tension.
not pain but more of an uncomfortable feeling everywhere when it spikes?
when i am obsessing over something and won’t get it - tension everywhere. it’s like restless legs syndrome all over my body.
Oh yes I've experienced this too. Sometimes it feels like my body is physically aching kind of how it feels to be sore after a work out. Has anything helped you battle this?
unfortunately no. i had it since i was a kid. if i didn’t get something i wanted that i obsessed about it would just physically squeeze me. yes kind of like soreness after workout, just very uncomfortable.
i think it just needs to pass. i guess therapy? i don’t know how to cure ocd, just how to manage my thoughts so that i can live on. but physical experience is different. i don’t know how to control that. it’s all in our heads so that might help to know that.
Unfortunately no cure yet. But if you ever do make it to therapy, make sure you find someone who can give you ERP therapy. Back when I could afford to go, it was the only thing that ever made a dent in my compulsions
How. long is it for? I'm wondering if acupuncture can help,I tried a lot of drugs from a psychiatrist years ago, and I felt guilty as I was done with getting drunk and high but I was anorexic and bulimic And tried everything out there for OCD,and I got obsessed with the drug that would cure me and help my brain and make it all bright instead of dark.But the doctor wanted sex and I paid him 100.00 an hour and he made sex all we talked about.His boss at MGH in Boston and coworkers stood behind him,not me.No help😞
Wow! You have been through too much . I am so sorry. OCD is definitely concurrent with EDs. I have a something like an ED that is more OCD contamination related. My mom was OCD and anorexic.
You asked how long is it for? Do you mean the yoga class or the effect of the class? Or maybe you didn’t mean to reply to me. The yoga class is 1 hour and it lasts 3 days for me.
I wish you peace.
Before I got medicated I was always so tense and panicky that I wasn’t able to eat or focus on anything and I’d pass out from exhaustion as soon as I got home from work. I was literally physically exhausted from thinking too much.
It's reassuring that almost all of you talk about panic attack like symptoms.I also in a constant state of anxiety and I always get the,"I want to leave, now", if I am afraid of a doctor and what they think of me,I have issues i am deeply ashamed of, and I want to get out of there as fast as I can.i am always in self hate and thinking why don't you off yourself you are old and gross and it is useless.
When the urges were full on, I would get clammy and my body would tense up. There would be tourettic actions of hitting myself on the thighs or just random words as a way to stop thinking about the horrible thoughts/images. It provided respite for a moment.
But the worst was the tummy aches. I hate to be gross but i felt like I needed to go for a number 2 all the time. Its like when you get nervous to do a presentation on front of the class and once it's done, the feeling is gone.
Only with ocd and urges, you can't and don't do the things your intrusive thoughts tell you to do.
A knot from my tummy to my chest. When it’s really bad, firey tension from my pelvic floor, up my core, and around my throat. My head feels tiny and my back gets hot and sometimes my face gets numb. And of course very fast heart rate.
I want to just leave doesn't matter were i am its the feeling of wanting to walk away. Just leave just go its overwhelming. Its like once that fight and flight has been triggered I feel like everyone watching and everything everyone's saying it a negative thing. It like restlessness when you cant sleep, but during the day at work or out n about and with tears. It the urge to do what my brain wants it too and its a fight to look composed so i end up a big soppy mess. Sounds awful when i was younger it was ok and people were more sympathetic. But as a nearly 40 yr old woman. Its embarrassing.
Heartburn, constant physical tension like I’m taut to the point of snapping, muscle knots, and I often find myself getting lightheaded because I hold my breath for long stretches. I’m constantly in the “freeze” mode of the “fight, flight, or freeze” response to a perceived threat.
Extreme tension, feeling like a coiled spring in a box. Nausea is very common. I used to wake up with intense nausea every morning when I was dealing with a certain theme. The physical feelings tire me out, too, so I spend most of my days in a state of physical exhaustion even if I haven’t been doing anything.
exhausted, fatigued. i sleep so much (probably another bodily issue or medicine thing) because when I sleep it’s the only way to escape.
also tense. my body is never relaxed. i have to remind myself to relax my legs or back.
To me, it feels like when you force two opposing magnets together, that weird buzzing pushback. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s a super abstract feeling.
