Battling a full blown anxiety attack today.....

[Cally]

Hi,
I'm new to this site and just needed to find something that can help. I was looking for others who are in the same place as me and what they do to help themselves.

I have spent all day with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. My head hurts. I want to drink to stop feeling so tense, anxious and on the verge of tears. I can't sit still but want to sleep desperately as I'm exhausted from feeling like this.
My heart isn't racing as such but my pulse is faster than normal. I have been on the edge of having an anxiety attack most of the day, from the moment I woke up at 5 am after finally going to sleep at 1am but the attack doesn't come. What the hell is this? I have felt like this for most of the week but today is by far the worst day. Usually, I have the god awful panic attack, cry buckets and then sleep. Whilst I look like crap after, I feel a little better, I seem to be able to pick myself up and kinda carry on with my day but this week is just never ending.

I have tried meditating, walking, music and going for a drive to take my mind off how I feel but nothing helps. I feel like I am going crazy.

Any tips and advice welcome.

Thanks

[gypsylee]

Hi Cally and welcome..

I do know how you feel and it's really horrible. You're not going crazy though and you'll get through it. Try some deep breathing maybe.. That can help but not always.

Hang in there!

Gypsy x

[Xalison1990X]

hi I use to be really bad wiv my anxiety and panic attacks but iv learnt to control them and cope with them I fort it wud of never got a bit better but it has and what I do to help is I breath in thru my nose hold my breath and count to 6 and then I breath out. take care x

[metal4life]

Hi Cally,
That happened few days ago it was terrible just becuase of some things i was scared of....

[gypsylee]

My anxiety has been playing up something shocking this year but has subsided a bit in the last week or so. One thing that helps me deal with it when it's bad is seeing it as an illness just like diabetes or something (which I also have as an indirect result of anxiety ie. alcohol-induced Pancreatitis).

Claire Weekes refers to anxiety as "nervous illness" and treats it more like a physical thing than some mysterious mental condition. The body and mind are inseperable really (and the relationship not well understood) so it's arguable that anxiety IS a physical illness, plus it's more basic than something like Schizophrenia.

So next time you're having an anxiety/panic attack try saying to yourself (and others if they are around) "my anxiety is playing up and I need to lie down" and just let it do its thing. It really is just the flight or fight mechanism gone haywire and dumping a heap of adrenaline in your body. It's really uncomfortable and you feel like you're going crazy (like the OP) but trust me, if anxiety could drive you crazy I would have been locked in a psychiatric ward years ago!

That's just some advice from me now that I've sort of come through my latest episode and can think a bit more clearly :)

[Rsof]

Hello!
I can relate to all those feelings, and it's really difficult for me to distract myself sometimes. Yesterday I was home alone and I couldn't calm down and it was awful and exhausting..

I liked Gypsy's advice though, I try to see anxiety that way too.

[Cally]

My anxiety has been playing up something shocking this year but has subsided a bit in the last week or so. One thing that helps me deal with it when it's bad is seeing it as an illness just like diabetes or something (which I also have as an indirect result of anxiety ie. alcohol-induced Pancreatitis).

Claire Weekes refers to anxiety as "nervous illness" and treats it more like a physical thing than some mysterious mental condition. The body and mind are inseperable really (and the relationship not well understood) so it's arguable that anxiety IS a physical illness, plus it's more basic than something like Schizophrenia.

So next time you're having an anxiety/panic attack try saying to yourself (and others if they are around) "my anxiety is playing up and I need to lie down" and just let it do its thing. It really is just the flight or fight mechanism gone haywire and dumping a heap of adrenaline in your body. It's really uncomfortable and you feel like you're going crazy (like the OP) but trust me, if anxiety could drive you crazy I would have been locked in a psychiatric ward years ago!

That's just some advice from me now that I've sort of come through my latest episode and can think a bit more clearly :)


I never thought to treat the anxiety like an illness. It makes sense. Removing myself from the moment and taking myself off to bed to just chill and let it pass without me working myself up over how I am feeling and how ill I am making myself seems like something I really need to try. Thank you!!! :)

[Cally]

Hi Cally,
That happened few days ago it was terrible just becuase of some things i was scared of....

Hope you are feeling better now?

