Advice appreciated I cant cope feeling this way any longer

[Lee83]

Hi Everyone I still feel a little nervous talking about this even In a forum.
Just looking for some advice really from anyone who can relate to what im felling right now.

Iv been back and forth to the doctors with these symptoms and now we both agree its just anxiety but its ruining my every day life right now. :(

Basically I have moments almost every day where I just start noticing my breathing and the minute I do I find it harder and harder to breath then I feel my throats closing up and can no longer swallow at all with out choking this gets worse and worse till it finally passes which can be from a few min to all day iv been up all night long many a times with this feeling and I just cant take it any more.

I do have other signs of anxiety like heart palpations etc but the above is what is really getting me down.

I even started drinking way too much alcohol every single night because that seemed to completely stop me worrying and helped me sleep etc but I don’t drink now that’s the last thing I want is to end up depending on alcohol so iv stopped. But thats another reason im sure its just anxiety because alcohol stops me feeling this way i.e worrying.

I now basically have 3 options and not sure what to start with really

· I could try medication from the doctor he has suggested anti depressants
· I could go to 1 on 1 counselling
· Or I could try hypnosis


Any advice what I should try first? Im thinking the counselling as I have put off taking tablets up until now but I now need to do something I cant go on like this anymore. :(

Thanks
Lee

[dazza]

Hi Everyone I still feel a little nervous talking about this even In a forum.
Just looking for some advice really from anyone who can relate to what im felling right now.

Iv been back and forth to the doctors with these symptoms and now we both agree its just anxiety but its ruining my every day life right now. :(

Basically I have moments almost every day where I just start noticing my breathing and the minute I do I find it harder and harder to breath then I feel my throats closing up and can no longer swallow at all with out choking this gets worse and worse till it finally passes which can be from a few min to all day iv been up all night long many a times with this feeling and I just cant take it any more.

I do have other signs of anxiety like heart palpations etc but the above is what is really getting me down.

I even started drinking way too much alcohol every single night because that seemed to completely stop me worrying and helped me sleep etc but I don’t drink now that’s the last thing I want is to end up depending on alcohol so iv stopped. But thats another reason im sure its just anxiety because alcohol stops me feeling this way i.e worrying.

I now basically have 3 options and not sure what to start with really

· I could try medication from the doctor he has suggested anti depressants
· I could go to 1 on 1 counselling
· Or I could try hypnosis

Any advice what I should try first? Im thinking the counselling as I have put off taking tablets up until now but I now need to do something I cant go on like this anymore. :(

Thanks
Lee

Get the meds first but also book CBT for as soon as possible.

I recommend diazepam for meds. These will provide instant relief right now... but ONLY take when necessary. Dont take regularly as they can be addictive.

[agraves911]

You should go see a counselor and if your doctor think you need them get some meds too. They have helped me a lot.

[crystalrose1985]

Hi Lee... i just read your post and wanted to tell you that you are not alone! when my anxiety started i felt the same way, and the feeling of increased crazy adrenaline (sp?)...i also get the cant swollow, throat closing up, asthma attack feeling too....i know that it feels like it is ruining your life, because i feel the same way!! I have been off of work for over 10 months now due to a work injury so my anxiety has never been so bad, i have waaaaaaay to much time to do nothing but think and feel like i am dieing...matter of fact, i feel like that as i am typing because i have chest pains and back shoulder pains... ive gone to the er and urgent care a million times for this and they tell me i am fine and its anxiety, so i am trying to distract myself with the forum lol.....my advice to you is to see a therapist, i recently started it again and believe it or not it helps!! the "drug" therapist wants me to take a daily antidepressant and i just cant bring myself to do it, i dont feel depressed most days and i dont think that an antiDEPRESSANT is going to help with my anxiey...i do however take prn clonazepam .5mg..i started with .25 of alprazolam when i started with anxiety like 5 years ago and just recently switched to the clonoz....some call it a band aid for your anxiety, i see it as working great for what i need....also, i really really really like these apps you can get on your phone for anxiey and panic...if u have a smartphone with the android market download the stop panic app, its free and its by excel at life...if you dont have it, but have a computer or iphone (which i recently got and was so mad that the apple does not have this app) or a phone with internet you can go to the excelatlife.com site and search for the downloads...just look for panic assistance, it seriously is a life saver for me and i know it has been for alot of other people....search around in the app market for your phone for anxiety hypnosis or anxiety relief stuff because they do help.. pannic attack aid is a good one also, they have all these distractions on there that really help distract you for your attack to pass!! also try light yoga and or meditation or relaxing music like enya or something lol sounds dumb, but works for me hahah... when u consintrate on your breathing and get that "i can NOT take a full breath" feeling, just slow your breathing down and distract yourself.. i know eaiser said than done... if you live with a sig other or even a parent or friend, have them wrap their arms around you really tight like a bear hug while u practice deep breathing for 5 min, that works great .. lol i will stop rambeling now haha, but i hope this helps! you're not alone my friend, it is anxiey and we know how u feel!! give one or two of these things a try, i hope they work for u like they do with me!!