anxiety/panic attacks.

[looby lou]

I agree with joanne, there can be an underlying problem, thats why I think you should talk to a professional. I learnt that there is no need to try and control anxiety alone xx

 

[tracey louise]

I agree with joanne, there can be an underlying problem, thats why I think you should talk to a professional. I learnt that there is no need to try and control anxiety alone xx

thanks for you replies.i know i should go and see a professional but i really dont like my doctor and the receptionists are no help at all.i also think im scared of what they might tell me.i know i should though.

 

[fificharlie]

sometimes doctors will try a simple thing like beta blockers first.......youve heard of your "fight or flight" usually you would be tried on these first, you must see your g.p..........
sometimes panic attacks can be an underlying problem such as, hormones (as in endocrine..adrenal, thyroid ovaries etc) .
best to see a gp get your bloods checked out first and foremost....you can be recommended things....but if you just go and buy something from a herbalist or health shop...you shouldnt.

Sorry joanne, but beta blockers arent a 'simple thing', they alter your heart rate, and prevent your brain from releasing adrenaline completely - im not just talking out of opinion here, I'm talking from experience. I have taken both beta blockers, seroxat (a near banned anti depressant) and other anti depressants too.

I was not reccomending she just 'go and buy from a health food shop' - rescue remedy certainly wouldnt alter blood test results!!

By all means try and get somewhere with your gp, but they are PAID to knock out anti depressants by the bucket load, and thats exactly what they do. Its rare to find a gp that will take anxiety seriously.

 

[looby lou]

Forgot to mention, reading up on anxiety helped me alot. After all . . . . knowledge is power!!

There is a good selection at most libraries, DONT be afraid of reading about it, I found myself saying every 5 minutes 'that's me!' :lol: xxxx

 

[fificharlie]

yes

I thought you were hun, I am too - do you know its actually a phobia called emetophobia?

Have a look at homepage - emetonline.co.uk

Its packed with people that are exactly the same as you and me!

I think we are very similar hun, my panic attacks are sometimes down to the fact that im afraid of people being ill around me, or me actually being ill - for me to actually be sick would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to me!

Pm me if you want to chat more about it hun! :hug: x

 

[fificharlie]

Feeling that you are going to be sick is a common symptom of anxiety. :hug: xx

For someone that is also terrified of being sick the problem is 10 times worse! You panic, then you are afraid of the symptoms too :cry: which makes you feel even more anxious than you did to start off with. Its a never ending circle sometimes :hug:

 

[tracey louise]

thanks for that.im not actually afraid of being sick im afraid that i'll feel ill/be sick when i go out sometimes.

 

[fificharlie]

thanks for that.im not actually afraid of being sick im afraid that i'll feel ill/be sick when i go out sometimes.

There are loads of variations of the phobia hun, I can watch it on casualty etc, or if my friend was sick through drink etc that would be fine, but anything that would mean ME being sick would be a no no!!

There are some people on that site that are so bad with the phobia they cant even bear to see the word 'vomit' written on the screen, I really feel for those people.

 

[tracey louise]

me too.i really cant believe how common panic/anxiety attacks are.before this i only new one person who seemed to understand how i felt as she suffered with it.im really surprised how many people do suffer with it in one way or another

 

[miss amy]

For someone that is also terrified of being sick the problem is 10 times worse! You panic, then you are afraid of the symptoms too :cry: which makes you feel even more anxious than you did to start off with. Its a never ending circle sometimes :hug:

this is def me,I am so phobic of vomit that I dont even drink, I am petrified that once I have 1 drink I am gonna be sick and then end up in a state.
I have been referred to the mental health nurse and am going to see her on 28/2/08. I am getting married in the dominican republic and i am seriously thinking of cancelling it as the fear is starting to overcome me.

I am so glad I STARTED this thread, i now know that I am not alone thanks geeks

 

[Lellipop]

I have not read all the thread so sorry if I repeat anything thats been said before. But the only real way to get rid of anxiety and panic attacks is to actually stop fearing them I had anxiety problems constantly for years due to my mental illness and the only way I got rid of them was by having cognetive behaviour therapy. You actually have to learn to not fear them they can not harm you at all and although very unpleasant at the time of having one if you just face them the anxiety levels get better in time, The thing with panic and anxiety is that it reaches a peak and will never get any worse than that peak part. This isnt an easy fix its hard work and takes alot of guts to work through but it works and there are no side-effects.