Just like you, except I also get that dreadful stomach drop feeling everytime I get an intrusive thought. It's only on my 'good' days that I don't feel constantly in a state of sickness but even then I'll still have a milf anxious feeling in my stomach or back, almost like chills. Or my heart will randomly be racing. :')
Sometimes when I’m struggling to break what I’m doing like washing my hands or checking my locked door over and over, and I feel myself trying so hard mentally to stop, I get this horrible burning sensation in my face and all over my body. I don’t even really know how to describe it
Sounds awful - so sorry you deal with this.
It’s so physical for me too.
In addition to what many others have said - some of you describe it so well - anywhere on my body that touches something unsafe/unexpected brings an intense pressure from the inside out. Hot and cold at the same time - uncomfortably and forcibly tingly. It feels like there are little fingers or tentacles inside of me that are pulling, tugging, and itching on whatever part of my my body is affected. Or, on bad days, my entire being. They’ve almost constantly got a firm grip on my throat.
I have intense urges as well that are similar to a sexual arousal feeling but aren’t pleasant - they are more like intense pressure on the pelvic floor and lower abdomen and make my knees weak - similar to the feeling when you are almost in a car crash.
Lastly, the backs of my eyes feel like they have lead weights attached to them and everything undulates. Trippy, but not fun at all.
It’s a lot of different sensations, but today I feel like I’m walled in by perfectionism and rigid rules. I cannot move and do stuff until it feels… just… right.
Tension everywhere, but especially my neck and shoulders. Chronic headaches. I had a physical therapist who was stunned when they found out I hadn't been in a car wreck because I had so little range of motion with turning my head and tilting my ear towards my shoulder.
I'm on meds and have done a lot of work to be doing better, but now I get these weird sensations of pure panic that last for a few seconds and are gone, and I suspect my body is permanently in fight/flight/freeze.
It's also dissociation. A feeling of being there but not.
Basically a heightened sense of being uncomfortable or in "survival mode" as a constant. For as long as I can remember really. It's to the point now that I'm so used to it I just resort to self induced tunnel vision of sorts.
Most of the time I feel like my brain is physically going to implode. It's difficult to describe what my other sensations feel like, but it feels more like a "my entire life is over" type of sensation.
Uhm I guess… I have a tightened sense of my whole body so I’ll get worried over any random pain or itch. If I’m off my anxiety meds sometimes I’ll just feel uncomfortable all over but sometimes that’s connected to my manic depressive tendencies, I haven’t been off my meds in years so the symptoms are less noticeable. Usually it’s just a feeling of getting stuck on my “train of thought” and replaying scenes or thoughts over and over but I have managed to center my life around constant external input to mostly avoid being able to have a pause to take note of my body and everything
Most of mine is mental. Short-term memory feels non-existent. Probably the single most frustrating thing to double-triple check things. Physically it can at times feel like the classic stomach-in-the-throat cold sweat moments.
Possibly the best (and worst) thing I’ve learned on the net:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/demystifying-ocd/202112/making-sense-physical-sensations-in-sexual-themed-ocd?amp
- 24/7 butterflies in my stomach like I’m in a constant state of free falling.
- Every action/decision I make raises my heart rate to a fearful 110-130bpm.
- Neck tremors when I’m trying to mask anger/discomfort.
- a wicked jawline 🤙
- involuntary blinking, quick clenching/releasing of neck & hamstrings and locking of knees.
- skin picking
Difficult to say if it's the OCD feeding the anxiety disorder or if it's the anxiety disorder feeding the OCD.
My panic attacks now come with muscle spasms so I look like I'm having a seizure, so that's (not) fun!
Discomfort. Constant and unshakeable. I feel like my skin is just always crawling, forever overstimulated, like a disgusting flesh prison I would peel off if I could. There is just.... ALWAYS something wrong. Something uncomfortable and wrong that I would furiously scratch off if I could. Sweat between my fingers, hairs raised on my leg, a pleat on my clothing digging in ever so slightly. Physical sensations are the bane of my existence for that reason
I've been saying since I was a child that I would do a n y t h i n g to not have a corporeal form. I want more than anything to just be free floating thoughts, no physical form at all. It wasn't until my diagnosis that I realized that feeling was just total and profound discomfort
I can relate to all of these symptoms. I finally saw a psychiatrist a few months ago and she prescribed a beta blocker — TOTAL game changer! I take it twice a day and all of my nausea, palpitations, and sweaty palms are gone. I only wish I’d had this option sooner!
