Not sure if that is a real word or term. However, I was wondering if anyone else who suffers from an anxiety disorder notices every little twinge, tingle, pain, movement, bubble etc within their bodies? I seem to feel everything even down to the area in which I'm sweating. Everything has an impending doom / underlining fatal desease attached.

Does anyone have any real experience of this and ideas on how to overcome it would be greatly appreciated. I've tried the usual meds, CBT, therapy, hynotherapy etc. Med's work most of the time but I'm still sensertive to everything

I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to say that I am the EXACT same way. You are definitely not alone. My therapist and I were dicussing this the last time I saw her. I happen to be pregnant, so my "hypersensitivity" is to the extreme right now because my body is going through so many crazy changes! But yes, I notice everything going on in my body, even before I was pregnant. And I usual think something terrible is happening to me. I wish there was some way to stop these feelings/thoughts, but I don't know how. I'll be curious to see if anyone else does!

I'm starting to think I suffer from this as well. I've had A LOT of work up done and everything is coming back fine. That being said, my body hurts so badly that I have trouble functioning normally. I can't stand on my feet for more then a hour or two, then they hurt. I cannot sit without the aid of a cushion and even then it's only for an hour or two. My muscles are very weak and I contantly pull them or feel like they are going to tear if I stretch them to far.

Do either of you have these types of issues?

I have the same problem. my doctor says that I am a hypochondriac (sp?) it greatly effects my anxiety because I am constantly scanning my body checking things worrying about bumps and God forbid I have a bruise... My major focus for some reason is my heart, I seem to know every little thing it does. I know it is healthy because of the tests and reassurance I get from my family doctor. but I can't help checking my pulse regularly and noticing when it beats harder or faster. I notice every missed beat and palpitation...

I find that the only thing that works for me is getting reassurance from my doctor. you need a very understanding and patient physician to do this because you will spend a bunch of time there. I found a doctor that knows how to deal with me and he helps me greatly and gets me out of my own head. Ohhh and NEVER go on Web MD or check your symptoms online... this is a bad idea for people like us. Well me anyway.

Hope that helps a little... I guess there is just no majic cure for worry these days.

Thanks for the reply,

My biggest concern/question is to see if other people have health anxiety so bad that it gives them great, almost disfunctional pain in areas of their body.

It's health anxiety and often part of a generalised anxiety disorder. Mine came on at the age of about 19 and with me focuses mainly around my heart. Any symptom above the knee could mean an impending heart attack for me. But if i was totally reassured about my heart then it would switch to something else. You can go on getting reassured until you're blue in the face but it won't go away, it will just switch to something else. Meds and CBT are probably the best therapy. You might want to look deeper into alternative treatments for anxiety such as vitamin therapy. I believe anxiety is a symptom of something 'lacking' in our bodies - just not sure what, yet. High doses of fish oil are supposed to be good, as are high doses of vitamin C and the B vitamins.

I have the hypersensitivity also. I feel every missed/skipped beat. It drives me and my husband and my sister totally insane.

I have terrible health anxiety and feel every twinge, pulse, heart beat etc.... I also check my heart rate, pulse, bp, pupils, all day long. This is very common. I have learned to live with it. Oh I also do neuro tests on my self all the time. lol

I understand how you feel, i am always checking my pulse.. and stupid little things can set me off in either a panic or just a rush of andrelane.. like the tv color getting darker( i automaticaly think its my eyes) and when things " shut off" it makes me nervouse, like when the sound of my computer stops, my sound machine or the heater..i like to run on the tredmil but if i push myself to hard i freak out at how fast my heart is beating.. i get muscle spasims often in different parts of my body, or a vibertaing or trembling feeling in my chest or sometimes my whole body..however i do not often get actual physical pain but sometimes i will experince a shooting pain somewhere.. i figure its my nerves freaking out because i am so paranoid all the time

Thanks everyone for the insight! It is helpful. But the reason why I cannot give into the idea of health anxiety causing my issues is because the pain is so real. My feet hurt very badly all day long and my muscles are very rigid and definitely considerably less flexibility and have less strength than normal. The thing is, I'm not even worried about my feet or my muscles, but they seem to be the most effected.

From everything I seem to be gathering, people with bad cases of health anxiety tend to have issues with heart racing, fast pulses, and generally very bad anxiety, not such much physical pain.

I have noticed that sometimes after an anxiety attack, my muscles will hurt, too. I believe this is because when we get scared, we tense our muscles up without even realizing we are doing it. When the attack settles down a bit, we notice we hurt.

I have a tendency to tense my neck and shoulders which just exacerbates my arthritis there. Now if we are out driving (my husband drives and I ride) and something scary comes up like someone nearly hits us or I see someone passing from the other way and I think they are not going to make it, I find myself putting on the invisible brakes and bracing for impact. By the time we get home, my legs and ankles are miserable for a while.

Hope this helps.

Lindaru :)

My therapist once told me that anxious people are hypersenstive to many things. For me it was odors. I would smell odd odors that I could not reallyl describe. They were kind of like a chemical smell, but not really. I even had an MRI of my brain, convinced I had a brain tumor (phantom smells) but tests check out OK. Since then I am living in a different house and being near the fireplace will bring on the "phantom smell" but of course it must be fumes/chemicals from inside the fireplace. Anyway, YES, people who suffer from anxiety are hypersensitive!:angel: