Brief backstory, I started showing signs of anxiety and depression (primarily anxiety though) right after high school, but they were generally manageable.  Things got really bad when I was around 23 years old after a really unexpected and challenging job layoff.  This spiraled me into stopping my exercise routine, gaining about 40lbs (190 to 230lbs in a year), my first ever panic attacks, and the beginning of many weird physical health symptoms that could not be linked back to anything other than anxiety.  

Long story short and 11 years later (I'm 34), my struggle with anxiety has only gotten progressively worse year after year.  My weight has increased to 270lb.  I don't really experience depression symptoms often, but I experience moderate to severe anxiety on a daily basis.  In addition, my daily quality of life has declined significantly due to an ever-increasing amount of physical health issues I've been having.  These are everything from:

\- IBS  
\- headaches  
\- bladder issues  
\- Chronic body pains  
\- constant heart palpitations  
\- shortness of breath  
\- dizziness  
\- blurred vision  
\- brain fog  
\- chest pain  
\- body shaking / jitters  
\- Insomnia and trouble sleeping  
\- lump in throat feeling  
\- limb numbness  
\- and probably more I've forgotten.  


Most days I wake up and begin experiencing many or all of these symptoms as soon as I get up and they persist all day.  It's been the biggest barrier to getting through the basics of my day (work full-time, raising young kids, enjoy life, self-care) and making the lifestyle changes I need to potentially improve the issue.  It's awful trying to get through a workday or spending time with my kids when you're having noticeable chest pain, or feeling like you're going to pass out and having blurred vision.  (among all the other things listed!)

I've been working with doctors for probably 10 years trying to figure out my health and the WHY.  I've seen more doctors and specialists than I can count.  I've had countless blood work, tests, imaging, etc.  I've worked with mental health therapists, psychiatrists at least bi-weekly for the past 5 years (minimum).  I've tried a variety of SSRIs and SNRIs (all with negative results).  Not only have I not found any improvement for my symptoms, essentially every health provider has said all my physical health symptoms are anxiety-driven.  Nothing else could be found from all the testing and specialist visits I've done.  My general doctor strongly feels all my issues are caused by my weight (36 BMI) and my mental health.  I don't necessarily disagree, but it's been hard to make lasting changes when I feel so darn terrible every day!  

I guess my question is.... are all these physical symptoms on such a regular basis normal for anxiety?  Part of me feels like something has to be physically wrong with my health, but every test is like NOPE, it's just your anxiety.  I've been desperate to find solutions that could help me feel a bit better on a daily basis so I can make lasting changes, but I'm just not finding it and also concerned my physical symptoms are something going missed (despite 10 years of doctors and tests).  Any thoughts or sharing your experiences are appreciated.  Thank you!