Panic/Anxiety Attacks: Support, Advice, Help, Treatment Options (paranoid, voices, paranoia)

[optamaze]

helped me alot...

[Suzet2262]

The anticipatory anxiety MiamiRob was talking about really does suck. Sometimes it is like you get no relief at all. If you arent panicy, you are waiting for the next one to hit. That is where the avoidance behavior comes in to play. You dont want to go anywhere that you have had an attack, then before you know it, you are stuck in your home and still having attacks. I fight with myself all the time, to not let panic rule my life. I think moving to Keene will be a good thing for me. I think I need a calmer way of life. Driving in So Cali can cause anxiety all by itself. People are nuts out here. All I know is that for 2008, I am going to do all that I can to lead a better life and get this anxiety under control. Here is it almost 4:30 am and I cant sleep yet again. Ugh. Night time is always worse for me, I dont know why. I can have a great day, but then come night....and here comes the anxiety.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

The anticipatory anxiety MiamiRob was talking about really does suck. Sometimes it is like you get no relief at all. If you arent panicy, you are waiting for the next one to hit. That is where the avoidance behavior comes in to play. You dont want to go anywhere that you have had an attack, then before you know it, you are stuck in your home and still having attacks. I fight with myself all the time, to not let panic rule my life. I think moving to Keene will be a good thing for me. I think I need a calmer way of life. Driving in So Cali can cause anxiety all by itself. People are nuts out here. All I know is that for 2008, I am going to do all that I can to lead a better life and get this anxiety under control. Here is it almost 4:30 am and I cant sleep yet again. Ugh. Night time is always worse for me, I dont know why. I can have a great day, but then come night....and here comes the anxiety.

I have the SAME EXACT problem at night, its like I am affraid to sleep at night.

Driving here in the Orlando area worries me as well. You can't drive anywhere without seeing the crosses with flowers on them that show where someone has died along side the road. The drivers are pretty agressive as well.

I went out yesterday and had a pretty good day, no worries. We went to Costco, World Market, Game Stop, The Bombay Company. we had a productive trip, I didn't have anything even close to a panic attack, everything was fine.

I haven't been to Keene, New Hampshire for many years but it was a quaint little town way back then. A little on the cold side in the winter though. There is so much to do up there, if you do some research you will find all kinds of things to get out and do. When the summer comes your not too far to get over to the coast and enjoy the ocean as well.

I suffered from SAD, or seasonal depression when I lived in New England, its a wonderful place, really pretty but the cold weather really got too me. I have some physical problems that makes cold weather and icey conditions difficult for me to deal with. Florida works pretty well for me.

[Suzet2262]

I dont understand why night is a trigger for me. It always has been. Nightime is one of my favorite times, outside the anxiety. So go figure. Driving is very hard for me. And going on the freeway..wow, that is really tough. It is like anxiety/panic wants to take away all that you enjoyed before it came into your life. It is like your mind is turning on you.

My family and I are planning a move to Keene, NH. It was supposed to be in Nov, but now I think it is going to be postponed till March. I was really upset about that. We wanted to be out there for the first snow. I am looking forward to a way calmer way of life. I think it will help with the anxiety a lot. I dont suffer from SAD, I actually love the cloudy, rainy days, and am looking forward to it. I suffer from heat!! The heat causes me really bad panic attacks. I tend to hybernate in the summer. I dont like the heat at all. So NE here we come. I am glad that Florida works for you Lindsey. We all need to find that place that works for us.

[RH1]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

I dont understand why night is a trigger for me. It always has been. Nightime is one of my favorite times, outside the anxiety. So go figure. Driving is very hard for me. And going on the freeway..wow, that is really tough. It is like anxiety/panic wants to take away all that you enjoyed before it came into your life. It is like your mind is turning on you.

I probably have no place posting on this forum as I live in the UK, but I was running a search on anxiety and this popped up. It's been really interesting reading all these accounts I can relate to so horribly - I've only recently started getting treatment and I know what a struggle it can be, even though my attacks aren't constant. The first ones I had were while I was nearly asleep and I had no idea what was going on. The first time I conquered it, I was so dopey and tired I thought "fine, let's just let this max out - if I die I die, what the hell" and it just subsided - then the attacks tailed off and I was fine. A year later I started having them in the day during a time at work when I was doing long hours and living in London away from home. Unfortunately I've not been able to do the same to these attacks though, it's just too scary when I'm awake.

I feel like I'm just starting to crack it now, but it's taking the full range of my imagination to deal with times when it's running ahead of me and I can't stop my brain looking out for panic - just when I think I feel OK I think "hey I feel ok now" and that's like testing yourself and you set it off all over again. I know you all know exactly what I mean.

I thought I might list some things that have worked for me, however briefly. I know everyone's different but if one person takes one thing from this then I'm happy.

- I've got a tiny notebook where I list things that make me smile, like falling snow at night, bubbles, warm grass on a sunny day. If I feel myself spiralling into panic I get the book out and either just read it or try to add more things to it. Sometimes it gets things into perspective or just shifts my mind set very slightly so I can allow myself to think positively for a bit.

- When I have to drive, relaxing my shoulders as completely as I can and staring straight ahead as if I'm a driving robot works a treat. Sounds silly I know, but it helps the chest tightness.

