Hi,

I am experiencing fleeting pain and discomfort from mild to severe in the limbs, hands, and feet. For example I will feel a rush of pain in a specific part of my foot and then minutes later will have the same thing in my arm, hand etc.

I recently had a possible needlestick injury which I have been stressing about. Is it possible that anxiety over this incident is causing these pains? I find that generally they aren't as bad when I'm not stressing but are generally still present - would this be possible if it were just anxiety related?

Any responses are greatly appreciated.

stress and anxiety can cause all types of pains anywhere in the body, sounds like you need a good doc who is capable of taking your problems seriously and reassuring you, if thats what is needed
also read up on fight or flight response which can cause numbness or tingling in the places you mentiuion

I have had random pains like this all over too lately it has been just mainly in my left arm for months now so of course i went to the er for that anyway I dont put too much past anxiety anymore after 12 years and hundreds of physical symptoms so it could be but you should go and have your doctor check ya out to be sure





good luck

Thanks a lot for the replies - good to know I'm not the only one in this boat :)

Yesterday I'd been freaking out all day and developed really sore aching arms. The same night my friend had a party and my I think my fears were all still in the back of my mind - and my arms continued to ache for most of the night.

Later we all jumped in the pool and started splashing around and having fun - I soon noticed that all my aches and pains had dissapeared. Got out of the pool and started thinking again and the sching returned. Decided to jump back in, in hope that all the fears in the very back of my mind would go again and sure enough - aching stopped again.

I'd say this is a pretty good indicator that my aches and pains are related to anxiety. I think even when I think I'm not anxious about the whole thing, in the back of my mind I still am (except for those rare moments (e.g. when I was in the pool) when I can push it all aside and actually have fun with no inhibitions). Does this sound right/plausible?

Hi there...
I've been dealing with panic for several months now. When the books I read and tapes I listened to started talking about negative self talk, I quickly dismissed it by telling myself that I didn't do that. One day I got upset about something and spent a lot of time dwelling on it and then realized the terrible thoughts that were popping into my head.

For example, lets say you spent yesterday moving furniture and today you wake up with a backache. Instead of just accepting that your back hurts because you moved furniture all day, the negative self talk starts going and they bring on the bad thoughts. Thoughts like "omg something's seriously wrong", etc.

I realized that day when I had gotten upset that these thoughts were happening subconciously. From then on I paid close attention to my reactions and was able to tell when I was getting myself stressed out over thoughts. Its perfectly normal for you to feel fine while having a good time and then the minute you stop and go back to thinking your pains return. Its called distraction and its a very powerful tool for us anxiety sufferers. If you have a pain all of a sudden, instead of dwelling on it, making yourself sick over what it could be, get up and move. Do something else to occupy your mind. It takes some practice but does help. And remember. Anxiety and panic cause all sorts of bizarre things including aches and pains in some very odd places.
Take care,
anxiouslady