Hands shaking (tremor) and Nervousness/Anxiety

Since my pain has really become diminished and most days I do not have pain, my hands have started shaking and I feel nervous almost all the time. It's not really that bad anxiety that I've had in the past, but it started after I began taking oxycodone daily, so I don't know if that is a cause or not. At first I thought it was withdrawal, but I have it even when taking the medication. I have it when I am not taking the medication as well. I know it can cause longterm affects on the brain. So in other words, I don't know if taking oxy caused this problem because I now have it unconditionally to whether I take the drug or not.

It hasn't worried me since I always had bigger problems going on, but it got a lot worse during my last job which was very stressful, and now that I've been laid off it continues to be pretty bad. I am nervous all the time. And the more nervous I get the worse my hands shake. The other day my hands and arm muscles began shaking after doing a lot of push ups. Of course my psychology class included Parkinson's Disease last night. So being a natural worrier I began worrying that that may be the cause, it is unlikely though and I have had hypochondria in the past.

Just wanted to know if any others have experienced similar symptoms. And what they did to help things.

Thanks.

 

Oh my yes, I know what you're experiencing with anxiety. Been there, still doing that at times.

Anxiety is a TMS equivalent. It holds your attention just the same as pain does, sometimes even more. It acts as an effective distraction from unwanted thoughts and feelings.

Anxiety often gets worse if you are learning about TMS and challenging your pain symptoms. Sometimes the unconscious doesn't like being 'found out'.

Treat the anxiety just as you would any other TMS symptom. Think psychological. What is the anxiety distracting you from?

You might find it helpful to read the section on treatment in The Divided Mind, especially the section by Arlene Feinblatt. She talks about the role of anxiety in recovery.

 

I agree with David about anxiety being a TMS symptom. You're not alone in having anxiety... millions of others are in the same boat.

When I feel anxiety, I practice deep breathing and mindfulness, living in the moment. There is a month-long seminar on this web site starting Oct. 1
on mindfulness. I hope you join us there. Meanwhile, there are excellent posts about it in the subforums and also videos on Youtube.

 

I think your TMS has come up with another condition to scare you and its doing a great job! Remember the heart palpitations? If you want, you can get it checked out and see if your doc thinks it is something to be concerned about. About a month ago I was having some problems with muscle stiffness and hand "weakness" I started to imagine perhaps I had the beginning of some serious neurological disease. I went to my GP who has been seeing me for 20 years. He asked me a bunch of questions and I encouraged him to check out the strength in my hands etc. He didn't think it was anything worth investigating. Within hours of leaving his office I had a new, intense pain in my sternum that I had never felt before. I truly don't know what is left for my subconscious to scare me with but I am sure it will come up with something. Now I feel fine!! My hands are fine, my muscles are fine! I could barely walk... I hope things turn around for you soon. Try to focus on your life. These symptoms are not your life.

 

Excellent advice Ann

I have been going threw my own ordeals my wife took off for a month to find herself..she told me so I been at home with the kids ( 17-19) not really kids but you know what I mean…my pain got worse when she left then gradually better running and biking everyday know that she told me she will be back in 2 days BANG TMS started burning feet heal pain for no reason feels like I step in on a nail. I needed to take something last night to settle into bed knowing all the long my that I am letting my emotions run wild.

Also purchased Dr S work book, its a nice change with the work sheets and all the emotional writing similar to the SEP.

 

Hey all, thanks for the encouragement. If I had doubts it was TMS/anxiety I would certainly go to a doctor, so luckily my fear is not getting the best of me. I think I'm just in a bad spot because being unemployed it's just me and my problems it seems so I've been focusing on everything. I think you're right that the shaking and anxiety is a TMS symptom. I have been nervous all my life and usually I bite my fingers when nervous. Come to think of it, I haven't been doing that lately.

There's the main fear that my drug abuse has caused this problem and it's here to stay. But it's caused me to look at that more seriously so this month I'm being a lot more careful and going to try and cut down. I would stop altogether, but it seems like I need it to stop being nervous. I'm also self conscious about being seen in school or at work once I go back with my hands shaking. Giving presentations already freaks me out, let alone doing it with my hands shaking. I'm trying to be more active and that seems like the best treatment. It's funny looking back at all the times we have symptoms and think the worst. It has kind of prepared me a bit if I do eventually get some type of disease. It's helped me to realize I'm mortal like everyone else.

The heart palpitations was crazy, but now I know my heart is in good shape at least so I really don't have to fear heart disease.

The seminar in Oct sounds great. Is it on the site?

Anyway, thank you Anne, Walt, and good to meet you Tennis Tom, hopefully we see you around more often.

 

Weird, I posted that reply a few days ago and I guess it never posted. Anyway, Hi Boston, Anne always has great advice, she's helped me through the worst time I had. I'm doing so much better now. This darn nervous/shaking hands thing has me bothered though. Hopefully it will go away once I find a good job. My nerves could be really on edge after being laid off. What is the workbook you mentioned? Dr. Schubiner? I really tried to get something from that. I found the site's SEP a lot more helpful, plus there is this wonderful community here. If I was a stronger person I know I wouldn't have any symptoms, but all I can do is hope and pray it's part of God's plan for me. I have learned a lot about having compassion for others from going through this. It shattered my world, but maybe it was a false world that needed shattering. Now I know my purpose is to help others the way they have helped me through this.