 

[fificharlie]

this is def me,I am so phobic of vomit that I dont even drink, I am petrified that once I have 1 drink I am gonna be sick and then end up in a state.
I have been referred to the mental health nurse and am going to see her on 28/2/08. I am getting married in the dominican republic and i am seriously thinking of cancelling it as the fear is starting to overcome me.

I am so glad I STARTED this thread, i now know that I am not alone thanks geeks

Hey miss Amy

So your emetophobic too?! There are a few of us aren't there! As for even booking your wedding in the dominican republic, WELL DONE you, I'm getting married in July and we havent booked a honeymoon due to my fear, i.e travelling. I am so lucky that my hubby is very understanding!

please take a look at the site I posted earlier, and the same goes, if you ever need to chat just pm me! x Its a life limiting fear, and unless you have it you will never understand the impact it has x

 

[Miss Waterliy]

Ive suffered with panic attacks and now dont!
I hear what the others are saying about rescue remedy i too tried and it helps when you start with an attack but it isnt actually solving the problem talk to your doctor about cognitive therapy which address the issue of why you have them and helps you to stop them in the first place!!!

 

[Ophala]

right........

i also have a severe phobia of me/other people being sick (didn't know the proper name for it until just now!) i've had it for yrs and it was a problem my mum had as a child so obv rubbed onto me!

i've had stages where i've felt ok about it but a few yrs ago i was ill (i have trouble even saying the word) while away for a weekend with my bf - it wasn't bad but it triggered over 6 months of feeling nauseous all the time (i wasn't ill again after that) but i had a constant lump in my throat (therapist said it was due to feelings i'd been pushing down trying to get out - i'm not too sure!!) and i couldn't eat much coz i was scared i'd be ill again.

i've been seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist every few months for the last few yrs and it has helped a lot but i still have a lot of problems. if someome looks ill opposite me on a train i'll want to get up and move, and this whole news about the bug going round has me terrified.

i've had panic attacks from it too and even had one in the optician a few days ago coz i started to feel hot and then dizzy and then i panicked thinking i was ill. had to have some water and my ever faithful rescue remedy to calm me down.

i'm hoping i'll get better with time but i don't ever want kids as im scared i wont be able to deal with it if they're ill, and that's not fair.

added that site to my faves fificharlie to have a read later!

 

[CurlyQs]

I have not read all the thread so sorry if I repeat anything thats been said before. But the only real way to get rid of anxiety and panic attacks is to actually stop fearing them I had anxiety problems constantly for years due to my mental illness and the only way I got rid of them was by having cognetive behaviour therapy. You actually have to learn to not fear them they can not harm you at all and although very unpleasant at the time of having one if you just face them the anxiety levels get better in time, The thing with panic and anxiety is that it reaches a peak and will never get any worse than that peak part. This isnt an easy fix its hard work and takes alot of guts to work through but it works and there are no side-effects.

This is SO true Lelli. I experienced panic attacks as an adverse reaction to an anti-nausea drug, if you can imagine. It went on for months. But like you said, in the long run knowing that it couldn't physically harm me - which took a long time for me to 'know', was the turning point. I don't get them any more because like I said it was caused by an adverse reaction to a drug...

Having said that it is so important to know the side effects of meds. What happened to me on an anti-nausea drug was documented by a mere fraction of the population, but that .01 percent could be you. It was the most mentally excruciating time of my life and it never had to happen. If the doctor had warned me, I would have just put up with the nausea, or tried some other solution.

So many antidepressants have very serious side effects.... just something to consider....

