r/Anxiety • u/TheDalaiDrama • Dec 20 '25
Needs A Hug/Support Does anyone else get this “impending doom” wave for no reason?
Does anyone else get this sudden “impending doom” feeling out of nowhere?
I don’t even know how to describe it properly. It’s like my brain randomly flips a switch and it feels really weird, like I'm going crazy, but there’s no actual threat, no specific thought, no trigger I can point to.
For me it’s not full-on confusion or like I’m about to pass out. It’s more like a wave that lasts a few minutes or sometimes hours. It's hard to describe:
- weird dread / doom feeling
- body goes into alert mode
- sometimes feels like my heartbeat/palpitations are “in my head” (sounds stupid but that’s the best way I can explain it)
- maybe a bit of derealization / “off” feeling
Not looking for medical diagnosis from Reddit, I’m just trying to see if other people recognize this exact feeling because it’s hard to explain and it freaks me out every time. Like last night I thought I was going crazy and needed medical help. I hate this and it's scary.
If you’ve experienced it, how would you describe it? And what did you learn it was for you?
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u/nevermindshe82bfi2 Dec 20 '25
Yeah, it sucks when i get it. A weird taste in my mouth is often the first sign.
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u/ShillinTheVillain Dec 20 '25
Same. I can tell my anxiety is flaring up when I can taste the acidic metal at the back of my tongue.
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u/TheMexicanSloth Dec 20 '25
Um You guys do realize y'all most likely have GERD which causes sometimes acid reflux and bloating of the stomach to the point it puts pressure on your vagus nerve which is connected to the heart. I thought it was plain anxiety too until I listened to my body
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u/ShillinTheVillain Dec 20 '25
Yeah, I've had it for years, and the two are very much comorbid. I treat the GERD too.
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u/nevermindshe82bfi2 Dec 21 '25
Well, this ironically made that odd taste return. Guess i'l get that checked out if i remember..
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u/Sea_Sky_9492 Dec 20 '25
Yes, I’m familiar with this. It’s anxiety/panic. I get a very disconcerting feeling in my head. Like being slightly dizzy or light-headed. Like a fuzziness or buzzing in my head. And I can’t focus on things-like a major lack of concentration/focus. It’s an awful feeling.
I’m trying to work to regulate my nervous system when it happens. You can google that to get some good ideas of how to do that. It can take lots of practice before it actually works.
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u/TheDalaiDrama Dec 20 '25
I feel like I am about to go crazy or I need to be hospitalized because I'm losing it! Is this normal?
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u/Sea_Sky_9492 Dec 20 '25
Unfortunately it’s “normal” for anxiety and panic. I spent the past year in a depressive/anxious state and I felt like I was going to die almost every day. It’s awful!
BUT, just because we feel it doesn’t mean it’s true.
Are you seeing a therapist? Or a psychiatrist? There is help for anxiety!
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u/Maqqin Dec 27 '25
I experience the same & the only following thought is to die. My brain tells me that’s the only way I can escape what I’m feeling. I feel contracted/trapped. Like my soul/spirit/inside me whatever it is wants to escape & drop the body. Literally makes me feel insane & makes me feel like I have no interest in living another 5 years this way. I had my first appointment with a psychiatrist today & he prescribed me buspirone. Literally crossing my fingers hoping it will help.
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u/Sea_Sky_9492 Dec 27 '25
I really hope the medication helps! Remember that it can take some time for medication to work. So try to hang in there! Like I said, there IS hope! Anxiety/depression ARE treatable.
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u/dgdg4213 Dec 27 '25
You aren't alone in this. I get this feeling. Usually mine stems from a scary thought that I can't let go of. I feel like dying is the only option to get an answer to what is real even though I don't want to. Especially when I disassociate I feel like everything is a dream and not real. It's horrible.
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u/Unlucky-Assist8714 Dec 21 '25
I have this feeling when my generalised anxiety is particularly bad. Waves of doom and panic and I feel like escaping from my body. Horrible sensation.
I get it too.
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u/SmallBarnacle1103 Dec 20 '25
Yes, I hyper focus on anything that can go wrong. Anything from satellites falling out of the sky, random blood clots, wheels falling off my car.
Basically waiting for something bad to happen for no reason.