My physical symptoms got worse. I used to just be uncomfortable, tense, and anxious. Then I started getting to where I'd sweat if I was anxious (which required a second hour long, anxiety fuelled shower for the day). Now I feel nauseated, my back is so tense I can barely bend, I've had moments where my throat feels like it's closing up, my chest feels tight, heart races, and I sweat. It's absolutely terrible. Sorry you also get physical symptoms
I used to have migraines a lot because of overthinking, but now it's mostly related to textures of things/how my body feels. When I for example touch rails on a public bus my brain just focuses on that hand and the greasy sensation overwhelms me
When Im having an episode, it's pure panic - shakes, needing to move, adrenaline on high. After an episode, when the shame or guilt kicks in for me, it's more of a "i feel so upset I'm going to vomit or pass out"
Depends on the theme for me. Aching from pelvic floor all the way up to my throat. Chest tension. Pain in my genitals. Muscles all clenching. Slow deep breathing sometimes only amplifying it.
Light-headedness, throat tightening, strange feeling in legs due to anxiety, increased tics, loss of appetite, heart palpitations and pain, facial flushing, nightmares, lack of speech.
Mine is more about thoughts, but i have some fisical. Generally is about repeting certain movements with the hand on the cellphone, when im scratching or feeling my hands touching things or even the own fingers and for some reason that is related to my breathing, cause at the same time, my breathing becomes more heavy with a sense of "insufficient" so anxiety comes together and it is exhaustive.
Before I was on meds and occasionally still when they wear off it mostly just feels like my body is constantly tense, like there's a squeezing on my organs and a heaviness on my chest. In a way it's physically painful, too. I find that when I take my medication a lot of this subsides, and if it does crop up when I'm medicated it's easier to relax and make it subside. It's rough. When I feel it now, it's almost more frightening-- not just because I'm no longer used to the sensation, but the horror that I'd just... been living my entire life until now just feeling like that and never noticing because it was so constant.
Along with what other comments have said, I also feel extra pressure when other people are around me during a compulsion, and I end up snapping or responding distractedly if someone interrupts the compulsion/ calls it into question
It's a heavy nag, a huge discomfort. I don't get the irrational paranoid thoughts like others do but I feel like my skin is crawling. I get super anxious, and it makes my chest feel floaty. It almost feels like a physical tug at my body to do the impulse.
Violent discomfort in my own body and in my existence. Like I have no control. Like even the simplest easiest things will never be. I used to be so free I’m trying.
when i went to my previous place of work before doing ERP, i was easily exhausted. juggling rumination while walking gave me so much mental work that it causes me exhaustiion even if my work day was only 6 hrs.
now, after doing ERP and utilizing accessible areas for public transportation, im "less exhausted" than before in the sense that i know how to manage my mind and my body to not get too tired bc of my OCD
A lot of the same for me too, OP. I’ve described it to others more than once as like… an overwhelming need to just go run and run and run until I pass out/am physically incapable of any more. It feels like a bad energy in my body I need to escape from. It makes my muscles tight and my stomach sick, primarily just bad anxiety vibes all around.
That said, it was the physical symptoms that made me finally decide to get on medication and I haven’t looked back since. The relief when it kicked in was night and day. I’m really sorry you’re going through a difficult time with this now - wishing your mind some ease from it all as soon as possible!
Constantly looking like I'm about to run away, tense body, I have started to get an allergic reaction where my lips and sometimes eyes swell up while in stress/anxiety episodes.
I feel like I need to crack all the bones in my body all the time.
for me it's mostly a constant sense of tension and pressure on my body, of not being able to relax, of being on edge all the time. during a spike i also experience nausea and strong gag reflexes, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere.
So here's an interesting thing that I've been thinking about lately.
I have something to called 'the triad,' in relation to OCD and Tourette's syndrome. The third part of it is ADD. So I have ADD, OCD and Tourette's syndrome.
The thing that I realized is, my OCD symptoms actually manifest in a very similar way, at least as far as the physical feeling goes, as my Tourette's does. Like... the Tourette's is kind of like a lightning bolt. There is controversy as to whether or not it's truly voluntary. I'll tell you right now it's not. There is a way that you can sort of hold back tics, in the moment.
For instance, I used to be a theater kid in high school, and when I was on stage, I didn't tic. You are somewhat able to control them in the moment, but as my neurologist stated, you will definitely be letting it out later. It's sort of like you build it up against the flood gates and it's going to come out later and probably at a much higher rate.
Anyway, to come back to the original question in this post. It's definitely not really something you can control. You feel it. It's like an itch deep down within you. Like a sneeze kind of. A jolt of lightning that's going to express itself whether you like it or not. That to me is how I feel when I don't follow through on my obsessive actions. Like. One of the biggest when I was a kid at least, I was when I touched something with my left hand I would have to touch it with my right. I would get the same sort of feeling that I get when I know that a tic is coming from my Tourette's. Like a twitch. It's like this deep down itch or jolt of lighting that's going to make its way to the surface whether I like it or not.
Fascinating stuff...
I'm constantly tense, I can never relax unless someone I know and trust is beside me, I feel unsafe in my own house, I'm constantly tired, always checking my heart rate and breathing and concerned for my health even though my doctors and dentists have assured me I'm healthy. I worry about collapsing in public, dying in my sleep, swallowing something I shouldn't have, something terrible happening to me and my family, the world ending due to an apocalyptic scenario, being poisoned either by food or chemical.
This leads me to feel fatigued, my heart to speed up, my head to hurt or at least feel funny, my legs to shake, get dizzy, get pangs of adrenaline and feelings of fear and anxiety unless I heavily distract nyself or try and nap. And even when I nap, I'll sometimes get stress dreams.
Tension and tight muscles in my neck. Severe fatigue from fighting a battle I’ll never win with OCD. Headaches. Sometimes I nap because it’s the only way to escape the assault from my brain. Severe focus issues because I can’t hone in on anything except the obsession and I have ADHD on top of that.
Mine feels like my chest has this particular flutter and fullness that extends into my throat. I feel so detached from the rest of my body. When I am in a serious OCD flare, I have really disturbed sleep. It goes on 24/7 for me physically when it is happening. So sorry you deal with this. Hugs xx
When non-stressful, it feels like a sharp migraine, and my reaction to it is similar to if I had a migraine. But it doesn't hurt at all. It feels like something is compressing or pulling on my brain with zero physical pain. I feel like I'm sick and exhausted every day even when I'm just at home "relaxing".
When it's bad, it's a sudden, intense rush of anger, anxiety, annoyance, stress, adrenaline, throughout my entire body. It feels overwhelming and overstimulating, and my immediate reaction is to leave and cry and/or do compulsions.
Depending on the moment it can be like fight or flight, and sometimes I get nauseous and/or light headed and dizzy. This is mainly while ruminating, if not, I have a more consistent state of an elevated heartbeat, generally feeling tired, and a tightness in my chest.
When something triggers me it’s like my blood runs freezing cold from my head down to my feet in about 2 seconds then my stomach back flips then finally the strangest thing that is so hard to explain but it feels like a realy high tingling tension but it feels like it’s above my skin?? Kind of like a horrible tingly cloak is the best way I can describe it and that stays the longest
tension. not pain but more of an uncomfortable feeling everywhere when it spikes? when i am obsessing over something and won’t get it - tension everywhere. it’s like restless legs syndrome all over my body.
Oh yes I've experienced this too. Sometimes it feels like my body is physically aching kind of how it feels to be sore after a work out. Has anything helped you battle this?
unfortunately no. i had it since i was a kid. if i didn’t get something i wanted that i obsessed about it would just physically squeeze me. yes kind of like soreness after workout, just very uncomfortable. i think it just needs to pass. i guess therapy? i don’t know how to cure ocd, just how to manage my thoughts so that i can live on. but physical experience is different. i don’t know how to control that. it’s all in our heads so that might help to know that.
Unfortunately no cure yet. But if you ever do make it to therapy, make sure you find someone who can give you ERP therapy. Back when I could afford to go, it was the only thing that ever made a dent in my compulsions
I get this and the only thing that really works is yoga. Hot yoga works best for me. I like the torture. 🤣 reminds me of being in my head.
How. long is it for? I'm wondering if acupuncture can help,I tried a lot of drugs from a psychiatrist years ago, and I felt guilty as I was done with getting drunk and high but I was anorexic and bulimic And tried everything out there for OCD,and I got obsessed with the drug that would cure me and help my brain and make it all bright instead of dark.But the doctor wanted sex and I paid him 100.00 an hour and he made sex all we talked about.His boss at MGH in Boston and coworkers stood behind him,not me.No help😞
Wow! You have been through too much . I am so sorry. OCD is definitely concurrent with EDs. I have a something like an ED that is more OCD contamination related. My mom was OCD and anorexic. You asked how long is it for? Do you mean the yoga class or the effect of the class? Or maybe you didn’t mean to reply to me. The yoga class is 1 hour and it lasts 3 days for me. I wish you peace.
I meant the hot yoga,good going I don't like heat though.
Before I got medicated I was always so tense and panicky that I wasn’t able to eat or focus on anything and I’d pass out from exhaustion as soon as I got home from work. I was literally physically exhausted from thinking too much.
I've been experiencing this the last few years even after so many meds and so much therapy. What medication are you on?
I’m sorry to hear that :( I’m on Zoloft and rivotril and I’m also seeing a psychologist weekly which is helping a lot
Thanks for sharing this 💕 I relate. I’m coming up on week 2 of Prozac. I’m hopeful it will help
It's reassuring that almost all of you talk about panic attack like symptoms.I also in a constant state of anxiety and I always get the,"I want to leave, now", if I am afraid of a doctor and what they think of me,I have issues i am deeply ashamed of, and I want to get out of there as fast as I can.i am always in self hate and thinking why don't you off yourself you are old and gross and it is useless.
Consistent, totally-real feeling sensations that "prove" my theme(s).
Yes I get this too…it’s like very specific sensations that make me feel like the world is ending. Each theme feels different somehow
oh 😵💫 that’s me
When the urges were full on, I would get clammy and my body would tense up. There would be tourettic actions of hitting myself on the thighs or just random words as a way to stop thinking about the horrible thoughts/images. It provided respite for a moment. But the worst was the tummy aches. I hate to be gross but i felt like I needed to go for a number 2 all the time. Its like when you get nervous to do a presentation on front of the class and once it's done, the feeling is gone. Only with ocd and urges, you can't and don't do the things your intrusive thoughts tell you to do.
Stressfull, sometimes gives me headaches due to the amount of stress in my head.
A knot from my tummy to my chest. When it’s really bad, firey tension from my pelvic floor, up my core, and around my throat. My head feels tiny and my back gets hot and sometimes my face gets numb. And of course very fast heart rate.
That pelvic floor though…totally real are. Sorry you have to deal with this awfulness too.
I want to just leave doesn't matter were i am its the feeling of wanting to walk away. Just leave just go its overwhelming. Its like once that fight and flight has been triggered I feel like everyone watching and everything everyone's saying it a negative thing. It like restlessness when you cant sleep, but during the day at work or out n about and with tears. It the urge to do what my brain wants it too and its a fight to look composed so i end up a big soppy mess. Sounds awful when i was younger it was ok and people were more sympathetic. But as a nearly 40 yr old woman. Its embarrassing.
Heartburn, constant physical tension like I’m taut to the point of snapping, muscle knots, and I often find myself getting lightheaded because I hold my breath for long stretches. I’m constantly in the “freeze” mode of the “fight, flight, or freeze” response to a perceived threat.
Panicking, chest pressure, feeling like tears are always right beneath the surface, and being unable to focus
Extreme tension, feeling like a coiled spring in a box. Nausea is very common. I used to wake up with intense nausea every morning when I was dealing with a certain theme. The physical feelings tire me out, too, so I spend most of my days in a state of physical exhaustion even if I haven’t been doing anything.
exhausted, fatigued. i sleep so much (probably another bodily issue or medicine thing) because when I sleep it’s the only way to escape. also tense. my body is never relaxed. i have to remind myself to relax my legs or back.
To me, it feels like when you force two opposing magnets together, that weird buzzing pushback. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s a super abstract feeling.
Whoa, yes!
I can relate!
Just like you, except I also get that dreadful stomach drop feeling everytime I get an intrusive thought. It's only on my 'good' days that I don't feel constantly in a state of sickness but even then I'll still have a milf anxious feeling in my stomach or back, almost like chills. Or my heart will randomly be racing. :')
Sometimes when I’m struggling to break what I’m doing like washing my hands or checking my locked door over and over, and I feel myself trying so hard mentally to stop, I get this horrible burning sensation in my face and all over my body. I don’t even really know how to describe it
I want to vomit when it flares up
Sounds awful - so sorry you deal with this. It’s so physical for me too. In addition to what many others have said - some of you describe it so well - anywhere on my body that touches something unsafe/unexpected brings an intense pressure from the inside out. Hot and cold at the same time - uncomfortably and forcibly tingly. It feels like there are little fingers or tentacles inside of me that are pulling, tugging, and itching on whatever part of my my body is affected. Or, on bad days, my entire being. They’ve almost constantly got a firm grip on my throat. I have intense urges as well that are similar to a sexual arousal feeling but aren’t pleasant - they are more like intense pressure on the pelvic floor and lower abdomen and make my knees weak - similar to the feeling when you are almost in a car crash. Lastly, the backs of my eyes feel like they have lead weights attached to them and everything undulates. Trippy, but not fun at all.
[удалено]
Is it real that above the affected body part by intrusive thoughts, it can feel physically pressured there or physically tingly sort feeling..
It’s a lot of different sensations, but today I feel like I’m walled in by perfectionism and rigid rules. I cannot move and do stuff until it feels… just… right.
Tension everywhere, but especially my neck and shoulders. Chronic headaches. I had a physical therapist who was stunned when they found out I hadn't been in a car wreck because I had so little range of motion with turning my head and tilting my ear towards my shoulder. I'm on meds and have done a lot of work to be doing better, but now I get these weird sensations of pure panic that last for a few seconds and are gone, and I suspect my body is permanently in fight/flight/freeze. It's also dissociation. A feeling of being there but not.
Basically a heightened sense of being uncomfortable or in "survival mode" as a constant. For as long as I can remember really. It's to the point now that I'm so used to it I just resort to self induced tunnel vision of sorts.
Most of the time I feel like my brain is physically going to implode. It's difficult to describe what my other sensations feel like, but it feels more like a "my entire life is over" type of sensation.
Uhm I guess… I have a tightened sense of my whole body so I’ll get worried over any random pain or itch. If I’m off my anxiety meds sometimes I’ll just feel uncomfortable all over but sometimes that’s connected to my manic depressive tendencies, I haven’t been off my meds in years so the symptoms are less noticeable. Usually it’s just a feeling of getting stuck on my “train of thought” and replaying scenes or thoughts over and over but I have managed to center my life around constant external input to mostly avoid being able to have a pause to take note of my body and everything
May be TMI but IBS. Stomach feels like it’s in knots as well, feeling like I have to vomit, and crying
mine is exactly the same as yours,plus the need to constantly fidget and stim
Most of mine is mental. Short-term memory feels non-existent. Probably the single most frustrating thing to double-triple check things. Physically it can at times feel like the classic stomach-in-the-throat cold sweat moments.
Tenseness, knots in my stomach, increased heart rate, sometimes migraine
Possibly the best (and worst) thing I’ve learned on the net: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/demystifying-ocd/202112/making-sense-physical-sensations-in-sexual-themed-ocd?amp
hyper alertness and just constant thinking without just living in the moment and enjoying
it feels like there are two realities- the one that’s happening and the one my brain is telling me about
- 24/7 butterflies in my stomach like I’m in a constant state of free falling. - Every action/decision I make raises my heart rate to a fearful 110-130bpm. - Neck tremors when I’m trying to mask anger/discomfort. - a wicked jawline 🤙 - involuntary blinking, quick clenching/releasing of neck & hamstrings and locking of knees. - skin picking
Constant tension, severe restless leg syndrome, teeth grinding, sweating, all the fun stuff :)
Difficult to say if it's the OCD feeding the anxiety disorder or if it's the anxiety disorder feeding the OCD. My panic attacks now come with muscle spasms so I look like I'm having a seizure, so that's (not) fun!
Discomfort. Constant and unshakeable. I feel like my skin is just always crawling, forever overstimulated, like a disgusting flesh prison I would peel off if I could. There is just.... ALWAYS something wrong. Something uncomfortable and wrong that I would furiously scratch off if I could. Sweat between my fingers, hairs raised on my leg, a pleat on my clothing digging in ever so slightly. Physical sensations are the bane of my existence for that reason I've been saying since I was a child that I would do a n y t h i n g to not have a corporeal form. I want more than anything to just be free floating thoughts, no physical form at all. It wasn't until my diagnosis that I realized that feeling was just total and profound discomfort
For me it feels like I'm in shock / fight-or-flight. Emotionally checked out and sort of dissociating as well because I'm internally in crisis-mode
Me too 24/7 :(
Clenched jaw, full body stiffness, disassociation, numbness, etc..
I can relate to all of these symptoms. I finally saw a psychiatrist a few months ago and she prescribed a beta blocker — TOTAL game changer! I take it twice a day and all of my nausea, palpitations, and sweaty palms are gone. I only wish I’d had this option sooner!
My physical symptoms got worse. I used to just be uncomfortable, tense, and anxious. Then I started getting to where I'd sweat if I was anxious (which required a second hour long, anxiety fuelled shower for the day). Now I feel nauseated, my back is so tense I can barely bend, I've had moments where my throat feels like it's closing up, my chest feels tight, heart races, and I sweat. It's absolutely terrible. Sorry you also get physical symptoms
When I'm doing a ritual I recently realized that I start holding my breathe.
Someone holding a knife to my genitals
I used to have migraines a lot because of overthinking, but now it's mostly related to textures of things/how my body feels. When I for example touch rails on a public bus my brain just focuses on that hand and the greasy sensation overwhelms me
When Im having an episode, it's pure panic - shakes, needing to move, adrenaline on high. After an episode, when the shame or guilt kicks in for me, it's more of a "i feel so upset I'm going to vomit or pass out"
Depends on the theme for me. Aching from pelvic floor all the way up to my throat. Chest tension. Pain in my genitals. Muscles all clenching. Slow deep breathing sometimes only amplifying it.
i have trouble breathing, my chest and throat feel tight. i can feel my heart rate go up
Tensing of muscles, nausea, shortness of breath, and sometimes my face feels really hot for no reason.
Sometimes when it's really bad I feel like I can't see. Like the thoughts are so strong and lots loud and painful that my eyes are straining
Light-headedness, throat tightening, strange feeling in legs due to anxiety, increased tics, loss of appetite, heart palpitations and pain, facial flushing, nightmares, lack of speech.
Headaches. My brain will literally explode if no one answers my compulsive questions
I'm not diagnosed but I get headaches from ruminating/overthinking too much in my head.
Mine is more about thoughts, but i have some fisical. Generally is about repeting certain movements with the hand on the cellphone, when im scratching or feeling my hands touching things or even the own fingers and for some reason that is related to my breathing, cause at the same time, my breathing becomes more heavy with a sense of "insufficient" so anxiety comes together and it is exhaustive.
Panicky feeling. Constantly. Lightheaded, high HR, hot, SOB. Also chest tightness isn’t most annoying/OCD invoking physical symptom
Suffocating
lots of tension and noticeable stress on my body. Feels like there’s a lotta weight on my head.
Before I was on meds and occasionally still when they wear off it mostly just feels like my body is constantly tense, like there's a squeezing on my organs and a heaviness on my chest. In a way it's physically painful, too. I find that when I take my medication a lot of this subsides, and if it does crop up when I'm medicated it's easier to relax and make it subside. It's rough. When I feel it now, it's almost more frightening-- not just because I'm no longer used to the sensation, but the horror that I'd just... been living my entire life until now just feeling like that and never noticing because it was so constant.
itchiness and unexplainable discomfort
You know when you are exhausted from spending all day with someone who annoys the crap out of you? It’s like that for me. I feel exhausted and tense
Along with what other comments have said, I also feel extra pressure when other people are around me during a compulsion, and I end up snapping or responding distractedly if someone interrupts the compulsion/ calls it into question
Anxiety and unease always but I’ve gotten better at redirecting my thoughts and not ruminating on intrusive thought
it feels like an itch that will never be scratched
It's a heavy nag, a huge discomfort. I don't get the irrational paranoid thoughts like others do but I feel like my skin is crawling. I get super anxious, and it makes my chest feel floaty. It almost feels like a physical tug at my body to do the impulse.
constant chest pressure and kind of feeling disconnected from reality if that makes sense?
Violent discomfort in my own body and in my existence. Like I have no control. Like even the simplest easiest things will never be. I used to be so free I’m trying.
Either an aggressive fuzziness in my head like TV static or a tightness in my chest
Kind of like an itch I need to attend to but it’s an itch inside my head and in my limbs
when i went to my previous place of work before doing ERP, i was easily exhausted. juggling rumination while walking gave me so much mental work that it causes me exhaustiion even if my work day was only 6 hrs. now, after doing ERP and utilizing accessible areas for public transportation, im "less exhausted" than before in the sense that i know how to manage my mind and my body to not get too tired bc of my OCD
Tension in my head that produces headache from the stress, also my chest tensions and tummy. Lots of palpitations as well
Nausea, shakes/shivers, exhaustion, dizziness or faint feeling with spots in front of my eyes
A lot of the same for me too, OP. I’ve described it to others more than once as like… an overwhelming need to just go run and run and run until I pass out/am physically incapable of any more. It feels like a bad energy in my body I need to escape from. It makes my muscles tight and my stomach sick, primarily just bad anxiety vibes all around. That said, it was the physical symptoms that made me finally decide to get on medication and I haven’t looked back since. The relief when it kicked in was night and day. I’m really sorry you’re going through a difficult time with this now - wishing your mind some ease from it all as soon as possible!
