Psycho-Physiological Dizziness Syndrome (PPDS)

[Matthewa100]

With pleasure Gigalos Glad to have been of service. ;-)

I found what is triggering my PPDS / TMS at least what my sneeky NS is doing on one of the other threads.> "I like Claire Weekes explanation in that it's tension being applied to the semi-circular canals in your ears that is causing dizziness."


]Thanks Matthew, Jan and Plum... your replies more than fulfilled my emotional needs for today

When I experience my personal (rather mild) relapses of TMS, as I too am only human, I sometimes revisit this forum. More often than not I stumble upon valuable posts and links that help me get back on track. And sometimes I meet some dear old friends in the process... I may be a distant star right now to this planet called the TMSWiki... Jan and Plum, you are most definitely its sun and moon...

we'll meet again I'm sure, take care girls![/QUOTE]

 

[Lzrs]

I think I have this!

I am currently experiencing a lot of the symptoms you described along with chest pain (went to ER already, will be doing some other tests just to rule out heart issues). This started about two weeks ago and I am currently in a very stressful time in my life, I feel like everything has been upturned by 180 degrees and these symptoms certainly don't help. I have experienced stuff like even mild agoraphobia (scared to take the bus in case I collapse in front of other people, scared to take elevator in case I get stuck and have an episode). So the key is just to ignore everything, like TMS and chronic pain? I tried a bit of somatic tracking this morning and that also seems to help, at least calms me down.

 

[Booble]

Maybe not ignore ignore but acknowledge that the sneaky TMS part of the brain is at work. Let it know that you know. You can even thank it for the warning but let it know that it's not necessary. And then grab some paper and pen and ask yourself why and what's up and what are you angry about that you are unaware of and see what flows out.

 

[Lzrs]

Hi,

Just wanted to drop in and say my symptoms are 99% gone. It really was PPPD. No more chest pain, tinnitus, dizzyness or lightheadedness. It really is as simple as surfing the symptoms and not giving in to fear

 

[EVEAGOO]

Thank you so much for sharing this PDF. Can anyone explain more about what is meant by 'internal ‘shift’ sensations (‘Whoops’ moments)? What does that feel like? Has anyone experienced that? About 4 years ago, during a very stressful period I began having episodes where I felt I was having "glitches" in my head lasting no more than a second at a time. Not a feeling of blacking out, but almost a split second of dizziness. I imagined that if anyone was looking in my eyes in that exact moment, they'd see my eyes jerk to the right or something. When the stressful event resolved, the symptoms disappeared.

Currently, I am under a new set of stressful circumstances and lo and behold, I began having these same strange sensations. They usually happen when I'm already a bit anxious, but sometimes they happen when I'm seemingly calm, scrolling on my phone. I sometimes wonder if my eye movements have something to do with it because it's almost always when I'm looking at something that is moving. But I can't believe it's something physical or related to my vision because it went away for 4 years and suddenly came back.

Does this fall under the category of PPPD? Or is it another "diagnosis" that is also TMS? I'd love to have a name for it so I can search success stories
Thanks!!

 

[Gigalos]

Many years have passed since the original post. I am happy to see that PPPD (Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness) nowadays gives hundreds of hits on Google. I believe it has been "officially recognized" as a condition in 2017 by the medical community. I think this is a prime example of the paradigm slowly shifting.

 

[Lilybluerose]

Doing tms work and somatic stuff has really helped mine. I once had it so bad I was in motion dizzy literally 24/7 for three years straight. That left me terrified to lay down flat , or on my right side. ( I do get legit bppv episodes very occasionally) But this is diff.

I did the steady coach program on YouTube and the gist is basically understanding this is psychosomatic . I used to not be able to lay flat for even five seconds without pure panic attacks and dizziness. I'm laying in bed now completely flat , writing this now

Challenge it daily do what scares you with it. Such as laying flat id that's your trigger. I still get minor episodes once in a while but I know it's nothing . Keep challenging it.