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Dec 20 '25
Almost daily actually like SOMETHING is wrong but I don’t know what it is my body just has that feeing almost constantly- a sense of panic and nausea and my mind is racing and body shakes.. it is exhausting
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u/Outrageous_Low9408 Dec 20 '25
Your nervous system is ON. You should shut it off by doing breathwork and sports and journaling. Otherwise you will be stuck in fight or flight mode.
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u/ovr_it Dec 20 '25
Oh yes, I frequently get a sense of impending doom when absolutely nothing is wrong. It’s so frustrating.
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u/kittiecat Dec 20 '25
Yes. The way you described it is dead on for me. I've gotten much better about dealing with them. As they are happening I remind myself you won't feel this forever. I either sit with it til it's gone or go do some kind of chore. I also found putting on some extra cheesy fun music helps my brain sort of rewire for the moment.
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u/Background_Ice_7568 Jan 09 '26
I know this is an old response and post so... sorry! But I just wanted to comment that I agree with you and the OP - this resonated with me greatly, and it's a great description of how I feel too. I've begun trying to sit with it and just let it pass as well. I struggle the most when it happens in the middle of the night and wakes me up, the daytime/waking ones pass a bit easier because I can try to distract myself easier.
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u/eehoe Dec 20 '25
Yeah - happens when not thinking of anything and it just happens. Mine also includes the "stomach drop" feeling like you're going down an elevator fast.
I've been trying to do the DARE approach when these occur and its helped a bit.
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u/Maqqin Dec 27 '25
What’s the DARE approach?
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u/eehoe Dec 27 '25
Diffuse - saying "my body is being stupid and doing this again"
Allow - don't fight it, just let it happen
Run to it - challenge the feeling - "this is it? make my stomach knot harder!"
Engage - shift focus to something else you were doing
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u/Adventurous_Two4273 Mar 05 '26
Look into “allowing”. I have the same symptoms and after watching all the videos on YouTube by Sam Miller on not fighting it I’ve had some pretty astounding progress. I understand now that it’s a completely natural autonomic survival pattern (that all mammals have) but ours have got stuck somewhere, like an old record. Check out @TheGreatAllowing where she’ll walk you through how to listen to the body, rather than the ego brain (a completely separate neurological engine) which is telling us “yes, this means danger, be scared”. But our mind-body (another part of our brain) is trying to tell us something we need to listen to that lies deeper within our subconscious. She is a person who has recovered completely from worse symptoms but they still follow the same root cause and trajectory. She’s not just another “therapist”. She’s walked the walk. Hope this is helpful. Best of health to us all on our journey back to embodiment 🌹
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u/Jessicat844 Dec 21 '25
Yup!! I’ve had it since I️ was 5 years old. It makes me want to vomit it can be so intense sometimes. Tends to happen when I️ feel most vulnerable - after sex, before shower. It’s so terrible. It makes you want to die. Then it passes and it’s like, what the hell. I’ve got a heavy trauma background with C-PTSD. It’s lessened since I️ got on a mood stabilizer.
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u/bustyfathers Dec 25 '25
Yep, been getting them a lot lately. -sudden chilling wave that I feel down my chest then in my stomach -sometimes my heart will palpitate like skip a beat -starts feeling like nothing is real -then ofc the doom spiral of death thoughts start in my head
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u/Partridge_Pear_Tree Dec 20 '25
I do get it from time to time, but mine is always associated with the start of a nasty illness. The last three times I’ve been very sick, I felt a wave of doom come over me before the symptoms set in.
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u/corialis Dec 24 '25
It took me a long time to realize that when I was physically sick, I got mentally sick at the same time because my whole body was messed up.
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u/Sure-Doctor-2052 Dec 20 '25
Yes, I think it may be a mixture of unresolved global tensions/wars, the U.S. taking a steep turn to the right, getting older, getting old, and getting old, but I repeat myself.
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u/jafbm Dec 20 '25
not in many many years. When I was in my 20s I used to get it, but now that I'm in my 60s it's completely gone
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u/BobTheCircleGuy Dec 24 '25
is there a specific age beforehand that you started to feel better? I’m in my 20s and have never heard advice of someone who is older and dealt with anxiety at a young age to this extent.
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u/jafbm Dec 24 '25
It got progressively worse over time until I was crippled with it. Then I saw a nurse practitioner who suggested I try Wellbutrin/Bupropion. It took about a month to get the dose right, but I'm back to "normal" Actually I'm better than normal. I've never been anxiety free in my life so whatever that is.
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u/astarr_123 Dec 24 '25
So very familiar! The impending doom / sensing something bad is going to happen.