 

Cirrusnarea

Hi I know what you are going threw been battling foot pain for 5 years…exhausting I have my good days but it just seems the bad days last longer…anyway Dr S workbook is much like the sep. I did the Sep 2 times and it was helpful I just wanted to try something different there is a lot of emotional writing , but for me its always the same topic….I only seem to have 1 main stressor and a few personality issues Goodist and Stolic.

I have done therapy it was ok did around 12 session, then went to a regular therapist which also help, but came a point where I realized I need to change my life and stop talking about it. Are you taking any meds at this present time to help with your anxiety? I have been on and off meds I am on a low dose I think it helps but I am sure its just the placebo effect. I hope you start to feel better soon

 

Right now just taking valium and oxycodone for anxiety. I'm experimenting with herbs/supplements such as GABA, skullcap, 5-htp, etc, but nothing really works. I do meditation as well. I just ordered hemp oil gummies which seem to be helping a lot of people. I still have mild backpain but nothing like it was. At this point if I could choose pain or anxiety I think I would choose the pain. But both keep me from living and enjoying my life. I'm just hoping a get a good job where I feel good about myself. I really need that right now. I just started seriously searching yesterday and already have some leads.

I have been taking zoloft but officially quit, my therapist said it could have something to do with the tremor as it is a side effect. So far after not taking it I have the mild flu symptoms but that's all. No change in depression/anxiety for better or worse. I wonder how much SSRI's have to do with the placebo effect. Even Dr. Sarno said the chemical changes in the brain that accompany depression etc, could just as well be a symptom and not the cause which I believe.

Good talking to you and as a fellow goodist I can relate. I don't do the writing anymore because, like you, I seem to have covered everything. The more I'm learning, I believe the brain programs itself into these ruts. And they will last years, even decades unless the brain learns a new habit and is programmed a different way. You need something dramatic to change your brain's focus from your foot. It could be a new job, hobby, something to change your brain's way of thinking. In my psychology class I just learned about how people with serious neurological damage such as blindness, etc have actually been cured by training the brain to take a different route while processing information. If the brain has an issue with certain neurons and are causing us symptoms like pain, etc, we need to find how to reprogram the brain into taking different routes.

 

Hey Cirrus, the link to register for the Mindfulness Summit is in my signature line below.

In the summer of 2011, "Before Sarno" one of my symptoms was episodes of shaky legs that were really scary, because whenever it happened I seriously didn't know if I would make it to the door or the car or wherever I was going. High anxiety was one of my bad symptoms, along with incipient depression, and a bunch of neuro and physical symptoms. The shaky legs never came back after I read The Divided Mind and started doing this work.

Have you read anything or done any work specific to anxiety? The best thing I did for mine was read Hope & Help For Your Nerves, the little book that has helped so many people with anxiety. Claire Weekes teaches a very simple process to change our minds when anxiety attacks. Change your mind, change the neurons, change the conditioned response. The process isn't hard - making up your mind to do it is the hard part.

 

HI Jan, yes I have that book and have been reading it. She offers some very helpful advice. Come to think of it, I had the shakey legs thing too a couple years ago, heck my whole body would shake I was so anxious. I'm very fortunate that the nervousness and tremor has calmed down. But it's like I'm on a roller coaster. How do I get to the point when I no longer have this irrational nervousness? I subject myself to public interaction, being back in school I have no choice. And I'm usually really good with people once I get comfortable with them. Otherwise I have pretty bad social anxiety. I will be nervous all day when I have class that night. And when we have group or partner activities I feel like I'm gonna pass out. I'll be going into Master's level courses soon and it's just going to get all the more difficult and I can't rely on drugs to get me through it.

 

Seriously, learning mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. Neuroscience is discovering that it makes positive changes in our brains, Professor Mark Williams is discovering through research studies that it is better for depression than meds, and we know that it calms anxiety, because it teaches us to break the constant negative chatter in our heads and to focus on being present.

Anxiety is all about the negative chatter. It's a constant bombardment.

The best news is that we can learn it easily and do it a few minutes a day to achieve the benefits. We don't have to meditate for an hour at a time or spend years learning. Neuroscience has figured that out, too!

 

can't emphasise enough how brilliant Claire Weekes is. someone provided the audio clips on here a while back and she ''gets it''. She explains anxiety in a way that reminds of TMS. there are clips of her online. She was a scientist who entered medicine later on and suffered anxiety.

 

I was about to make my own post about my pain that was replaced with anxiety, but some very good advice in this thread. I suffered really bad panic/anxiety attacks for a couple years when I was 9-11 yrs old. Every night was a battle to fall asleep. (had heart palpitations since I was about 17) Now after 20 years and a battle with TMS, Im almost pain free but find myself trying to fight off anxiety. every time I hear about any disease or illness, back pain or whatever, I worry endlessly about it. I haven't had any "attack" but have come close. I have been 'light headed' for the past week. Im not sure if its tms or what but it has me concerned. I will check out claire weeks as some have suggested. good luck