Anxiety attacks anyone?
11 July 2010
10 Comments
peakfrean asked:
I’m 25 years old and I have been struggling with anxiety attacks since I was a teenager and I don’t see any end in sight. About 4 years ago I was riding a crowded commuter and a man threw up in front of me and I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart started racing and I pushed people out of the way in an attempt to run. I literally didn’t eat anything but crackers and water for the next week out of fear and paranoia. I still obsess about this. Now I avoid crowded public places whenever possible.
I’m 25 years old and I have been struggling with anxiety attacks since I was a teenager and I don’t see any end in sight. About 4 years ago I was riding a crowded commuter and a man threw up in front of me and I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart started racing and I pushed people out of the way in an attempt to run. I literally didn’t eat anything but crackers and water for the next week out of fear and paranoia. I still obsess about this. Now I avoid crowded public places whenever possible.
The only thing that works for me is Ativan taken as a 1mg prophylactic tablet or 2mg sublingual wafer. My doctor warned me that this is not advisable. I have tried other medications such as klonopin, valium, xanax, effexor and a host of tricyclic anti-depressants to no avail.
I would very much like to rid myself of these abnormal fixations but I am becoming increasingly ashamed. I also don’t want to rely on Ativan all the time either. Any advice from fellow sufferers out there?
visulaize a nice beach. try meditation. i’m 25 alos and suffer from that too at times. go to holisticonline.com 4 advice. also try
adaa.org, anxietyandfears.com.
You might not want to take the meds, but honestly, you might want to change your thinking. This condition is common and controllable. But you have to take your meds as prescribed and get some therapy. That will help you in ways you would not believe. Maybe find another Dr. if the one you have no isn’t helping you. You might even have to take a combination of drugs to get your condition under control. It took me and my dr several months of trial and error before we found the right combo of drugs and therapy, but finally we did and now after 7 years, I am still on the meds and I am doing great. Thank God!!! Do not give up. It really is worth it to stick with it.
Do you consume a lot of caffeine or nicotine? these can make the difference sometimes.
wow, I do mot know what to tell you because I struggle with the same thing. But just know that you are not alone. I know how you feel and it is not a good feeling at all. It really gets in the way and stops you forming doing things in your life. I wish you the best of luck on finding something that works for you. It is possible you just have to find the right thing.
Something as simple as elavil might work – ask your doctor. You didn’t mention whether or not you are also seeing a therapist….? That is also an important part of the treatment in conjunction with Therapy. I started suffering from them at the age of 16 and they got really bad by the age of 19 – I was training to be a professional musician (classical pianist – performer). It got to the point where I would vomit before having to perform and then I would go numb on stage and go into auto-pilot as though I was outside of my body. It turned out that it was all caused by a fear – in my case, it was fear of making 1 mistake. You need to take care of the symptoms with medication so that they don’t cripple you, but you also need to find the cause and deal with that as well.
Good luck to you!
First of all, anxiety medication is more of a bandage than a cure and can sometimes create new problems. The degree of anxiety you are expressing sounds like a form of panic disorder where you start to just fear the anxiety attack itself and no real fear or reaction to a given situation. Your thinking becomes irrational so you need to start there. Focus your thoughts onto anything but the fear of an attack. Even if you have to speak out loud to yourself while working through preventing an attack. Fear of the attack is somewhat like fear of simply losing control or losing your mind. When you realize that your mind has as much power to reverse this feeling as it had in creating it you are half the distance back to mental health. It is essential to exercize and focus your thoughts differently. The use of music can also help. Break down the fear and ask yourself what if the worst thing happens and think yourself through a rational solution if xyz were to happen and as you begin to break it down you will realize your irrational thoughts have no power unless you give them power. You have the power within you to use your mind to create wellness in your body as much as illness. Study the “law of attraction” and use this to help yourself.
Good luck!
I am 64 years old and my first intro to anxiety was when I was was 36 years old. I was driving home on the expressway in Miami and started having heart palpatations and had to get off the interstate and call my hubby to pick me up.
I went to an MD and he advised I go to a psychiatrist, which I did for one visit only…The psychiatrist gave me a prescription for Valium, but I was too concerned about becoming addicted so I did not take it, and so for a year thereafter I suffered severely…not being able to swallow, walk a straight line, be in a crowd, and had compulsive behavior, counting things, checking and rechecking everything..such as lights, stove, iron, etc. That was in 1979, and after a year I got over the feelings that I had, (which I made sure that I did) and then in 1993, they re-occurred..At that time, I decided I would find a medication that would help me, which I did. My feelings on anxiety are connected to insecurity and loss of control, and once you figure that out, you can control them. There is always an END IN SIGHT…YOU WILL SURVIVE…TAKE CARE.
I used to have panic attacks about once a month from the age of 18 to 22 . I am now twenty five and have not had a panic attack in three years. Unfortunately there is not one simple answer. It is combination of things:
-get enough sleep
-eat healthy (lack of food/sleep puts your body in overdrive)
-breathing excercises
-chill out with the pills (they start to add to the problem)
-excercise
-Learn to identify the beginnings of a panic attack (this helps to combat the symptoms)
Cognitive behavioural therapy and perhaps joining a support group online or locally where you live but definately cognitive behavioural therapy and perhaps some counselling. Also your doctor is right that taking benzodiazepines is not the best way to go with your anxiety disorder. Apart from the fact that if you take them regularly they stop working due to tolerance and can produce bad withdrawal symptoms there is also the problem that sedative type drugs impair cognition and thus you can’t learn new coping strategies and thus the drug can prevent recovery and you get caught in an endless circle.
Social anxiety can cause these feelings, which can also lead to severe depression, …
There is hope; I’ve been there, and still am there, it is a long, hard struggle. I recommend
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)… worked best for me, with mild anti-anxiety meds. I suffered from social anxiety for over 15 years. I’ve tried individual therapy, and group therapy and studied psychology for 10 years, as a profession, but also with the hope to cure myself.
Depending on your comfort level, you could go to a psychologist that practices CBT and specializes in anxiety disorders, seek a group therapy, or create one. Usually those that do attend the group therapy are a bit more high functioning because as you know, it can be difficult to speak in a group.
Another idea is to see if there are any local research studies being conducted that you could participate in.
The program that finally worked the best for me is this one:… and I was lucky enough to have a structured behavioral group to go along with it. Sometimes the people that actually attend this program come back home and form groups.
I recommend a mild anti-anxiety med, and a beta-blocker (it will reduce shaking and tremors enormously, but only use in extreme situations) in addition to CBT therapy.
Any questions, let me know … I can’t tell you how much this has improved my life!
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