- running/ jogging in the morning, even for 10 or 15 minutes helps too. As long as you get a bit of a sweat going. This can be really hard if a raised heart beat triggers you, but you just have to tell yourself that that's what your heart is meant to do - you're exercising so it's working like it's supposed to. If you can get past that I find it a huge help. I make sure I go on a route where there are people around and carry contact details in my pocket. That way if I collapse it's other people's problem! Of course I never do.

- this won't help if you don't have a religious background but I also used to sing hymns in the car. This works on several levels - it distracts you because you're trying to remember the words, there's something comforting about singing and there's something especially comforting about hymns. Dear Lord and Father of Mankind works really well.

- saying to myself "no harm is going to come to you."

- imagining my counsellor is next to me, saying "how are you feeling now?" etc and asking all the questions I know she'd ask. This worked best for me recently when I went to the cinema with a friend and really wanted to leave. Suddenly she was there asking how I was feeling and why, and asking me to describe the sensation and what I thought was going to happen to me - it usually seems so silly when we're analysing attacks, so imagining this scenario is useful for stepping back from the situation a little bit and seeing it for what it really is.

I'm by no means there yet - lots of situations set me off, but I'm doing my best. My counsellor hit the nail on the head the other day; she said to me "I think the solution is just too simple for you, it's just about what you're thinking about." Every time I get a glimmer of this it's like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - I've realised I just need to convince myself that I'm allowed to just think about nice things - there isn't really anything to be scared about. If I think about falling snow really completely for 5 minutes, nothing terrible is going to happen behind my back. Panic for me is like feeling like you have to be on guard or something terrible will happen - there's nothing there though. Nothing. Impossibly hard to believe though when you're in that place.

Anyway I hope one day I'll learn to believe that! And I know for a fact that everyone else here will live a normal life again soon. Come on guys - we can do this!!

[Suzet2262]

Hi RH1, welcome to this forum. I am sorry it is under this circumstance. I am so sorry for anyone that has to endure this crazy disorder. I know so well what you are going through. I love the postitive attitude you have, that is half the battle right there. My positiveness(?) comes and goes. Sometimes I am doing so well, that I forget I have anxiety/panic, then out of no where it comes back, and then the whole cycle repeats itself. It truly is an awful disorder to have. I like the idea of having the notebook. I used to journal at night for years. I guess I got lazy or burned out on it, I havent done it in a few years. Visualizing is a big help. So picturing it snowing or seeing a sunset, can be quite calming. I went to a hypnotherapist for a year. She was able to teach me to hypnotize myself, the problem is, is that I have to be some what relaxed to do it. I havent been even calm enough lately to do it. But it does really help. CBT is the way to go, if you can. That is what I am planning on doing as soon as I can get all my finaces together. It is expensive, but I have read some wonderful results people get from learning this technique. It is all about re-training your brain, and to calm down that fight or flight syndrom that we get with this disorder. So good luck to you!!! Do whatever makes you feel better and able to cope. And yes we will get through this!!

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

My anxiety used to be SO bad that I would grind my teeth in my sleep, at one point my jaw locked down so I could barely eat. I now have a mouth gaurd for extreme times of stress.

Back in college I used to smoke a particular plant that made me feel so much better, I had no idea that I had panic attacks at the time but now in retrospect, that is why the plant I smoked helped me so much. All natural anti-anxiety.

[nicolepsy]

what is the best way to deal with these? on thanksgiving we were driving in a rain storm and i had what i thought was a panic attack. i felt like i was going to literally have a break down. picture me as a robot with a major malfunction and then a bolt falls off and then a spring disengages and then an arm falls off and then i lose power and die. this is what i felt like and i didnt really know how to stop it. i definitely could have benefited from a valium!

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Originally Posted by nicolepsy

what is the best way to deal with these? on thanksgiving we were driving in a rain storm and i had what i thought was a panic attack. i felt like i was going to literally have a break down. picture me as a robot with a major malfunction and then a bolt falls off and then a spring disengages and then an arm falls off and then i lose power and die. this is what i felt like and i didnt really know how to stop it. i definitely could have benefited from a valium!

I know exactly what you mean. I take Paxil and it does wonders for me, even on the starting dosage. I just try to tell myself that nothing really bad has happened, its all going to be OK, I try to make sure I am breathing OK since I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. They happen often enough to me that I do my best to avoid what triggers them which then can be a problem when I have to avoid things I HAVE to do.

[RH1]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

She was able to teach me to hypnotize myself, the problem is, is that I have to be some what relaxed to do it. I havent been even calm enough lately to do it. But it does really help. CBT is the way to go, if you can. That is what I am planning on doing as soon as I can get all my finaces together.

Thanks for the welcome! Interesting that you say that about hypnosis - I find the same with relaxation techniques. I'm worse if I'm ill - I get so focused on any slight pain or sensation that I can't stop moving to distract myself. If I'm bad I can't lie down, I feel like my chest is going to implode! My counsellor said she wasn't just going to go straight for CBT but is incorporating some techniques, so fingers crossed for that. Thank heavens for the NHS - I'm certainly lucky in that respect.

You're sounding very positive at the moment compared to some earlier posts I read - I hope things are good at the moment and glad the hypnosis is having beneficial effects! Presumably in time you'll be able to relax enough to do it more and more and before long you won't need it. I'm cool today. Long may it last...