[Uncle_June]

Hello folks. Just joined up because I'm badly in need of advice regarding how to deal with panic and anxiety.


In a nutshell, I'm regularly suffering from anxious/weird/odd/depressive moods, although I don't really feel that depressed........maybe I actually am and I've just gotten used to feeling like this almost constantly and it has become my 'normal'? Sometimes I'll get a 'flash' or burst of what I used to consider 'normal', or something very positive, but then it disappears - like a light that just flashes in the distance for a second or two.


I can't go on any journey without having a few drinks first/during the trip, and sometimes maybe a valium or two on the journey as well. I live in the south-west and haven't been to Dublin in about five years (although the panic hasn't been there for ten years), simply because I'm afraid of going places. Sometimes I can't leave the house - or I leave and have to turn back. I haven't undertaken a journey without alcohol and/or valium for the bones of three years, and more recently even when I arrive at my destination I feel uneasy, edgy and/or unhappy - which is a newer developement. I don't have a drink problem (despite needing it as a crutch at times), and I don't think I'm overly reliant on valium, as I really only use them in periods of crisis........10 5mg tabs could last me a fortnight or so. I also have been taking Lustral for a few years, but I feel it does little or nothing any more (despite having increased the dose). I've tried Cymbalta recently but couldn't tolerate them, so went back on the Lustral for the time being. I don't smoke/take any illegal drugs.


I've been going to acupuncture and counseling for a good while, but this year the symptoms have continued to get worse, and the episodes more frequent. When I get an attack they can last for up to five minutes, but usually they pass quicker. It's the intensity of them, though, that is really frightening........I'm almost always convinced that I'm actually literally dying, or that I'm about to 'pass over' into some other realm/the afterlife/whatever comes after this, or that I'll have some kind of out-of-body experience, or that gravity will give way and that I'll fall up into the sky, or get dragged into some mad vortex. I call them 'death attacks' and I don't use that phrase likely.
Sometimes I think crazy things; things that are beyond the realms of physical possibility (like the gravity thing)........I have asked my counselor could I be bi-polar or something like that but he seems to think not - a psychiatrist who he recommended to me agreed with that. The counselor seems to think it's just my reaction to lots of stress/certain situations, and said that what I'm suffering from is more like post-traumatic-stress rather than a psychiatric condition.


So, I'm apparently not mad - but it feels, at times, that I am - and the panic attacks are pretty unbearable.........I'm afraid that if they continue I'll become housebound.


Can anyone advise me how to escape from this nightmare please? I'm pretty desperate and would really appreciate some good advice from people who've been down this road themselves. Thanks!

[JennyBurke101]

God ...you poor thing I really do feel your pain

I have always been an incredibly anxious person and worry about everything!!! For years I managed to get away without a panic attack, then unfortunately last Friday I took a panic attack in bed, I was just about to drift off when suddenly I got this feeling of doom, chest tightness, dizziness, the works...my mam had to come in and sleep with me....I am 21 years of age..... I thought I was having a heart attack and was dying ...it was beyond terrifying!!

It was horrifying, for the next couple of days I had a bad chest pain and pain in my left arm...I went to the doctor and she sent me to A&E saying there is nothing wrong with me, but I needed to get this out of my head and it was all stress, was in A&E had an ecg and X-ray and NOTHING showed up (thank God) ...my heart was just beating really fast...they couldn’t slow it down though, so I had to stay in and get fluids, it was so scary, then they told me I was panicky and this brought on acid reflux and all my weird arm pains – basically I was under severe stress and anxiety was taking over

I still haven’t recovered my back/ chest is killing me (went to the doc this Friday and apparently this is due to stress/reflux) she suggested I see a Counselor, I don’t know what good this would do though, I just feel crazy and like I am about to die! I find the EXACT same thing as you, since the attack I am terrified to be alone, I am afraid to fall asleep incase something really bad happens, buses are scaring me (and I get one everyday), every twinge I feel I expect is bad circulation and I am about to die…and to be honest I am just exhausted like I want need to sleep but every time I lie down the reflux is worse and I am thinking heart attack – then adrenaline kicks in and then I am awake half the night….all I want to do is sit down and cry its awful..