 

[Lzrs]

Hi everyone,

I'm dealing with this again unfortunately. I got a bout of costochondritis at the gym (basically I injured my ribs) and with the chest pain came other weird symptoms, worry and anxiety. My pain is slowly getting better (I kept lifting, just at a lower intensity and volume) but the PPPD symptoms are still overwhelming. It's a daily battle to convince myself there's nothing really wrong with me (besides a physical injury which I am slowly but surely rehabbing). The costo made me fantasize about heart issues and the lightheadedness from PPPD just cemented the idea in my head. I did not go to a cardiologist or the ER this time, but I'm thinking of just going just to put my mind at ease, since I have no idea how else I'm going to convice myself I'm okay.

 

[Cactusflower]

“It's a daily battle to convince myself there's nothing really wrong with me”

You are doing what you need to do. However I will ask what stressors you are dealing with besides the doubts and self pressure to succeed? What emotions are surrounding you and are you allowing them all? Are you noticing the anxiety that a flair or fear of a flair might feel like and be able to remind yourself that injuries heal.. and so does TMS! You did it before, you can do it again.

Here is a bunch of nuggets that are super helpful. He explains where we can get caught in old habits and what to do.

 

[Lzrs]

“It's a daily battle to convince myself there's nothing really wrong with me”

You are doing what you need to do. However I will ask what stressors you are dealing with besides the doubts and self pressure to succeed? What emotions are surrounding you and are you allowing them all? Are you noticing the anxiety that a flair or fear of a flair might feel like and be able to remind yourself that injuries heal.. and so does TMS! You did it before, you can do it again.

Here is a bunch of nuggets that are super helpful. He explains where we can get caught in old habits and what to do.

Yeah, stressors are pretty much what you wrote. Tons of pressure for this to go away, but that always backfires. Hyper focus is never good when dealing with this. I have reread the PDF in the original post multiple times and I am already doing better in terms of lightheadedness. It's so easy to forget these simple methods. Just move on with your life and let your body do what it has to

 

[SawyerRhiannon]

What if it's 24/7 constant? Mine doesn't occur in episodes, it's just omnipresent. It was also started by an injury. I feel mine must be structural, and I haven't ruled it out yet. Has anyone else had this type of dizziness as a constant symptom?

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Has anyone else had this type of dizziness as a constant symptom?

Anything is possible. All physical sensations and all physiological processes are created by brain-based mechanisms, and they will present in an infinite variety of ways. This is a neuroscientific fact.

To reference your obsession over asking these same questions on multiple old threads, the more obsessed you are about finding someone with your exact symptoms, the more likely it is that your fear-based TMS brain mechanism will create a symptom that isn't duplicated by anyone else.

Also, as we have seen here time and again, your fear-based brain will ALWAYS convince you that whoever comes forward with the same symptom, it will never be exact "enough".

You may have what we refer to as an extremely resistant TMS mechanism. You're going to have to work hard to fight back against its irrational attachment to fear.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

I feel mine must be structural, and I haven't ruled it out yet.

I also need to make sure you understand that you're not going to get a physical diagnosis on this forum. Please see a medical professional for that.

 

[Booble]

What if it's 24/7 constant? Mine doesn't occur in episodes, it's just omnipresent. It was also started by an injury. I feel mine must be structural, and I haven't ruled it out yet. Has anyone else had this type of dizziness as a constant symptom?

I think we all understand the urge to find someone that has what we have and that it turned out to be nothing dangerous.
If you are concerned you have a serious medical condition, go to a doctor.

Many (most?) TMS events started with an actual injury or sickness. Our minds are good at holding onto those after they are healed.

If you need inspiration and hope, read the success stories here.
The good news is that the solutions to resolve TMS are free and won't hurt you if you don't have TMS. It's not like being prescribed the wrong pill or anything.
Even physically and psychologically healthy people benefit from exploring their inner mind.

Good luck. I know it's no fun feeling out of sorts and dizzy. It's a relatively common anxiety symptom.