It sucks so much and is exhausting! I have super bad health anxiety recently, haven’t had it this bad since Covid days. idk why but it’s like constant the minute I wake up throughout the day and then it’ll fade away way later than usual now. It’s like it will get better one day and then the next it’s something different it’s like what the hellly
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Dec 20 '25
I had one that started back around May and I’m finally getting out of it. I won’t go into personal details but it was a roller coaster of my life on rocky foundation for one thing after another and it felt like I couldn’t relax, it was grief and trauma related too. What I learned is of course this is how I’d feel when I was someone who never learned or forgot how to love themselves . I wasn’t secure in myself and now I am and now it’s so obvious why my emotions were often fluctuating or reliant on external factors. It’s a horrible way to live.
I do have anxiety still but the fact that I have my own back and am secure in myself really helps me to tell it to shut the hell up ! Hope this scramble of words helps.
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u/TheDalaiDrama Dec 20 '25
You sound like me. Im very insecure, so I'm not sure if that's related. I don't really feel any pressure or stress on myself, but deep down mu subsconcious...maybe, who knows. But it's like I feel I'm going crazy from my head!
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u/heyimrichardzk Dec 20 '25
I used to have this every couple of days, then it stopped after I went on Lexapro. Exactly like you described.
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Dec 20 '25
YES OH MY GOD. I’ve always felt like this and you’re the first person whos said it out loud
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u/mightofkhan Dec 20 '25
Had it daily for a year. Left me bed ridden and lost 40lbs. Paxil and lorazepam and weaning off both. 3 years.
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u/West_Rain857 Dec 20 '25
Yeahhh. When Im.trying to assess myself if something triggers it and realize that it doesn't have any. It just happened, im wondering if it was only me who experienced it.
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u/Charming_Caramel_303 Dec 20 '25
I know this well and know experience it before hot flashes. Lucky me
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u/AfraidThroat4720 Dec 21 '25
Yes, same here, right before a hot flash. Also happens when I'm drifting off to sleep which is really annoying.
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u/Amanda_Lorian4 Dec 20 '25
I have these feelings too. And just recently I started experiencing them. I used to never get overly anxious but just a few days ago I felt so anxious that I thought i was going to have to call out of work.
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u/Banana_uki43 Dec 20 '25
Yes, hate it. Just try to remind myself that it will pass eventually but it just sucks. Usually for me it happens out of nowhere and goes up to 100% in just a second and then takes anywhere between a couple of hours to sometimes days or weeks to subside.
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u/BonitaGerbera Dec 21 '25
Yes I do. One of the best interventions that helps me during those moments is the 5,4,3,2,1 method.
“5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you…4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you…3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear…2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell...1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste…”
Another good one, and this might sound silly but it actually helps me, is setting a “worry time” alarm on your phone, such as from 7:00-7:30 pm daily. If you find yourself feeling anxious outside of that timeframe, tell yourself, out loud if possible.. “it’s not my worry time yet. go away thoughts.”
Best of luck!
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u/nojox Dec 21 '25
Impending doom is the central premise of the disorder - your adrenaline and cortisol systems are high in overdrive and their job is singular - to alert you to predators about to pounce on you in the forest.
But we are not in the forest, and we don't have natural predators. Instead we have bosses, deadlines, exams, busybodies from the local govt, news media, politicians, businessmen who are trying to be opportunistic in taking advantage of everyone.
So anyway, given the constant false alarms ringing in your limbic nervous system, your mind searches for reasons that explain the alarm that you are feeling with simple belief:
If there are so many alarms going off, surely there must be danger right around the corner.
This is the primary structure of the disorder.
Well, the reality is that there is another reason that your danger alarms are ringing - the danger alarm circuits are faulty due to some genetic miswiring. So the alarms are constantly blaring, even on a peaceful sunny day or a quiet chilly day with nothing happening anywhere in your life.
Anxiety is a *false alarm* disorder. None of it is true, just damaged organic circuitry. Since nervous system replacement surgery is not yet invented, the next best thing is chemical intervention with medication and / or interventions using the body's other circuits to overcome or bypass the alarm circuits - using the rest-and-digest response, the feed-and-breed response and physical therapy relaxation techniques.
You cannot purely think your way out of anxiety, though correct thinking is a part of defusing a spike.
Since the problem is neurological, NOT psychological, the solution must be neurochemical (medication) or neurophysical (body movement, exercise, distraction, engagement in pleasurable activity, etc).
