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Hi everyone-
I was just wondering whether any of you suffr from anxiety/panic attacks?
I have been getting them for about 3 years now on and off. (Ever since my wife had major heart surgery, when we were both 29. After a couple of weeks, and a visit to the doctor, I finally figured out that it was anxiety and not something wrong with MY heart.
Anyways, after awhile I figured out how to "ignore" them and it has worked for the most part, but ever since last Saturday, I've been having the worst panic attacks I've ever felt. I almost haven't even been able to eat. Luckily, I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of days......I was just wondering whether you guys have beaten this? Have you guys ever been on medications for this? Anybody have any suggestions for me besides "think happy thoughts"? Any help is highly appreciated!
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I suffered from panic attacks from the middle of 8th grade until about 10th grade. Panic attacks are horrible, horrible things, but they can TOTALLY be beaten. My panic attacks always stemmed from me being in very crowded and/or busy places and feeling like I had to throw up (fear of throwing up in public I guess?). So everywhere I went, be it a classroom, grocery store, friends house, I would immediately find the nearest exit/trash can/open space, etc. just to have that "peace of mind." And If I wasnt near one? Uh oh.. that when the panic would rise.
Basically the first step in dealing with it is to recognize that you are having one, and to focus on your breathing. I always told myself "Whats the worst that could happen?" So what if I throw up in front of these people - life goes on! It took a lot of mental toughness and time for me to beat the stupid thing (so yes "think happy thoughts".... sorry). But I did it. I didn't take any medications for it, but if that might work for you to help with the anxiety, then it might at least give you a good push in the right direction.
Btw, I never once threw up in all that time....
Can I ask what situations cause you to have panic attacks?
I think the first step to beating them is to recognize that you are having one and to focus on the symptoms and to mentally push them away. For example, my panic attacks would make me think I was nauseas and gonna throw up. I had to mentally kick myself and remind myself that "Kate, these arent real stomach pains, you didnt eat anything remotely gross that would cause you to throw up, etc." Take deep breaths and try to focus on that for a bit, and then maybe something else to take you mind off of whatever the symptom is.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling post. Good luck though. But just know that they are beatable, in my personal experience at least.
__________________
I.D. badges are long overdue. Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day, with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged? - Dwight K. Schrute
I suffered from panic attacks from the middle of 8th grade until about 10th grade. Panic attacks are horrible, horrible things, but they can TOTALLY be beaten. My panic attacks always stemmed from me being in very crowded and/or busy places and feeling like I had to throw up (fear of throwing up in public I guess?). So everywhere I went, be it a classroom, grocery store, friends house, I would immediately find the nearest exit/trash can/open space, etc. just to have that "peace of mind." And If I wasnt near one? Uh oh.. that when the panic would rise.
Basically the first step in dealing with it is to recognize that you are having one, and to focus on your breathing. I always told myself "Whats the worst that could happen?" So what if I throw up in front of these people - life goes on! It took a lot of mental toughness and time for me to beat the stupid thing (so yes "think happy thoughts".... sorry). But I did it. I didn't take any medications for it, but if that might work for you to help with the anxiety, then it might at least give you a good push in the right direction.
Btw, I never once threw up in all that time....
Can I ask what situations cause you to have panic attacks?
I think the first step to beating them is to recognize that you are having one and to focus on the symptoms and to mentally push them away. For example, my panic attacks would make me think I was nauseas and gonna throw up. I had to mentally kick myself and remind myself that "Kate, these arent real stomach pains, you didnt eat anything remotely gross that would cause you to throw up, etc." Take deep breaths and try to focus on that for a bit, and then maybe something else to take you mind off of whatever the symptom is.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling post. Good luck though. But just know that they are beatable, in my personal experience at least.
This is a great post.
I have the same thing. Sometimes I'll be in an important meeting and start to feel a little ill. My first instinct is to look for an escape exit.
I'll then focus on the meeting and remember that I came in here totally prepared and these feelings are just silly.
Might have a bit to do with why I like the guy in my avatar a little.
I suffered from panic attacks from the middle of 8th grade until about 10th grade. Panic attacks are horrible, horrible things, but they can TOTALLY be beaten. My panic attacks always stemmed from me being in very crowded and/or busy places and feeling like I had to throw up (fear of throwing up in public I guess?). So everywhere I went, be it a classroom, grocery store, friends house, I would immediately find the nearest exit/trash can/open space, etc. just to have that "peace of mind." And If I wasnt near one? Uh oh.. that when the panic would rise.
Basically the first step in dealing with it is to recognize that you are having one, and to focus on your breathing. I always told myself "Whats the worst that could happen?" So what if I throw up in front of these people - life goes on! It took a lot of mental toughness and time for me to beat the stupid thing (so yes "think happy thoughts".... sorry). But I did it. I didn't take any medications for it, but if that might work for you to help with the anxiety, then it might at least give you a good push in the right direction.
Btw, I never once threw up in all that time....
Can I ask what situations cause you to have panic attacks?
I think the first step to beating them is to recognize that you are having one and to focus on the symptoms and to mentally push them away. For example, my panic attacks would make me think I was nauseas and gonna throw up. I had to mentally kick myself and remind myself that "Kate, these arent real stomach pains, you didnt eat anything remotely gross that would cause you to throw up, etc." Take deep breaths and try to focus on that for a bit, and then maybe something else to take you mind off of whatever the symptom is.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling post. Good luck though. But just know that they are beatable, in my personal experience at least.
Thank you for your response.....these last few panic attacks have been getting me pretty much anywhere at dinner time. They are not as strong at home though. They get me the worst when I'm at a restaurant It doesn't matter which one. It really freaked me out last night when I had dinner at home and I got me feeling sick. I was trying to hide it from my wife (who is 6 mo pregnant and doesn't need more stress) but I know she noticed. Thanks for the info.....It's good to know that someone was able to beat this without meds.
About 80% of people will have at least one panic attack -- I had mine many years ago, and they are very nasty things. I have also sat with patients going through them.
Thirty-two is right, #1 is to realize 'It's just a panic attack - my nervous system is seriously overreacting to something, but they always pass.' Otherwise you can start worrying about having them, which means you will have them -- and then they can take over your life.
First, cut all caffeine and alcohol to a minimum. Second, get a good basic physical exam with complete labs -- there are half a dozen medical conditions from hypoglycemia to mitral valve prolapse to hyperthyroid, asthma, etc that can cause panic attacks -- all it is, really, is like someone opens the floodgates of your autonomic nervous system, and drugs, body, or your mind can all trigger them. (I tell people to imagine you pick up the mail and there in the pile of bills is an envelope addressed to you marked "Internal Revenue Service -- Tax Fraud Audit Division." What you just experienced is a micro-mini panic attack.)
They are also part and parcel of PTSD and of Major Depression, as well as a few other psychological issues.
Once the medical causes are eliminated, then you have to decide how to deal with them. Nowadays, low dose antidepressants are preferred over benzodiazepines (such as Xanax or Ativan) because they are not as dependency-producing.
However the research is pretty clear -- IF a psych or environmental trigger can be identified in counseling, which maybe 60-75% of the time you can do, then a specific behavior therapy called graduated exposure therapy is more effective at not only stopping, but permanently ending, recurring attacks than any short-term use of drugs. Counseling itself is only good for identifying the problem and getting your confidence up -- talk therapy and pure 'relaxation' training,' etc. by themselves very rarely help people get over panic attacks. (On the other hand, for most people, they fade out after a few attacks on their own. In your case, that doesn't seem to be happening.)
I had a patient who panicked around mandatory awards dinners (a couple times a year for him) and it turned out that as a teen athlete his alcoholic father had repeatedly behaved at such dinners in ways that were completely humiliating to any adolescent. Now that he was in a new position where he again 'had to' go because of his job, his old early-warning system was gearing up for some horrible embarrassments -- because that's what happens at awards dinners, right? it's sort of like a dab of situational PTSD.
If you can't find an obvious trigger, look for the ones you don't want to see. For ex., mine apparently came 'out of the blue,' but in retrospect, it was the first time I let myself understand that my loyal husband was cheating on me left and right, and I was going to have to do something if I faced it openly. I wasn't quite emotionally ready to do that, so I had a huge feeling of unsolvable conflict and a fear of moving in any direction at that moment -- blammo! Total panic attack.
I had another patient who 'suddenly' developed panic attacks that turned out to be associated with planning to drive the family on vacation trips -- of all weird things, a few years earlier he'd gotten a stomach flu or food poisoning driving his family to the mountains and the explosive diarrhea won the race for the trees off the side of the highway. Pretty awful, but the rest of the family thought it was sort of funny -- he couldn't get over the crushing humiliation (and his anger that they thought it was funny). Now that he was struggling to keep a job in hard economic times, they couldn't afford to fly or take a train for summer trips. So even discussions of likely vacation destinations caused panic. Uh-Oh!