 

[littlegrohl]

no matter what medication you undertake.. natural or otherwise, you will never get over panic/agrophobia without cognitive therapy...
its a process.. you build a brick wall.. you have to take it down..

i suffer panic.. it got so bad that i didnt leave my house.. went no further then my door for nearly 3 years.
one panic attack at at stop light.. and a year later i was a full blown agoraphobe.
if by taking rescue remedy you are cured.. then you didnt have ageneral anxiety disorder to begin with.. you were stressed.

i am not saying i know all.. but some of you may remember i wanted to come off my anti-depressants a while back.. thing is.. not all anti-d's are the same.. an no one should scare you into not trying them.

find someone you are comfy with and talk it out.. push yourself.. feel the fear and do it anyway!!!
panic attacks can not and will not kill you.. they wont make you sick.. they wont send you crazy nor are they actually that visable.. you wont go running into traffic or hiding under bushes.. the flight or fight mechanism in our body pre-dates cavemen.. we are instilled with a reaction.. we come across something.. feel fear... say while shopping.. mistakenly we think its the place that is scary so we avoid it.. we run.. untill before you know it you are stuck in your comfort zone.. home.

Its an absolute crappy thing to have.. panic/anxiety.. it takes over your life.. and makes the simplest pleasures scary.. but you CAN get through it.. first you have to want to..second you have to work .. HARD.. third you have to remember you will always have flair ups..

It starts with a thought.. our body reacts by flooding with adrenalin, which makes our heart run faster.. our skin sweat.. and our legs jittery.. this is needed so we can a either fight.. or flight.. its a chemical process and the miinute you seperate what is actually happening, with what you "think" might hapen you begin to recover.

when you get to where i am though.. nothing scares you.. Nothing is a scary as fear itself.., i have tools to use and i know how to use them.. so a man could be about to shoot me dead and i would die calm.,. ifykwim!
try and keep a sense of humour too, even when your most scared a good friend to help you laugh at yourself, or a mental pic of your dad in a frock can ward off any fear!

i wouldnt change my experience now.. i felt once that i would rather be dead then deal with this..now i wouldnt change my experience or what i have for anything, it has made me stronger yet at the same time given me empathy.

i am chels.. i panic sometimes.. but i never give in..ever!

GOOD LUCK AND BE STRONG
LOOK UP THE SERENITY PRAYER
I AINT RELIGIOUS BUT IT HELPS WHEN YOU ARE WORKING THROUGH PANIC
NOT SURE WHY BUT I CANT GET CAPS LOCK OFF LOL! x

 

[soriminah]

Thats the only problem with panic\anxiety is that it's such a complicated thing. Different things trigger it in different people and the way the body reacts is different in all people.
My anxiety started when my grandfather died and then a short while later my relationship broke up. I went to the Dr and handed me over a prescription for valium. I refuse to take a lot of medication so I still have tablets from that script left and that was 18 months ago. I like to try and work through stuff myself rather than take a pill to 'fix' it.
I also swigged from the rescue remedy bottle numerous times day and night. Love the stuff. I always carry a bottle around with me.

 

[RebekahsBeauty]

As i have a big spiritual side of me i believe that the problems & phobias that we suffer from are from your Past life, the life we lived before this one, something bad must have happend which has been passed onto this life, and its actualy all true.

Maybe being hypnotised might help?? Even though its a bit freaky
xxxx

 

[Ophala]

if by taking rescue remedy you are cured.. then you didnt have ageneral anxiety disorder to begin with.. you were stressed.

i know i'm just taking a tiny bit of what you said but i have to make a point about this.

i can't speak for everyone but certainly for me - rescue remedy doesn't cure me when i take it, but it's one method i use to help me calm down when i am feeling panicky. i don't know if it really works or whether it's psychological but once i've taken it i nearly always start to calm down a bit. doesn't always work but i make sure i have it with me everywhere i go, almost like a security blanket. some people won't leave the house without water, mine's rescue rem!

i'm not as bad as a lot of people here are/have been but i still have my problems. i'm lucky my mum helps me with it........just after the tube bombings a few yrs ago i was due to work the next day in town (this was at the height of my axiety/panic) and i was terrified to go and scared of being stuck in tunnels, but my mum said if u don't go today it will just get harder and she was right, i'm so glad i did it. i'm less panicky if the tube gets stuck in a tunnel now, spesh as the drivers usually tell u why these days. for some reason i feel safer on the tube than on a bus! strange i know!

 

[miss amy]

god,I had no idea that anxiety was this common! i couldn't sleep last night, i was getting all worked up about the holiday, its meant to be the best 2 weeks of my life, going off to marry the man i love, but instead here i am being gripped with panic about going:|