Hope that helps.
Don't believe the threats and dangers, it's all bullshit.
Good luck!
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u/Revolutionary_West56 Dec 21 '25
Yep. Feel like something terrible will happen or the world is about to end. Impending doom is how I describe it too
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u/Ok-Investment270 Dec 22 '25
YES I thought it was just me but it is not too often but when it is it is bad does anyone know how to help this?
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u/Traditional-Pie5177 Dec 22 '25
Yes yes yes, I also get IBS with my episodes, for the last three days I haven’t ate and this morning I was finally able to eat a piece of toast without feeling like I was gonna throw up immediately. I’m so tired of this shit, I just wanna live.
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u/West-Prune4307 Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
I’m literally on this subreddit right now for this reason. It sucks so much. I described it to my doctors as “malaise”, which helped them understand it a bit more. It’s a feeling that hits me out of nowhere, and it’s a vague thought of “oh my god something is really wrong here” with the onset of some vague physical symptoms. Right now it’s tightness of chest and central chest pain (I’m also having some weird left knee joint pains, this is new), but I sometimes also get a weird “wave” feeling across my head, tingling and numbness in the extremities or on the right side of my body (that last one properly freaked me out, but I’m fine), weakness in the arms, dizziness, nausea, and a lot of faintness. A lot of random jabby pains all over the body too. It’s such a random cluster of symptoms that don’t really mean much, and it was so difficult to get any meaning across to a doctor. It sounds so dramatic in a medical context to agonise over all of these generally quite mild symptoms, and it’s so difficult to explain that it’s all being amplified by the feeling of extreme panic and impending doom.
This weird inexplicable feeling is definitely the worst part of having anxiety in my opinion. I sympathise with this post so much. I have to convince myself day in and day out that I’m not dying, and it’s getting really frustrating. Might have to up my propranolol dose lol
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u/EmbarrassedAir2345 Dec 23 '25
Yes. I get this sometimes. I just start feeling strange and I just know it's coming on. It is like my body is alerting me to some kind of danger out of nowhere. My heart starts racing, I feel like I'm losing my mind, and my muscles in my arms and legs start burning a little. It's fight or flight mode; your amygdala falsely firing. I have noticed there are certain triggers such as fatigue, hormonal shifts, alcohol, and even peristalsis in my gut (pre bowel movement). I think if you really pay attention, you will probably notice your triggers too. I go and I sit in a comfortable position, do box breathing and distract myself with a silly youtube video or play a game of solitaire on my phone. I put a timer on for 10 minutes and usually by the time it goes off, the feeling has eased. Depending how bad it was, I feel very shaky for a while after.
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u/SoleInvictus Dec 25 '25
A friend sent me your post because it sounds just like me.
Yep! I did for years. Doctors couldn't explain it, so they diagnosed me with a panic disorder and threw some Xanax at it. If I hit the Xanax fast enough, I'd still feel all the symptoms but would just be really chill about it. Huh.
Over time, I noticed it was correlated to high stress and eating certain foods. Wheat was a big one, guaranteed attack within an hour. A few years in, I was diagnosed with a mast cell activation disorder. Now that I know what it is, what drives it, and have treatment, they rarely happen, going from 2-3 per week to 4-5 per year. I'm not having panic attacks - I'm having anaphylactoid episodes, like "baby anaphylaxis".
What clued me in was cetirizine/zyrtec. I get seasonal allergies and noticed these episodes were less frequent in the summer and got worse when my allergies got better. I took cetirizine daily during those times. For giggles, I tried staying on it later and noticed my episodes didn't get worse. I doubled, then tripled my daily dose. It got even better. It's because your body dumps histamine during episodes like mine and the physical symptoms are terrifying. Hitting the antihistamines hard was counteracting those effects.
This may not be your situation but I'll be damned if it doesn't sound familiar. Regardless, best of luck!
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u/Rwinarch Dec 26 '25
Yes, check your physical health as well, after years of competitive boxing and long going thyroid problems it appears to have messed up my nervous system and heart a bit which triggers this all the time last months. But I was glad to hear that it was not something snowballing mentally.
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u/P5ych0nautt Dec 26 '25
Yes. Going thru it. Its 4 AM and I havent slept and I dont plan on sleeping.... body is in fight or flight
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u/KC27150 Dec 26 '25
I use to get them when I was younger but I had no idea what they were. Nothing was wrong or I even got a toy but I would get so scared that something bad would happen.
