Anxiety/Panic Attacks

[Aubrey Hepburn]

I went to the doctor yesterday because I haven't been feeling like myself for awhile now. She diagnosed me with having Anxiety and Panic Attacks. I've been thinking this was causing me to feel strange frequently, so I wasn't terribly surprised. Still, it feels kind of crummy to get diagnosed with it.

I've been getting sudden attacks where I feel like I'm going to faint and I get really dizzy. My chest feels tight and my heart starts racing, and I just feel really nervous and scared. When I'm having those attacks, I worry that I'm going "crazy" or that I have some serious illness that is going to kill me. I can't focus on anything, and I feel really shaky and "spaced out". It makes me afraid to be alone very much, because I didn't know what was wrong with me, and I couldn't stop it.

I can't sleep lately, and I've been having wierd dreams/nightmares that wake me up, but then when I wake up, I feel as though I'm still stuck in a "dream-state", and I can't get the image of what was bothering me out of my mind for awhile. I panic that I won't ever be "normal" in my mind again when this happens...which I know is ridiculous, but at that poi nt in time it freaks me out. It's really creepy, like that boat dream I had awhile ago that I posted about here.

One wierd thing about it is that sometimes my panicky feelings are "triggered" by something that seems totally normal to me and other people in regular situations. The other day, for example, I just got this image in my mind suddenly of a bright flash of light. I don't know why, but right after that I got really hot and shaky and nervous, and I had a panicky, "wierded out" feeling that lasted for about 25-30 minutes. It's sometimes really stupid stuff like that, but something really random like that can just bother me for awhile when I'm feeling panicky. It's the creepiest part of my problem for sure.

I'm supposed to talk to a psychologist who can help me get rid of my anxiety issues, and start becoming more active to help burn off nervous energy, things like that are supposed to help. I'm just curious to know, does anyone else here has Anxiety issues similar to mine, or feel like they're "wierding out" sometimes? Does anyone you know have them? How do you or they deal with them?

 

[Rey Mysterio]

I don't have them as severe as you, but I DO have them. I kept freaking out in French today over very slight things... I haven't been at myself lately at all.

Anyway, a little advice: When you feel uneasy, take a few deep breaths, have a glass of water, and take another few deep breaths.

 

[Mimitchiz]

I have them sometimes, but not as bad.

You feel as if you are falling or tripping in a dream-like state, then you immediatley feel dizzy and shooken.

I would suggest to make a note-book and write down whenever it happens, and what it was like, and after two weeks take it to a doctor.

As for feeling scared, just take a few deep breathes and think about something else.

It couldn't be anything really bad!

 

[yoshi999]

I have panic attacks but not as frequently as you....

It is not so bad.........

Besides I have a little paranoia and I'm used to it........

 

[Sweet Kandi]

Warning: Life story coming on.

I have a lot of anxiety problems.

Panic attacks, sociophobia, agoraphobia, PTSD.

I had a traumatic experience when I was 11 which resulted in me having PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

I couldn't go a day without having panic attacks. Be they brought on by thought or being moved a certain way.

I always felt like everyone was staring at me and talking about me being crazy. Always paranoid and depressed. I never felt like I was actually inside my body, but on the outside watching me and the people around me.

After a while I started cutting because my mind was never on the right track. I felt like that was the only way I could get it right. In 2004 I was hospitalized for attempted suicide. Diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and bipolar tendencies. I was put on Prozac, Trazodone, and Tegretol which I soon after stopped taking, as they only magnified the problems.

When I got out of the hospital I went to school for half a day, left and then refused to go back. I had to go to therapy twice a week. I was diagnosed sociophobic/agoraphobic. While I was out of school I wouldn't leave my house. I felt like I couldn't go out in public without everyone knowing I was crazy.

We moved to my sister's house, and even though I wasn't in public, I still didn't feel safe. It always felt like someone or something was going to get me if I left my guard down, even behind closed and locked windows and doors.

I didn't start feeling better until about a year ago, and even now I still have panic attacks and sociophobic episodes. I've been in therapy since December 2004, now going whenever I feel like I need it.

