Hi all- just introducing myself :) General questions to all

[bobby81]

Hi

I have suffered with panic attacks since I was 12 (14 years now) and they have gotten worse in last 7 years, especially last 4 years.

My disorder at this time is so bad that I am unable to work that I am relying on Incapacity Benefit and am unable to interact socially with friends family i.e unable to travel distances away from home to socialise with them.

I have been on medication (seroxat, prozac, cipromil, olanzapine), group therapy, counselling and CBT all to no avail.

Just a question really- does anyone here have problems with friends and family thinking that you are lazy, boring, unsociable etc etc because of how our condition affects us. I have great friends and family but at times I get the impression that they think I am lazy (because I do not work) and just basically a hypocondriact who is just using excuses of anxiety not to work when this is just not true. If so how do you deal with it??

Also does anyone else feel guilty when they cannot go out with friends/family because of anxiety?. I have lost count the number of times that I have had to cancel plans because of it. An example was last night was my sister's birthday and she went out to town and an hour before I had to cancel because I could not deal with going on the train, being in a busy place etc and she was not happy but it was expected.

Also just curious to see if anyone has tried hynotherapy as nothing else is working.

I look forward to helping people on this forum as I like to think of myself as a professional anxiety sufferer (but just dont get paid for it lol) and have had all the possible scenarios that an anxiety suffer can have over the last 14 years.

Take care all

Bobby

[Cpt_Stunning]

No, don't try hypnotherapy (that's just my opinion though), you really have to make a real effort with CBT again, which helped me to get cured. The 'B' means behavioural (which you probably already know).

A lot if it is down to breathing. If you feel guilty or scared then you're going to feel tense & not enough oxygen is going to get into your mind for it to work properly. The behavioural aspect means that you have to 'behave' in a certain fashion in order for you to relax enough so that blood & oxygen flows around the body & into the mind properly so that the symptoms go away. It's a virtuous circle, but it takes time & effort.