Ae95
07-31-2015, 08:36 PM
I began to feel sick in my lectures last year, when I went to one without eating, and halfway through I started having symptoms of a diabetic hypo - sweating, accelerated heart rate, thinking I was going to pass out, my eyes couldn't focus properly etc but the overwhelming feeling was of nausea. I'm not diabetic though so I don't really know exact what it was but I attributed it to not having eaten.
The worst part was the lack of escape - one main door down the front of the lecture hall filled with 250 or so people. It is rare for anyone to leave a lecture and sometimes the lecturers make comments etc. so I felt compelled to stay put.
I tried to tell myself it was a one off and went to my next lecture with a full stomach. This actually made it worse. I kept panicking that I was going to be sick and had waves of nausea and was trembling like mad. This was the kick start of my anxiety problem and from then on I found it hard to go to lectures if there wasn't an easy escape and I would only ever sit on the aisle seat. I tried to concentrate but all I could think about was being sick/passing out in front of everyone and the sheer embarrassment that would stem from that.
I'm currently receiving cbt and my therapist says that it seems like I have social (peer) anxiety as well as symptoms of claustrophobia. This is true as I feel fine when I know that if anything were to happen I could escape. I don't deal so well with public transport and lecture theatres. I'm even beginning to wonder how on earth I'm gonna get through my wedding (if get married) ..!
I'm finding cbt quite helpful. She says that even though I don't believe it, I can escape. Just at the time I feel stuck to my seat in waves of panic, nausea and light headedness which I know are symptoms of anxiety. I just can't seem to get that through my head. Classes start again in a month and I'm starting to feel apprehensive as to how I'm going to cope, especially if the lecture theatre is hot as I feel this will only exacerbate the symptoms.
The funny thing is, this weekend I was actually sick, which is rare for me as the irony is I am never really sick at all. Could count on one hand the number of times in my life. The thing is the feeling was different from what I get from my anxiety - I knew I was going to be sick and that was that. Perhaps if I was in a lecture I could recognise this, but for fear of everyone staring and embarrassing myself I stay put which makes my anxiety worse. I'm worried as to how this will affect my studies in the future. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of problem and can anyone give me some tips as to how to deal with it?
The worst part was the lack of escape - one main door down the front of the lecture hall filled with 250 or so people. It is rare for anyone to leave a lecture and sometimes the lecturers make comments etc. so I felt compelled to stay put.
I tried to tell myself it was a one off and went to my next lecture with a full stomach. This actually made it worse. I kept panicking that I was going to be sick and had waves of nausea and was trembling like mad. This was the kick start of my anxiety problem and from then on I found it hard to go to lectures if there wasn't an easy escape and I would only ever sit on the aisle seat. I tried to concentrate but all I could think about was being sick/passing out in front of everyone and the sheer embarrassment that would stem from that.
I'm currently receiving cbt and my therapist says that it seems like I have social (peer) anxiety as well as symptoms of claustrophobia. This is true as I feel fine when I know that if anything were to happen I could escape. I don't deal so well with public transport and lecture theatres. I'm even beginning to wonder how on earth I'm gonna get through my wedding (if get married) ..!
I'm finding cbt quite helpful. She says that even though I don't believe it, I can escape. Just at the time I feel stuck to my seat in waves of panic, nausea and light headedness which I know are symptoms of anxiety. I just can't seem to get that through my head. Classes start again in a month and I'm starting to feel apprehensive as to how I'm going to cope, especially if the lecture theatre is hot as I feel this will only exacerbate the symptoms.
The funny thing is, this weekend I was actually sick, which is rare for me as the irony is I am never really sick at all. Could count on one hand the number of times in my life. The thing is the feeling was different from what I get from my anxiety - I knew I was going to be sick and that was that. Perhaps if I was in a lecture I could recognise this, but for fear of everyone staring and embarrassing myself I stay put which makes my anxiety worse. I'm worried as to how this will affect my studies in the future. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of problem and can anyone give me some tips as to how to deal with it?