It does get better, but it's never what I'd call easy. Unless you want to be drugged on all sorts of meds x.x I'm on Trazodone now but only for a sleep aid.

You just have to try to keep an open mind. Know that no matter what, everything will turn out well so long as you keep your mind to it. It's a hard thing to get past, but I hear life's a lot better once you do. Just try not to over analyze things.

 

[Kiwitchi_Fan]

I get them. I also have a lot of other anxiety issues, since this is a very hard time in my life. (My dad passed away a while ago, and I'm very grief-stricken.) I go to a psychologist every other week for help and learning to relax. There are many relaxation exercises you can try when you're having a panic attack. They really do help calm you down. A psychologist or psychiatrist is also very helpful. Since I have pretty frequent panic attaks, I know they're no fun at all. Good luck!

 

[Tama*Lover]

Not yet..

I hope you can get rid of your panic attacks.

 

[tamachick1200]

i get mad easily and mood swings. i can also get twitchy and hyper or get upset about the most minor problems

 

[Tama_Leanna]

I also have a form of anxiety disorder. It's been happening to me on and off in the past year, and occasionally gets pretty severe. It's really freaky for me, because when this happens my heart starts to race and I feel as if I'm going to start to hyperventilate and get really short of breath.

For a while, it was very difficult for me to be alone in a house (and this still happens), because I have this nagging anxiety that something will happen to me when I'm alone. It gets pretty bad sometimes, actually, and I totally agree with the "I'm going crazy" feeling.

I'll sometimes get these "mind pictures" that randomly pop into my head, and even after, they'll leave me feeling all paranoid and weird.

It's been getting better lately, but it's good to know that there are other people who feel this way and it's not just me freaking out.

--leanna <3

 

[ice mountain]

I used to have panic attacks when I was younger, but they sort of dispersed once I began to mature, around 10...

What my mom would make me do was:

Sit down.

Breathe Deeply.

Eat/Drink Something Healthy.

Relax.

It seemed to work for me, although my mom's family was ALWAYS telling her to take me to the doctor, and get me pills, but she never did. I'm happy now that she didn't and I have proved to her family that now, I am well behaved.

 

[Aubrey Hepburn]

First, thank you SO much for talking about this stuff and sharing ideas about what you do to deal with your anxiety. It really makes me feel better and more confident knowing that you guys can understand what I'm experiencing.

I can identify with a lot of the feelings and thoughts that some of you mentioned...it is very reassuring that I'm not going insane. I'm looking up a good psychologist in my area so I can start trying to "normalize" again, and I'm working on trying to relax and calm down when I start to feel panicky.

It's really crummy that so many other people have problems with anxiety. I hope that everyone will start feeling better as soon as possible.

 

[Tamagotchi5252]

i dont think i do, but im kinda paraniode, see it usally happens at night where im alone and, im scared our house will go on fire or ill get shot, attacked, kidnapped, all those, or im scared that my mum, dad, friends, family, will die or sometimes when i think these things i feel really sick like im going to throw up and my breath gets really well i have to breathe deeply

recently ive been a bit scared of older men age range from 25-55 im just scared their going to hurt me or sexuly assalt me something like that

i hope im not crazy

it feels so good to share that any comments are welcome

or and Aubrey dont worry just think happy thoughts and if it happens while your in bed turn on radio read or have some cold/warm milk

 

[WhereEaglesDare]

I've been there. I have both Bipolar Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder so yeah, I'm pretty much a mess. Anyway, I've had panic attacks that were so bad that I started hallucinating. And it was at school, too. I had one before my very first soccer game in front of my whole team, and I had one in an airport once. I always seem to have them in the worst places, usually in public. But I take something called Ativan when I feel something like that coming on. Fortunately, I haven't needed it lately. I also have a little bit of social anxiety and I can get claustrophobic sometimes when I'm out in the open (makes no sense, huh?)

 

[crazyy*tama]

I think I might have anxiety.

One day, I was breathing all crazy, and my dad took me to the doctor, and the doctor said my heart and lungs were fine. They said I might have anxiety, because they think I'm nervous about something when I don't know it.