Does anyone have issues with trembling? I am 26 years old and I am healthy. I have suffered with anxiety for a long time and was under a great amount of stress for the past two years and since then I have experienced trembling. I'm not sure if it is just stress hormones and such. I do avoid stimulants most of the time, but I do struggle with smoking and trying to quit. does anyone else have this issue and what did you do about it?

By trembling do you mean like when you get really cold? Because I have that a lot lately too. I am also kind of new to this all, and I have experienced anxiety most of my life, but its only gotten really bad this last year (I'm in graduate school) I feel cold a lot and I have "shivers" or trembling early morning and evenings. I don't drink caffine anymore or smoke, but it just seems to happen more. Unfortunately, I keep thinking I have some terrible disease. I have gone to the doctor probably 5 times in the last 6 months, and they keep telling me I am completely healthy. Unfortunately that only seems to make me feel better for a little while and then I start worrying again. Good luck and take care! Loren

my trembling is like when someone is cold they kind of shake and have problems doing fine motor movements. I am not cold when this happens though. It is worse when I am anxious and that is why I think it is related to my anxiety. I actually just finished graduate school so I understand the stress that you must be under. I am in the medical field and I really do not think I have any serious medical diseases such as parkinson's or anything like that. there is a disorder called essential tremor where people have issues with trembling. there is no real cause for this disorder and there are a few medicines that can be used for it, but honestly, I think my issues with trembling are anxiety related and I wish not to be on medicines treating a disorder that I don't have.

GML
I just wrote a whole long post to ans. you, and it got lost. It never posted.
I get what I call "jitters". They are horrible, and make me feel like I must have some disease.
That was until I realized that when I was not as anxious, the jitters were much less.
The anxiety didn't have to do with anything specific. It could have been waking up from a dream.
Or just getting out of bed.
My DR. Shrink gave me some Ativan, and it has helped so much. It doesn't take the feelings away completely, not if I am crazy with anxiety, but I can tell the difference.
I had to face a lot of fears, and I am sure I will get them again, and do but I also have had many weeks of basic calm, or lessened anxiety, and haven't needed to take them as much.
This is how I knew that I was not having a medical problem.
They started really bad 20 yrs ago after my Dad passed away. I have horrid issues with death.
So, I haven't really dealt with that completely.
Anyway....if you do get less anxious, and find that the trembling eases up a bit, you probably don't have any medical problems.

I hope for the best for you....
and maybe you need to speak with a shrink or doc and get some anti anxiety meds to just help you over the rough patches.

Bek

Hi GML and WhenWillILearn! I hear you GML about not wanting to use meds. I don't like to either, and I am hoping to start trying for my first child in the next year, so I really don't want to start more meds that I will have to go off of soon anyway. That's good that you have the medical perspective to know that you don't have any diseases. I wish I had that! I do want to say that I did try Ativan for a little while (as you have said WWIL) and it did help things like heart racing and trembling. I also really struggle with that "disconnected" feeling when I get anxious and I am realizing it has a lot to do with not eating enough protein. I am a 10 year vegetarian, and tonight I started eating chicken again. It's amazing how good I feel already. So, I don't know if that applies to either one of you, but I have heard more and more how our diet can really affect our anxiety. Take care both of you and Happy New Year!

Jitters. Yeah, I know em well. I just went through a divorce and for more reasons than just that, I needed a psyc and meds. When I was sitting with the ex, figuring out finances and such, my hands would start shaking so much that I couldnt write. I,m already on few meds from my psyc and Klonopin is the one that calms me down and the jitters stop. Klonopin is an anti-anxiety pill I understand. If you're not on meds, then I would suggest looking into learning how to calm yourself (if you haven't already) Positive self-talk, meditation, etc. Hope this helps.
Dan

loren F,
I'm interested in your theory about how protien helps with your anxiety. please tell more. I know that carbohydrates are basically just sugars that are broken down in our bodies. I'm interested in the protein theory.

Dan,
thanks for your input. I feel like I am able to control myself by using my thinking skills. i notice that just slowing down and taking my time and not worrying about what people think about how long it takes me to do something helps me with my trembling. I know what your saying though when your under extreme stress and you have to do something in front of someone it is extremely hard not to get the jitters

As I am not a health professional, obviously I can't site all the journals and proof of this, but I do know that I have talked with a dietician and my chiropractor about my anxiety, and the first thing they ask me is how much protein I am eating. I told them I am a vegetarian, so I eat all vegetable protein. Then they asked my ratio of carbs to protein. After doing a small informal assessment, I have realized that I eat so many simple carbs (bread, cereal, pasta) and not enough protein or fats. These regulate your glucose levels more, and keep you feeling more "stable" throughout the day. I guess it takes a lot longer for the protein to digest so it isn't in your system and out again like lots of carbs are. So, for instance, when I have eggs in the morning as opposed to a bowl of cereal, I usually don't have as much anxiety that day. I made a decision to try eating chicken again and incorporating that into my diet as well as more fish for the next few weeks to see what happens. I just started yesterday, but I have been fighting a virus for about three weeks now, and I finally feel like I have some strength again. Also, I just bought a book the other day called Natural Relief for Anxiety by Edmund J. Bourne, PhD. and it talks about how diet as well as some very small changes can make your anxiety lessen or disappear completely. I just bought this the other day too. It's a great supplement to the Anxiety and Depression series from the stres center. I will let you know if I learn more. Take care!

Hi GML-

I actually just sent you a message about this same problem & med school a little while ago; thought I'd post some ideas to the group...

I'm 33, in health care (PA grad student), and have dealt with a tremor/trembling for the past few years. I was diagnosed by an MD about 2 yrs ago with essential tremor (ET), but like you posted earlier there's no discernable cause for ET so it's basically just a clinical diagnosis (i.e., best guess!) I've done a bit of research into ET (good info via the ET foundation at essentialtremor.org), and it seems that there's still some debate about if it's really a distinct disorder or is many cases simply an abnormally enhanced physiologic tremor that people unusually susceptible to stress (like me and, I'm guessing, you) are afflicted with. I definitely notice a HUGE amplification of my tremor in stressful/ evaluative situations, and there's no two ways about it, it stinks. Probably the best relief out there, which seems to help me, is a combo approach: 1) try to reduce -if not eliminate- obvious stimulants (caffeine, nicotine), which I've found doesn't reduce the tremor per se as much as help keep anxiety levels in general down and prevent the tremor from increasing during times of stress. Tough to do, esp. the caffeine for me (almost a must with school to function), but without doubt helps a lot. 2) Some meds that you're familiar with but others may not be: propanolol (a beta-blocker that reduces adrenalin-related stress responses) and a benzodiazepene like Ativan (which have a dual effect of smoothing out anxiety and also reduce muscle tension, directly helping tremor). Sounds like you've got a similar attitude that I do in that you'd rather not have to depend on meds, but I think that using them preventatively only as needed (for especially stressful events)is almost always worth it. 3) Using daily progressive muscle relaxation techniques may help to "re-set" your overall level of general muscle tension (kind of like turning a thermostat down). The drawback of course is that it takes time and requires continual practice, which is why I think so many people in the general public (including health care providers) just go straight to meds.

Some things I'm still trying to find out is whether using other meds (like SSRI's, etc.) to reduce anxiety in general is worth the potential trade-off of MORE tremors that some of them have as side effects. I'd also really be interested in hearing more about the dietary protein theory.

Sorry this got so long, just got on a roll there...best of luck to everyone...