Again, knowing the sneaky trigger is only useful because it lets you know what you have to desensitize yourself to. Talking about it doesn't usually cure the panic, but it helps you corral it.
So if all the medical causes are ruled out, and there's nothing obvious, think --Who, or what, is going on around dinner or that time of day that either presents a terrible inner conflict (unacceptable guilt, anger, resentment, fear, shame, blame, etc.) for you, or that maybe reminds you of some old threat?
Good luck!
__________________ Hoping for Audacity
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
Thank you thirty-two, BadaOBing and AZZenny for your responses. I don't feel alone anymore.
AZZenny- I will be getting checked out by the doc tomorrow. I will ask him to rule out any physical problems that may be causing this. I have a feeling that it will have to be something I have to beat on my own though. After reading more about the psychological examples you wrote about, I can think of about 3 major things that can be behind this. I also do feel very depressed sometimes so God knows what's going to happen to me. I think my brain is just too active sometimes and the wheels never stop turning. Hopefully, my future son will not have a crazy dad who is anxious and depressed all the time. Thanks so much for the advice!
I have been having them for the past year. They suck soo bad. I have not found a solution for them yet, but they are directly tied to my anger and depression. Thanks for bringing this subject up SEZ. These have certainly put a cramp on my style. Also, thanks 32 and Zenny for the info. I will try this next time I am feeling one.
I only get mine at night when I'm trying to sleep. I always have this intense feeling that I did something horribly wrong that is going to haunt me the next day (lose my job, ect). However, that is obviously never the case. NOt only do I not sleep well, i delay trying to sleep because I know what's coming. I've been taking sleep aids for 6 years now, mostly over the counter stuff, but i take them in very high doses. I fear the night.
I only get mine at night when I'm trying to sleep. I always have this intense feeling that I did something horribly wrong that is going to haunt me the next day (lose my job, ect). However, that is obviously never the case. NOt only do I not sleep well, i delay trying to sleep because I know what's coming. I've been taking sleep aids for 6 years now, mostly over the counter stuff, but i take them in very high doses. I fear the night.
I do the same thing. Except I don't really fear things, I just get anxious. I take sleep aides as well. I have woken with panic attacks before, and I think my body hates me.
I do the same thing. Except I don't really fear things, I just get anxious. I take sleep aides as well. I have woken with panic attacks before, and I think my body hates me.
Dude, that's exactly how my anxiety attacks used to be about 2 years ago when they first started and that's exactly how I felt about about my body/ central nervous system. What's funny, is that if I actually got a good nights rest, then the next night wouldn't be so bad. As a matter of fact, I actually had them beat for awhile but then as soon as things at work would get slower, they would come right back.
Right now, work is slow for me, so they're kicking my @$$ like you wouldn't believe.
QUOTE=dogpoo32;1777854]I do the same thing. Except I don't really fear things, I just get anxious. I take sleep aides as well. I have woken with panic attacks before, and I think my body hates me.[/quote]
Dude, that's exactly how my anxiety attacks used to be about 2 years ago when they first started and that's exactly how I felt about about my body/ central nervous system. What's funny, is that if I actually got a good nights rest, then the next night wouldn't be so bad. As a matter of fact, I actually had them beat for awhile but then as soon as things at work would get slower, they would come right back.
Right now, work is slow for me, so they're kicking my @$$ like you wouldn't believe.
OK, I'm going to research this a bit for you guys -- nocturnal panic attacks are a separate subtype of panic disorder, and there's a lot of very recent studies trying to figure them out. May take me a couple days.
__________________ Hoping for Audacity
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
I had a severe anxiety attack in highschool, they called the ambulance, I felt like I was having a Stroke...I've had 2 or 3 of them in my lifetime, usually after life changing events...I've learned the best way to prevent one is to breath deep, slowly and hop in a nice warm shower to calm my nerves...
OK, I'm going to research this a bit for you guys -- nocturnal panic attacks are a separate subtype of panic disorder, and there's a lot of very recent studies trying to figure them out. May take me a couple days.
How's that research coming, Zenny?
I only ask because last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up out of a dead sleep and felt I couldn't breathe. It was pretty frightening. Anyway, I talked myself down and was fine. I'm under a lot of stress right now, so I am guessing this could be related to that? I've never had panic attacks before.
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