 

[Xara]

I want to add something as far as dizziness is concerned.
When dizziness occurs, one has to search many health aspects ( unfortunately health systems contribute to deterioration of the symptoms). I truly believe it because when our nervous system is on edge feels everything more intense.
Explaining: neck and back problems , jaw problems, ear problems, iron deficiency, b12 deficiency, hormon problems etc ( I am not a doctor, it is based on experience...).
I don't mean by this that there is a serious health problem. I mean that, on the ground that a nervous system is "red" and alarms are open 24/7/365 someone needs to have as a strong body as he/she can, so minor problems won't add to the the situation.
Eg low amounts of iron or ferritin probably don't mean nothing to a non-stressed person. But a person which is somehow " traumatized" and its' brain has learnt to translate every sense to danger, will interpret a slight feeling of weakness to a disastrous message... And in the state of hyper arousal someone - in my opinion - it is easier to handle a few symptoms at time, so can somebody focus on the mental/ psychological aspects/ thoughts etc. Otherwise he/ she will again feel overwhelmed.
I hope I explained it adequately, I still find difficult to remember the appropriate words.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Eg low amounts of iron or ferritin probably don't mean nothing to a non-stressed person. But a person which is somehow " traumatized" and its' brain has learnt to translate every sense to danger, will interpret a slight feeling of weakness to a disastrous message...

That is an excellent example, @Xara!

Have I said this to you yet? : When you get it, you get it

 

[Xara]

and lthis kind.

That is an excellent example, @Xara!

Have I said this to you yet? : When you get it, you get it

Exactly. Although it takes a large amount of time...
Jan you always seem to familiar to me - maybe because of your European origin!( If my memory is right). Or maybe because we had similar symptoms. Anyway, wish you the best you desire.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Jan you always seem to familiar to me - maybe because of your European origin!( If my memory is right). Or maybe because we had similar symptoms. Anyway, wish you the best you desire.

Aww, thanks @Xara! And to you as well! There is certainly a lot of familiarity here on the forum, but sometimes some of us just seem to be on the same wavelength, along with having similar stories. My mother was English, but she emigrated to the US as a young adult and married an America, so I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, but she was a very cosmopolitan European (lots of time in France and Italy) so I certainly think I was influenced by her

 

[Lojos]

ORIGINAL: Thank you for posting this, wonderwoman - it's not only excellent, I think it's 100% right on in every respect.

The article covers her original list of symptoms, the psychological factors, and recommended treatment (which is pretty simple and encompasses all the things we talk about here).

I've had at least 12 of the 15 symptoms listed above. Some of them have not happened since I started doing this work in 2011, but others still occur during times of stress or briefly, as she describes, due to certain stimuli. Her coping mechanisms are well worth memorizing, and having a better understanding of the mechanism is also helpful to visualize a different response.

Hi Jan,
You have answered my questions before on fatigue.About 3yers ago I turned over in bed and felt the room spinning.It was frightening and I called the ambulance as I live by myself .I spent a few days in hospital with no conclusive evidence as to the cause except being under a small amount of stress trying to help a neighbour with the beginnings of cognitive impairment.When I was discharged I made an app to see a vestibular audiologist who diagnosed BPPV and the nystagmus. It hasn’t occurred again, well not so violent , but has left me with unsteadiness very much like walking on a boat.I had a fall 3months ago and once again was checked at the hospital.Upon discharge I attended rehab twice a week for 8weeks.This fall was the start of the hematoma forming on the mastectomy sight.i have been told I must use my walker for long distances as I have COPD from all the radiation I have had, and walking stick for shorter ones.I have made 33visits to the hospital this year and there have been many occasions I have had to lie down and I haven’t had that violent dizziness.I go out most days in the morning but there is still that underlying feeling of imbalance and it does make me wary.
Your thoughts please? After reading so posts here,I know I need to face,accept,float and let time pass.

 

[Lucylu]

I had experienced dizziness in the spring of 2024 after a period of stress. I came across Audiologist Yonit Arthur on YouTube who has a free set of exercises on her website, do a search for "The Steady Coach." There is also a paid membership to go deeper, which I paid for, and it was very helpful and got me over this as I learned how to reduce fear. The volume is turned up in stress and fear. Her YouTube channel is full of interviews of people with various types of dizziness experiences and causes who have overcome by implementing TMS strategies.

This is a link to her YT channel
https://youtube.com/@thesteadycoach?si=77vXDGwDc0qQhh4W

Here is a link