Feel like I'm going insane..

[Amber Blake]

Long story short, I've had anxiety for the past 5 years, right after the birth of my first son. I generally have anxiety attacks which are not uncommon now, but few and far between, and now easily controlled within minutes.

On thanksgiving, I was short of breath, which caused me to panic, which caused me to be even more short of breath, which then caused me to think the worst. (Heart attack) after a little while I felt fine, and went about normal activity, but noticed I was feeling slightly short of breath the follow days... Unsure if it was because I was focused on it and looking for it or not. A few days ago, it started happening again... (Not as bad) called the doctors to make an appt. of course they immediately say go to the ER, so I went to the closer, urgent care. The doctor saw me and said I had GERD, (no blood work, ekg etc) they prescribed medication and sent me on my way... And it's working! Woo! But, tonight, I felt short of breath, (I have a cold) and started to panic which turned into a full blown episode of I swear Im dying. Haha. tje doctor didn't do any blood work etc about a week ago, and now I'm concerned I had a heart attack on thanksgiving. (Unlikely I know)

I guess my question is... Has anybody else's anxiety/panic attacks changed as time went on?

[gypsylee]

Hi Amber :)

Yes, they do change over time. Anxiety is a tricky beast and I'm sure it comes up with new things just to keep us on our toes.

Also, you naturally become hyper-vigilant so you notice all this stuff that you wouldn't without anxiety.

You could try to do some deep breathing every day. I'm about to do mine now - I try and do it regularly because it's such a good thing for anxious people to do (even non-anxious people).

All the best,
Gypsy x

[PanicCured]

Long story short, I've had anxiety for the past 5 years, right after the birth of my first son. I generally have anxiety attacks which are not uncommon now, but few and far between, and now easily controlled within minutes.

On thanksgiving, I was short of breath, which caused me to panic, which caused me to be even more short of breath, which then caused me to think the worst. (Heart attack) after a little while I felt fine, and went about normal activity, but noticed I was feeling slightly short of breath the follow days... Unsure if it was because I was focused on it and looking for it or not. A few days ago, it started happening again... (Not as bad) called the doctors to make an appt. of course they immediately say go to the ER, so I went to the closer, urgent care. The doctor saw me and said I had GERD, (no blood work, ekg etc) they prescribed medication and sent me on my way... And it's working! Woo! But, tonight, I felt short of breath, (I have a cold) and started to panic which turned into a full blown episode of I swear Im dying. Haha. tje doctor didn't do any blood work etc about a week ago, and now I'm concerned I had a heart attack on thanksgiving. (Unlikely I know)

I guess my question is... Has anybody else's anxiety/panic attacks changed as time went on?

If you breathe too much, you releases too much Carbon dioxide which screws up everything and creates a cascade of symptoms. The more you overbreathe the more your body will try to get you to breathe less to balance it out. I used the Buteyko breathing techniques to reset my breathing. Please read my Techniques I used to Cure My Anxiety at the top if you want.

From Patrick McKeown's Anxiety/Buteyko breathing book:


"Healthy people have quiet and unnoticeable breathing. While they are resting, you cannot see or hear their breathing.
Quiet breathing ensures optimum partial pressure of carbon dioxide within your lungs, blood, tissues and cells. The release of oxygen from your blood depends on the presence of carbon dioxide.
Overbreathing causes a loss of carbon dioxide from your lungs, blood, tissues and cells.
This results in less oxygen being released from your blood into your tissues and organs. The more you breathe, the more your body is being starved of oxygen.
Breathing through your mouth, sighs, sniffing, noticeable breathing, hearing your breathing during rest or having a low Control Pause (explained later) indicates that you are starving your body of oxygen. Your brain is being starved, resulting in anxiety, depression and stress."