Anxiety i.e Panic Attacks out of nowhere (1 Viewer)

[Jason_Els]

God I get them and they suck!! I've been to the ER 2x and to the doctor's once for panic attacks. I would have sworn I'm having a heart attack. It's THAT real. When I was driving to the hospital I worried that I would pass out at the wheel and just kept picturing one of our local car dealers who DID have a heart attack at the wheel and was found dead, OnStar wasn't even called until the airbag went off.

Two of these situations were caused directly by work circumstances and the third I don't know. The third time the doctor gave me Xanax and I always keep them with me no matter what. Just having them helps me because I know I can use them if I have to and that reduces the stress.

Today though has been very high stress. With New York on alert I worry about my family who lives there and I worry about my little neck of the woods which is part of the Indian Point nuclear reactor evacuation zone (a joke if there ever was one). I've gotten a cell phone and have a bug-out bag in my car. I go about my daily business but I feel like it's a charade. It seems I'm no Mrs. Miniver.

Just so much sorrow right now. Pending war, the collapse of NATO and the worst relations we've ever had with our allies, terrorist threats, the Columbia disaster, paying off Christmas bills, a change in my work schedule, a car that is having annoying problems, two parents with health issues, and lousy mental health coverage. It just blows. Thank God for good pills!

 

[Zen Butler]

The third time the doctor gave me Xanax and I always keep them with me no matter what.

That's what my doctor prescribed. He told me to take them for a few days every six hrs., then taper off and use them more episodic. I have to say, I have slept like a baby the last few nights. I also feel much better.
I'm truly curious though. Many of you have stated that the non-medical approaches that you have used have left you anxiety free without the aid of drugs. No one has described what goes on in these sessions, meetings etc. You also speak of getting to the source. I'd love to hear what some of the root reasons were for your anxiety or panic attacks.

 

[Ryan Wright]

I'd love to hear what some of the root reasons were for your anxiety or panic attacks.

The person I know grew up with a set of parents who didn't deserve the title. Her father was a severe alcoholic who would throw things - he once threw a pot full of boiling hot water at her mother, permanently injuring her back - and who thought it was fun to get drunk and chase his daughter around the house with a butcher knife. Her mother had (still has) serious mental issues as a result of said abuse and also has severe panic/anxiety. She believes she is contantly sick, and every time she talks to you it is to tell you about her latest illness or medical problem that doesn't really exist.

So this little girl grew up in this environment, and her mother sheltered her and refused to let her do anything. If she asked to go do something, she was told no because "you're sick" or "you'll get sick". She took this to heart and always believed she was sick. As an adult this belief began to manifest itself as panic anxiety, which then caused actual symptoms of being sick (mostly circulatory issues), which then reinforced the idea that she was sick, and the vicious cycle repeats itself.

The solution for her was counseling and cutting off contact with her parents. There were times when she would go to visit her mother and return with a panic attack due to hearing all of the new things that were "wrong" with her mother and were "probably wrong" with her, too. Ceasing this contact, 2 years of counseling and a lot of prayer and trusting in God has mostly cured her. She's had one panic attack in the past year and she knew exactly what it was and stopped it in it's tracks.

A horrible childhood is not necessary, however, for you to benefit from counseling and/or therapy/support groups. Everyone who suffers from this can cure it with the appropriate help. The drugs will let you ride through attacks but you're going to be taking them for the rest of your life. They won't cure you any more than aspirin will cure any and all future headaches. Some people choose to carry the drugs around when them everywhere and live with panic/anxiety. Others decide to cure it completely with professional help.

Obviously, the choice is yours. I prefer a cure to a temporary solution, so I would seek out a therapist. But I can't tell you or anyone else what to do, nor will I try. Shana said "There is nothing wrong with pharmaceuticals correctly used" and she is right. It's your choice.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I took relaxation therapy, which was basically lying in a dark room with new age music playing. The idea was to associate a gesture, in this case touching my finger tips together, with a feeling of deep calm and relaxation. The therapist would begin the session with hypnotic suggestion to induce a relaxed state (I wasn't hypmotized!). Then, whenever the feeling of anxiety was coming on, I would touch finger tips together (same hand, completely inconspicuous to anyone else), and look for that inner peace. It works. Eventually I stopped having the anxiety to begin with.

Getting to the root cause of the anxiety is a different matter. I didn't know I was under such intense stress, I'd never even heard of stress, really (early 1980s, when it wasn't a well known, or at least publicised issue). That, coupled with an all around unhealthy lifestyle didn't help matters.

I don't know that there is ever a way to exactly pinpoint the combination of factors that leads to anxiety or panic attacks, but part of getting over them is realising they are based on irrational fears, and not projecting negativity into everything. Developing a positive outlook on life was a big part of coping with the stress. If you expect the worst out of everything, you may create a self fulfilling prophecy. Overcoming irrational fears is done by positive reinforcement. You face what you fear, live through the experience, and have that to draw on for support in the next situation.

Diet is a major contributing factor, with the number of chemicals in food these days. I find MSG is one ingredient I need to avoid, since it doesn't agree with me, and while it doesn't trigger anxiety, it does make me feel uneasy, which is a precursor to becoming anxious. I would also heed Steve's advice about substance use, anything that changes the chemical balance in your body can add to anxiety. If you are currently using any form of drug or stimulant, they should be the first things eliminated from your routine.

I would recommend counselling, as this may at least give you some idea as to where your anxiety is coming from. Treating the symptoms alone does not create a cure. While it is useful to have something to fall back on (as Jason said, just having Xanax or something similar available lowers the stress level, even if you don't use it), returning to a normal state of being without constant anxiety should be the goal, even if it means radical changes in your current lifestyle.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Zen, do you get a really bad headache after them? I used to get them, but they were symptomatic of a migraine attack. My cure was getting rid of the cause, which in my case was red meat or caffeine.