

Thank you for the clarification... sometimes I can be "dense".

I guess each of us have a different tolerance level for weird sensations... just like we do for pain. I was once on pain medication after surgery and my heart kept doing a "squeeze, pause....... THUMP". I felt death was imminent. It could have just as easily not done the THUMP and continued.... I stopped the medication. Now, just every once in a long while it feels like it does something weird. An EKG showed nothing. A lot of perimenopausal women feel their heart "flutter" "Palpitate", etc. So... I am told to ignore it... so I almost do. How can I completely ignore it? I mean... it is a sensation in me and we don't like to feel something which we don't normally feel. To make it worse... my mother also felt something was wrong at about the same age as I started feeing mine, and was also told it was nothing and then her heart failed.

Nothing I can do about it.... So I just relax... and try to shrug off the knowledge.... it is a strong reminder of our own mortality. I realize I don't have much control over that. And they have run tests on me that were not available for my mother. So, I don't have anxiety over it... but I cannot say I never think about it.

However, back to what you are saying... YOU feel you over-react / freak out to minor sensations. A "disorder" is normal reaction taken to an extreme affecting your life.

In that sense, you may have an anxiety disorder... not necessarily because of the sensation but how you react to the sensation, and how that reaction impacts your mental peace and quality of life.

If it is a problem to your or others... it is a problem.

-"Naomi"