You are talking and suddenly you begin to notice how your pulse accelerates, your vision and hearing fail. You begin to see distorted and you have the feeling that what is happening to you does not suit you. You decide to close your eyes to calm down and notice how your pulse continues to accelerate. Little by little you start having the sensation that your extremities are falling asleep. You open your eyes and see that you are not in a strange position for that to happen and you don’t know what to do, you think you are going crazy.
Well, these sensations are among some of the symptoms that can appear in a panic attack and one of those reported is paresthesia. If you would like to know more about this topic, keep reading! In this article we explain What is paresthesia, its symptoms, its causes and treatmentas well as how long it lasts and where you can notice it.
What is anxiety paresthesia
Paresthesia is an irritative sensitivity disorder which manifests itself with abnormal sensations without the need for prior stimulation, similar to tingling, in this case, associated with symptoms of anxiety and nerves.
It is a sensation that we are already familiar with since at some point we have all had this feeling that some part of our body has fallen asleep, in the vast majority of cases due to poor posture.
But, when it manifests recurrently and chronically along with other symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, feeling of loss of control, sweating, tremors, derealization, depersonalization, feeling of choking, fear of dying, chills or feeling of heat ; will be associated with a anxious symptoms or, and then we will talk about anxiety paresthesia.
Symptoms of anxiety paresthesia
Paraesthesia, as we have mentioned, is a symptom that can appear during a panic attack or in certain people within the framework of anxiety disorders. If you ask yourself “How do I know if I have stress paresthesia?”, the symptoms that may appear as a cause of paresthesia are:
- Trouble breathing.
- Incontinence due to loss of sphincter control.
- Partial or complete loss of sensitivity.
- Alteration of the level of consciousness.
- Changes in vision.
- Trouble speaking.
How long does anxiety paresthesia last?
Most of the time, stress paresthesia is temporary and subsides with the end of the rest of the anxiety symptoms. when the stimulus that causes it is not presentwhether real or imaginary.
In which areas does anxiety paresthesia manifest?
Anxiety paresthesia usually manifests in the extremities: arms, hands, feet and legs, although it can also extend to the rest of the body, starting to notice numbness in the torso or even loss of sensitivity on the head and face (facial paresthesia due to anxiety). The symptoms affect both sides of the body either unevenly or evenly.
Causes of anxiety paresthesia
Anxiety paresthesia may be caused by disorders or diseases that irritate, damage, or compress the nerves, so the central and peripheral nervous system would be affected. In the specific case of anxiety paresthesia, the main cause would be anxiety, which may constitute a relevant symptom in the clinical manifestation of some or even of the .
Treatment of anxiety paresthesia
Treatment for anxiety paresthesia as a symptom associated with a disorder or disease will be the treatment of said disorder or diseasewaiting for its remission with the improvement of the main discomfort that has led to the symptoms of paresthesia.
In this specific case, with the management of panic attacks or anxiety symptoms, stress paresthesia should subside or be reduced. Otherwise, it would be necessary consult with a doctor in order to rule out the appearance of other diseases or alterations of the central nervous system that could be causing tremors and numbness of the extremities.
Techniques for the treatment of anxiety paresthesia
Some techniques that can help us manage and reduce paresthesias associated with anxiety are those that focus on physiological control, so that the subject learns to control their own physiological activation and cope with situations that cause anxiety or stress.
Concentration and exposure to bodily sensations is eThe main therapeutic component. In this way, we can train the patient in abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and even mindfulness.
If the sole cause is anxiety and there is no neurological cause behind the paresthesias, the combined use of psychotherapy with psychotropic drugs is not recommended, since these have not demonstrated greater effectiveness than isolated psychological therapy.
In order to help you in the treatment of anxiety paresthesia, we recommend that you consult our posts about and .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Anxiety paresthesia: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatmentwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- American psychiatric association, (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM – 5. Madrid, Spain. Pan-American medical publishing house.
- Ezpeleta, L., & Toro, J. (2014). Developmental psychopathology. Madrid: Pyramid
- Mase, J., (March 23, 2020). Why does an area of my body sometimes fall asleep? Paresthesia. Cinfa Health. Retrieved from: What is paresthesia? Causes and treatment | CinfaSalud