I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, but it makes me feel better knowing other people are so freaked out by it to 

[JennyBurke101]

by the way "Death Attacks" is the most fitting name ever....better then anxiety!!! Also I think people have an attitude of "a doc told you your fine, its stress get over it" I dont think they realize how scary it is and how much control you lack!

[Finnbar01]

The thing that worked for me was a physical relaxation CD.

You start off by:

1. Setting aside 30 minutes.
2. Make sure you are not going to be disturbed, so go somewhere private,turn off the mobile etc.
3. Sit or lie down and make yourself comfortable. Loosen any belts, unbuckle shoes etc.
4. Breathe in and out through your nose. Breathe in short breaths, making sure your belly rises and not your chest.
5. You then tense a group of muscles, say for instance the muscles in your arms. You hold it, concentrating on the tension in your arm muscles and then you relax them and concentrate on the feeling of letting go.
6. Each time you breathe out, concentrate on the word relax or a peaceful image.

I have attached the physical relaxation video part 1. If you click through, you'll get parts 2 and 3. I don't know how to combine the three together. I've also attached the playlist in the link below.



http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...5&feature=plcp

I will also put up the website where you can buy your own copy of the relaxation CD. Mods let me know if this is ok.

[blackpowder]

i 've being down the road of panic disorder for about 16 years i ve just turned 36 and thankfully things are not half as bad , i try to live a happy normal life as possible but one thing i could never understand when people mention conselling for this disorder ( panic) ,isn't it a biochemical reaction that involves the evoloutionary process of flight or fight that we have inherited sense our ape like days what i, saying i guess is conselling any good? you feel so alone when panic hits you you really do but after it happens 3 or 4 times your body kinda says i can deal with this **** its not going to kill me its unpleasant and it will go i,d still love to travel to america but the worst thing is when you go out of your environmental sorrounding.s it just seems really bad and takes on a new demionsion / can any body tell me if they are travelled with this disorder/ and how did they fare out /like you don't want to travelling and put your life in a living hell of having to deal with this away from home but i,d love to here some peoples opinions on travelling with panic disorder . the reason i mentioned conselling was i found personally it was very counterproductive and made things worse as someone else on the boards said it just stated the obvious ,as i said i want to get to america for a very special reason but will it be hell getting there with this thing lurking in the background ..thanx you one and all g bless

[bobbaggio]

blackpowder, if you look at it from this angle then I guess no, we are never completely rid of it. But I have taken positives from it, I now treat people fairly under all circumstances because I really don't know what they are dealing with, I have also learned to live every day to the fullest.

I have travelled with it, I have taken the boat and I flew to England recently, and sure I got anxious at the start and thinking about it but after the first day, I was absolutely grand and really enjoyed my time. I suppose it is being out of your comfort zone but unless you change your attitude towards it, you can never start to get better. It is so unbelievably frightening when it happens and i know, but once you have to tools to live with it (not defeat it, like I thought I had to do) then you will begin to see hope.

Start small, for example, I started with a trip to galway, me driving, then my friend drove to galway with me in the passenger seat, then down to cork, then a train journey etc...etc.

Next thing I was standing in line to board a plane!

You are capab;le of far greater things than you think! Trust me....

[trodsky]

I've started to get them when I was about 22. Used to get them real bad after a hard night on the sauce. Don't worry they'll pass after a couple of years and you'll be sorted.

[rustopher]

Originally Posted by blackpowder

i 've being down the road of panic disorder for about 16 years i ve just turned 36 and thankfully things are not half as bad , i try to live a happy normal life as possible but one thing i could never understand when people mention conselling for this disorder ( panic) ,isn't it a biochemical reaction that involves the evoloutionary process of flight or fight that we have inherited sense our ape like days what i, saying i guess is conselling any good? you feel so alone when panic hits you you really do but after it happens 3 or 4 times your body kinda says i can deal with this **** its not going to kill me its unpleasant and it will go i,d still love to travel to america but the worst thing is when you go out of your environmental sorrounding.s it just seems really bad and takes on a new demionsion / can any body tell me if they are travelled with this disorder/ and how did they fare out /like you don't want to travelling and put your life in a living hell of having to deal with this away from home but i,d love to here some peoples opinions on travelling with panic disorder . the reason i mentioned conselling was i found personally it was very counterproductive and made things worse as someone else on the boards said it just stated the obvious ,as i said i want to get to america for a very special reason but will it be hell getting there with this thing lurking in the background ..thanx you one and all g bless