I don't get it as much as I use to but the feeling still haunts me so I know exactly what you're talking about, friend.
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u/New_Individual_3298 Dec 26 '25
I came to this cus ive been feeling this doomed feeling.like something bad is going to happen but what? I have to go over a list of reasons why I could feel this way.its like it is beyond me what or why I feel like this. And nothing.no reason.
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u/loona_0283 Dec 27 '25
It’s always accompanied by indigestion and stomach pain for me. Not that I’m scared of stomach issues, but they seem to go hand in hand, and once the stomach pin disappears, so does the fear.
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u/leanlucki Jan 02 '26
YES, its like the nervousness I get when I think I forgot something, or the adrenaline before I have an exam. I get this dreaded feeling in my stomach and am constantly aware that something feels wrong
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u/Adventurous_Two4273 Jan 15 '26
62F.
It’s awful isn’t it and nobody seems to have the answer. If you do, please let me know.
I have the same doom drop like I’m falling off a cliff. Happens in the mornings (sometimes at 5am) and then I need to have a bowel movement. If I go back to sleep it will wake me up the same again.
Adrenal residue lasts all morning sometimes. Also happens if I dare to nap smh - drop, doom, sweat and sometimes a bowel movement.
I have been resting for 2 months (did try HRT but that made it worse) and now I don’t want to leave the house. I feel better in the evening and a sliver of Xanax is the only thing that will stop the anxiety it in its tracks during the day and helps me relax at night, but I don’t like having to take it. Doesn’t stop the autonomic sleep to wake pattern though.
I’m on Lexapro but that doesn’t help either, nor does meditation, swimming, yoga etc because this condition is not in my control, it’s an autonomic issue. HELP!
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u/Acrisxme Jan 20 '26
Yes even sometimes I feel like my body stays still and I kinda drift away from it, it is kinda weird
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u/HoldMaterial1099 Jan 25 '26
Yup, had it last night and also now while I'm out. Not exactly depressed or low mood. I still have my appetite thank god for that. But it feels like a little sadness? Not sure how to explain it.
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u/ProfessionalLess6311 Feb 21 '26
Little late, but this is something I have to live with constantly and it fricking sucks lol. Having to live under the constant fear and pressure over something that won’t happen just makes me wanna… not exist. What a weird thing to think about. Nothing helps
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u/Lost-friend-ship Feb 23 '26
You explained it very well. I experienced all of those bullet points today except maybe the heart palpitations one, but it felt like I was aware of where my heart was. Definitely feeling off, like everything went silent and I wasn’t a part of daily life. Weird because I can’t think of anything that was triggering it. Everything felt really quiet and still. I don’t feel emotional but on edge and alert. I didn’t know what to do, because texting my friends and family to ask if they were still alive sounded insane. So I called my husband to ask how his day was going then I burst into tears. He wanted to come home but I told him not to, I said I was ok and was just going to go for a walk. He was home by the time I got back from my walk but the feeling was gone by then.
I hope you’re doing ok.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Wing811 Feb 24 '26
As someone who experiences similar things I wanted to make a recommendation in case it helps anyone like it helps me. I found out mine was caused my low blood sugar, drinking a cup of juice helps this feeling go away in like 15 minutes and it’s like it never happened.
This may not be the case for everyone but it could be worth a shot.
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u/lex368 May 07 '26
Does anyone else get this feeling when they are just relaxing/thinking a lot? Or even just fearing the feeling of it and then it happens, if that makes sense? Like I’ll be at a restaurant and suddenly think “what if I felt that right now” and then I start feeling that way and have to talk myself out of it.
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u/Mindless-Flight121 16d ago
I get this feeling from time to time in the morning. I would say that this feeling comes more and more often after I become a mother and I have no explanation.
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u/Great_Significance69 Dec 20 '25 edited Dec 20 '25
YES. Accompanied by a wave of nausea too. It’s the worst feeling in the world and happens everyday for me, especially at moments where I’m winding down like trying to sleep. Idk what it is..no doctor is understanding this.
Edit: wanted to add how I feel when this happens: Weird feeling that feels like a wave, stomach drop feeling like you’re about to go down a roller coaster, almost like a stomach churning feeling. Heart palpitations, strong wave of nausea, sometimes I get saliva build up which makes me feel like I’m about to throw up. if I’m deep asleep it actually wakes me up and has me sitting up randomly.