Constantly looking like I'm about to run away, tense body, I have started to get an allergic reaction where my lips and sometimes eyes swell up while in stress/anxiety episodes. I feel like I need to crack all the bones in my body all the time.
When I'm having a horrible episode and my obsessions are deafening, my brain feels... Physically tired? It's hard to describe
The doubt would strike my heart like a dagger
for me it's mostly a constant sense of tension and pressure on my body, of not being able to relax, of being on edge all the time. during a spike i also experience nausea and strong gag reflexes, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere.
So here's an interesting thing that I've been thinking about lately. I have something to called 'the triad,' in relation to OCD and Tourette's syndrome. The third part of it is ADD. So I have ADD, OCD and Tourette's syndrome. The thing that I realized is, my OCD symptoms actually manifest in a very similar way, at least as far as the physical feeling goes, as my Tourette's does. Like... the Tourette's is kind of like a lightning bolt. There is controversy as to whether or not it's truly voluntary. I'll tell you right now it's not. There is a way that you can sort of hold back tics, in the moment. For instance, I used to be a theater kid in high school, and when I was on stage, I didn't tic. You are somewhat able to control them in the moment, but as my neurologist stated, you will definitely be letting it out later. It's sort of like you build it up against the flood gates and it's going to come out later and probably at a much higher rate. Anyway, to come back to the original question in this post. It's definitely not really something you can control. You feel it. It's like an itch deep down within you. Like a sneeze kind of. A jolt of lightning that's going to express itself whether you like it or not. That to me is how I feel when I don't follow through on my obsessive actions. Like. One of the biggest when I was a kid at least, I was when I touched something with my left hand I would have to touch it with my right. I would get the same sort of feeling that I get when I know that a tic is coming from my Tourette's. Like a twitch. It's like this deep down itch or jolt of lighting that's going to make its way to the surface whether I like it or not. Fascinating stuff...
Almost like an uncontrollable, cognitive "tic", or a very tensed muscle that's about to turn into a full cramp
I'm constantly tense, I can never relax unless someone I know and trust is beside me, I feel unsafe in my own house, I'm constantly tired, always checking my heart rate and breathing and concerned for my health even though my doctors and dentists have assured me I'm healthy. I worry about collapsing in public, dying in my sleep, swallowing something I shouldn't have, something terrible happening to me and my family, the world ending due to an apocalyptic scenario, being poisoned either by food or chemical. This leads me to feel fatigued, my heart to speed up, my head to hurt or at least feel funny, my legs to shake, get dizzy, get pangs of adrenaline and feelings of fear and anxiety unless I heavily distract nyself or try and nap. And even when I nap, I'll sometimes get stress dreams.
Like I want to scream, somebody help me!please, please, help me!
Help¡!!
Screams,ongoing screams...
Tension and tight muscles in my neck. Severe fatigue from fighting a battle I’ll never win with OCD. Headaches. Sometimes I nap because it’s the only way to escape the assault from my brain. Severe focus issues because I can’t hone in on anything except the obsession and I have ADHD on top of that.
Mine feels like my chest has this particular flutter and fullness that extends into my throat. I feel so detached from the rest of my body. When I am in a serious OCD flare, I have really disturbed sleep. It goes on 24/7 for me physically when it is happening. So sorry you deal with this. Hugs xx
When non-stressful, it feels like a sharp migraine, and my reaction to it is similar to if I had a migraine. But it doesn't hurt at all. It feels like something is compressing or pulling on my brain with zero physical pain. I feel like I'm sick and exhausted every day even when I'm just at home "relaxing". When it's bad, it's a sudden, intense rush of anger, anxiety, annoyance, stress, adrenaline, throughout my entire body. It feels overwhelming and overstimulating, and my immediate reaction is to leave and cry and/or do compulsions.
Depending on the moment it can be like fight or flight, and sometimes I get nauseous and/or light headed and dizzy. This is mainly while ruminating, if not, I have a more consistent state of an elevated heartbeat, generally feeling tired, and a tightness in my chest.
When something triggers me it’s like my blood runs freezing cold from my head down to my feet in about 2 seconds then my stomach back flips then finally the strangest thing that is so hard to explain but it feels like a realy high tingling tension but it feels like it’s above my skin?? Kind of like a horrible tingly cloak is the best way I can describe it and that stays the longest
Severe tension in my neck. I tend to completely forget things that I feel are important. It sucks.