So this will be my first real post here... Slight personal background, My name is Jamie, I'm 22 years old, and I'm new here. I've tried different sites and forms of help but haven't found one that helps yet so it may take a while for any advice you guys have to sink in. I have issues trusting what people say...
Anyway, for my first topic of many issues that I have, the most annoying right now is my anxiety and panic attacks. I don't really know why they keep happening but it's been happening increasingly so the past couple of weeks. I will randomly feel like crying (which I normally don't cry), my heart races, I get dizzy, shaky, sick to my stomach... just basically terrified out of my mind.
They happen suddenly, hence the term panic "attack". I've tried breathing exercises, sitting quietly, keeping busy, pretty much everything I know how and I can't find anything that helps. The breathing and trying to calm down somehow seem to make me even more panicky. Basically the only way I know to get it to stop is to give in and wear myself out through panic. Eventually I get exhausted and it stops.
I've been diagnosed before (by the kind of people who just throw drugs at you to make you go away) with GAD. That was a few years ago and they just put me on meds, which didn't help nor solve anything. At the time I had really bad social phobia also which they failed to be concerned about and simply "treated" for GAD. So, I went through multiple medications and therapists until I got sick of it all and won't go back to any doctors for it. I need other ways besides medications.
I have fairly bad anxiety all of the time, but I usually feel calm-ish. Unless I'm alone or random moments when the panic sets in for what seems like no reason. So, if anyone here has advice on what to do I'd appreciate it. Again, it may take time for me to listen to suggestions, but I'm ready for this to get better. I've done everything I know how. I'm out of options. Please help?
Hey Jamie, welcome to the site. I get extreme anxiety too in the form of derealisation (feeling unreal) so while I don't get the same symptoms as yourself I do know how hard it is to deal with extreme anxiety. I've had a doctor say it was panic attacks and he sent me for stress management and they said it wasn't panic attakc and they couldn;t help and i needed one to one counselling, aftger waiting 8 months I was told i wouldn be suitable cos i was psychotic (which only lasted a day). so yeah, I know what its like to run out of options and hope. I do hope though that you find something that helps. I've no suggestions off the top of my head but keep doing th eother things, they might help more than you know. sorry thats not helpful.
Thanks for replying. It is nice to know I'm not the only one whom the doctors haven't been overly helpful with. It's discouraging when the professionals don't even know what's wrong. I know I've been through a few and they did nothing, some even made it worse.
So yeah, I have no clue what to do either. The worst part about the anxiety and panic attacks is it usually just stems from my own mind. There's nothing in this world that can terrify me quite as bad as my own thoughts. My mind is overactive and there's no stopping it once it gets going. As far as I know there's nothing that can be done about that... which terrifies me also.
It may be worth looking into CBT or anxiety management courses. These are therapies that look at coping mechanisms for anxiety - including ways of challenging the way your mind is working and re-training it so that you can learn to deal with and eventually prevent the anxiety.
As you know that a lot of the anxiety stems from your own mind, the only thing I can recommend is to challenge the thoughts you are having.
Roiben x
If the Human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we wouldn't.
Hi jamie panic attacks can be scary, i passed out on a roundabout once cause of it, what i found is the more you think of it the worse it gets, i tried to focus on something and just talk to myself about it!!
Meds dont always work some doctors think its the solution to everything.
Not sure on what advice to give you but its something you got to fight by just thinking different ways and i agree cbt might help that.
Thanks for the advice... but I'm really against seeing therapists right now. I actually don't like talking to anyone about any of this... It makes me feel crazy and I know that no one in the world can understand exactly what it's like because no one is in my head except me. I guess it's not that I don't like how my mind works, it's what my mind thinks of that bothers me... it's hard to explain, but everything i think of are things that are real. It's not that I'm making up thoughts or my imagination is freaking me out. I can't control my thoughts because there's nothing else real to think about. I could try to suppress it with a lot of fantasy and lies, but I don't see the point in that.
Maybe I'm just too realistic. And knowing that I'm not making up these bad thoughts leads to everything else. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, self injury, etc. etc. I wish I could pretend things are all awesome and block out the negative, but it doesn't work that way. But it's okay, I'll live.
Thanks again. I appreciate the replies though I may not be around here very long. Talking about all of this makes me feel even more crazy and that's probably not a good thing at the moment... Sorry, my perpetual confusion is getting in the way.
I'm the same way, it's all in my mind. I mean it literally only happens now if I'm out and I think about it. If I just get on with my day and dont think about it, it doesn't happen. But once I've thought of it, it happens. And it's hard not to when you go to certain places it usually happens in, you know? But it's like awful that I'm the one making this horrible thing happen to myself.
I have GAD. I take medicine and see a therapist... I've been mostly panic free for the past year or so. But when I do get them, they're really bad.
Some of the things that help me deal:
1) When I have them, after I cool down, I write exactly what I went through, what the trigger was, how I was feeling, and how I feel now. It really helped me realize what it felt like to be triggered. My therapist once put it: Rate the anxiety level where you can't turn back from the panic where 1 is a little uncomfortable and 10 is panic attack. For me, it's a 7, when my chest gets tight and I start sweating badly. So when I get to 5 or 6 (racing thoughts, feeling hot), I start the relaxation stuff. Breathe. Talk gently to myself. It's going to be okay. I'll make it through this... but if I can't get myself down and I get to 7, I find somewhere that feels safe to ride it out-- an empty bathroom, under the desk, in bed, etc. It might help to put the symptoms you experience on a scale like that and use the relaxation stuff before you hit the point of no return.
2)Try and talk or write or express the fears you have. For me, a big one is unsolicited touch. After I had a really bad attack after a crossing guard put his hand across my back to usher me across the street, I tried to remember why it scared me so bad. Sometimes, you have to work through one fear at a time. Do you get panic attacks triggered by specific things? Figure out what they are. Figure out why you react the way you do. Come up with a gentle dialog to tell yourself when you're triggered. "The crossing guard was just looking out for my safety. He was doing his job. There was nothing bad or predatory about his touch. It's okay. It's okay to be scared, but you're not in danger."
I'd also research about the neurochemical mechanisms that cause panic. We have two ways of dealing with danger, in our brains. There's fight-or-flight (panic) and the slower think-it-through (problem solving) circuits. Panic is useful (being chased by a bear kind of situations), but with GAD, our body thinks it's useful for everything. The trick is being able to teach your body when it is and isn't appropriate.
Sorry for the novel. I hope some of this helps. :) Feel free to PM.
I have bad anxiety, and I've had my fair share of panic attacks, so I know how you feel. It's really scary.
My psych suggested writing down what's bothering me which I found was kinda useful, since it helps get it out of your mind.
I find it also helps to do something you're passionate about, it really helps calm me down. Just anything to get it out of your mind really.
I know you're against it but some professional could really work too.
Sorry if I'm not any help. Please take care. :)
"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike." - Albus Dumbledore
The CBT therapy might help as said above. If you don't want to see a therapist (which I really do understand) you can do a bit by yourself through books/ websites. There's a site called moodgymn which is free to sign up for if you wanted to look at that.
Also do you get much exercise? Getting lots of exercise can reduce anxiety in general, which might make you less prone to the severe attacks.
Also I have noticed that my anxiety is not as bad since I stopped smoking a couple of months ago, so if you smoke that is something to consider.
I know how frustrating it is when you try lots of drugs/therapies and they don't do any good. I hope you find ways round this soon. xx