Wow, i just turned that age this month (in denial) and I avoid all opportunities to fly anywahere because of same. I dont even like travelling too far in a car in case i get stuck in traffic somewhere. I missed out on a holiday to Italy last summer because of it, i realise that i have limited enjoying myself and taking in different cultures and opportunities because of it.
A relation of mine visited during the summer from New \york and lately we are in touch a lot. In every email she sends there is an invite to go visit her in New York...now theres a holiday i dont want to miss out on. The thing is i have no one to travel with and no way caould i manage this on my own but i wiah i could. What do i do about this??????........Christmas/new year would be a great time for me to visit, although maybe a bit too busy for my liking, not sure. BTW i have tried hypno but not sure what that dis for me?!!

Anyway I feel your pain blackpowder..... but i am going to have to allow myself to live a bit, just never thought it would be this hard to have fun

[bobbaggio]

Start slowly.. Rome wasn't built in a day. You're not gonna be all of a sudden able to travel around the world. book a weekend away to galway, then donegal, then maybe the boat over to Wales.

[WildRosie]

Originally Posted by JennyBurke101

God ...you poor thing I really do feel your pain

I have always been an incredibly anxious person and worry about everything!!! For years I managed to get away without a panic attack, then unfortunately last Friday I took a panic attack in bed, I was just about to drift off when suddenly I got this feeling of doom, chest tightness, dizziness, the works...my mam had to come in and sleep with me....I am 21 years of age..... I thought I was having a heart attack and was dying ...it was beyond terrifying!!

It was horrifying, for the next couple of days I had a bad chest pain and pain in my left arm...I went to the doctor and she sent me to A&E saying there is nothing wrong with me, but I needed to get this out of my head and it was all stress, was in A&E had an ecg and X-ray and NOTHING showed up (thank God) ...my heart was just beating really fast...they couldn’t slow it down though, so I had to stay in and get fluids, it was so scary, then they told me I was panicky and this brought on acid reflux and all my weird arm pains – basically I was under severe stress and anxiety was taking over

I still haven’t recovered my back/ chest is killing me (went to the doc this Friday and apparently this is due to stress/reflux) she suggested I see a Counselor, I don’t know what good this would do though, I just feel crazy and like I am about to die! I find the EXACT same thing as you, since the attack I am terrified to be alone, I am afraid to fall asleep incase something really bad happens, buses are scaring me (and I get one everyday), every twinge I feel I expect is bad circulation and I am about to die…and to be honest I am just exhausted like I want need to sleep but every time I lie down the reflux is worse and I am thinking heart attack – then adrenaline kicks in and then I am awake half the night….all I want to do is sit down and cry its awful..

I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, but it makes me feel better knowing other people are so freaked out by it to 

I could have written this. I only started to get panic attacks this year. I had my first one in July. Only one was outside home. If I get one at home, my mom sits with me and does the breathing exercises and paces the garden with me (I'm 28 so don't feel too bad Jenny ). She suffered with them for years so she understands. Claire Weekes' book Agoraphobia helped her stop them completely.

I know what causes mine. I'm very overweight and every little pain I feel I think it's a clot or diabetes or something. I know it isn't but it sets the panic train off. I get sweaty, palpitations, shortness of breath, my arms and legs go numb, tunnel vision and the feeling that the end is nigh. The only one I got while not at home was when I was driving home one day. I had to stop the car twice and get out. The second time I was going to ask someone to call an ambulance. So glad I didn't. Every other time they've happened at night just before or in bed, when I'm not busy and my mind wanders.

What helps me is to tell someone that it's happening. It's like acknowledging it makes it less scary and you can focus on clearing it. Breathing, distraction, loud music all help. As soon as I feel the chest tightness I started breathing deeply and tensing and relaxing my muscles and it helps to reduce the severity. I'm loosing weight now too and knowing that I'm in the process of helping myself gives me a little "ammunition" against the thoughts when they start.

Much love to all those suffering these awful things. I hope you find relief.

[bobbaggio]

This is all so familiar. The one thing I find helps is when it starts to happen, don't fight it. I know it's hard, but just sit down and say.. "Come on" .... This is so difficult I know but it really will help! All the best, keep us updated!