I often get this question from many sufferers, and the short answer is yes; anxiety can cause you to experience new symptoms every week, day, or month. You may feel as if you overcame jitteriness, trembling, and heart palpitations in a couple of weeks/months. However, you begin to experience new dizziness, visual snow, and chest pain symptoms shortly after. It may seem as if you are back to square one. You just overcame your fears of these old symptoms, just to be hit with new ones. I can confidently tell you that these symptoms will all subside soon, and you will learn how to deal with the fears that they create.
Why Does This Happen?
The main reason that this happens is because of a "damaged" or dysregulated nervous system. When your nervous system has suffered from chronic stress and constant activation of the stress response, it starts throwing all types of weird symptoms at you. Remember that anxiety can activate your stress response, and when your stress response is constantly activated, it can lead to a dysregulated nervous system.
You Are Not Alone
You are not alone; many anxiety sufferers have to deal with new oncoming anxiety symptoms every week, day, or month. I was one of these people in the past. After my first huge panic attack, I began experiencing new symptoms coming in waves every week. It was as if they never stopped coming, which made the recovery process feel 1000x harder. I remember being five months into recovery, and some of my symptoms had subsided. Still, I would experience new symptoms like dizziness, muscle tension, brain zaps, and eye floaters in the coming weeks. My nervous system was all over the place, and I needed time for it to return to homeostasis.
Recovery
Having new symptoms doesn't mean you are dealing with a setback. These symptoms are all part of recovery! You may feel as if they never stop coming, but I promise they will eventually subside. Having to deal with new symptoms every week makes recovery difficult. When a new symptom pops up, we respond with fear and agony, which continues to feed the vicious anxiety cycle. Over time as these symptoms continue showing up, you will learn how to respond to them correctly: logically and not emotionally. You will begin to kill all fear and worry that feeds anxiety, ultimately leading you to conquer anxiety. But remember, even if you beat anxiety, you must let your nervous system recover. Once your nervous system heals, all/most symptoms will subside. Ensure that you are reducing stress, practicing self-care, and managing/eliminating fears and worries. Here at FreeMind, we show you various recovery strategies and support to help you make a full recovery.
Be Patient and Find Support
Be kind, be patient, and remind yourself that recovery takes time. When you break a bone, you don't try to rush recovery and expect to be 100% overnight. Start treating your mental health the same way. Your nervous system will achieve recovery when it is ready.
Find the best support possible. Anxiety, DPDR, and OCD recovery are rarely linear. It is a path full of ups, downs, obstacles, roadblocks, storms, mountains, and more. Surround yourself with a strong support system of friends, family, therapists, and other acquaintances. Here at FreeMind, we offer our members the best support possible at an affordable price. We want to ensure our members are on track to make a full anxiety, DPDR, or OCD recovery.