[gypsylee]

I never thought to treat the anxiety like an illness. It makes sense. Removing myself from the moment and taking myself off to bed to just chill and let it pass without me working myself up over how I am feeling and how ill I am making myself seems like something I really need to try. Thank you!!! :)

You're welcome :)

I've been battling this thing for decades and it can be really debilitating. I'm even on a disability pension (thank god for Australia's social security system) because of it. Part of the problem for me is that I'm in a situation (involving my daughter and ex-husband) where the emotional abuse is ongoing and I've developed some kind of Complex PTSD. But she's 15 now and so there's light at the end of the tunnel in that she'll be an adult herself soon and I won't have to deal with him half as much. So I haven't been able to heal and still experience severe anxiety and panic.

Anyway, it's a bit of a balancing act because I do have to push myself sometimes so it doesn't get out of hand, but other times I just have to accept it and go easy on myself.

:)

[Boo Bass]

Hi Cally

We all know how you're feeling. It's horrible but. doesn't last
Try not to worry about the next anxiety or panic attack. Let it come and concentrate on calm breathing.

Listen to Claire Weekes audio downloads for inspiration

www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/relax.html

BB xx

[Ponder]

I too like gypsy have struggled for years with anxiety and also on a disability pension. The only way I seem able to function in society is to accept that I can not operate when I resist anxiety. I have found that doing my best to accept whatever I'm going through is far better than trying to fight it. For all my efforts in recovery, I still struggle very much when out among the human race. I focus on riding out bad bouts of anxiety by acknowledging what's happening when its happening and also using my breath. Find a window, walk around on the spot ... and if it's really bad I will remove myself from the trigger and plan better my next trip. Planning ahead helps and gets easier once you understand what one's triggers are.

Easier said than done ... but do try to focus on the things that make you happy/confident, rather than those that make you frustrated or sad ... however do acknowledge the events, places &thoughts that trigger negative emotions. That's the only way we can address the triggers.

Here's to wishing you all the best.

[Cally]

Thank you Boo Bass x

[Cally]

I too like gypsy have struggled for years with anxiety and also on a disability pension. The only way I seem able to function in society is to accept that I can not operate when I resist anxiety. I have found that doing my best to accept whatever I'm going through is far better than trying to fight it. For all my efforts in recovery, I still struggle very much when out among the human race. I focus on riding out bad bouts of anxiety by acknowledging what's happening when its happening and also using my breath. Find a window, walk around on the spot ... and if it's really bad I will remove myself from the trigger and plan better my next trip. Planning ahead helps and gets easier once you understand what one's triggers are.

Easier said than done ... but do try to focus on the things that make you happy/confident, rather than those that make you frustrated or sad ... however do acknowledge the events, places &thoughts that trigger negative emotions. That's the only way we can address the triggers.

Here's to wishing you all the best.



Thank you so much for your advice. I will most definitely work on it. Work is a major factor at the moment and has triggered my anxiety this week although its not the main issue, just one of many. Planning ahead to understand avoid the triggers is a great idea. I can actually forsee one on Tuesday already and making plans to deal with it. Giving up this job will be a start and plans are being put in place to give up this job. I'm hoping this is going to be the start of getting myself back on track.

[Ponder]

That's the spirit. :) I'm both glad your thinking that way as too for finding this place.

[Kirk]

You may try consulting with a natural physician or pharmacist who may be able to give you solid advise on what natural
products may help you.

[Kirk]

Work stress can be tough to deal with sometimes. I take breaks and walk around to try to alleviate work related stress while at work.
Once I leave work, I try to occupy my mind with things I enjoy so I can try to forget work for a while, but since I own a small
business, forgetting can be difficult at times.

[Pegellen]

Hi there, Cally (pretty name!)

I used to suffer a lot from anxiety, too. I had a lot of "what if" moments, concerns about what was going to happen ~ or wouldn't happen ~ and then what might happen if I made the wrong choice. I mean, I think most people have those kinds of thoughts, it's just those who dwell on them then find these thoughts making it difficult to breathe, sleep, function, just like you said.

I like what Gypsylee suggested above. And one thing I've found about panic attacks is, the more I focus on whether or I'm going to have a panic attack, the more likely I am to have things start to spiral out and then I truly do have one. So I've tried to distract myself and be present "in the moment." For instance, when I think my anxiety's getting out of control and I can't breathe, I look around me and try to focus on what's nearby. An article I read said to write these questions on an index card (probably when you're NOT having an attack) and then answer them when you're feeling anxious:
1. What are 5 colors I see right now?
2. What are 5 sounds I hear right now?
3. What are 5 things I physically feel right now (like "wind is blowing my hair" or "raindrops are falling on my head")?
4. What do I ACTUALLY need to be thinking about or doing right now? (Do I need to do a load of laundry? Does the dog need to go out? Do I need to make a meal?)

It suggested putting the index card beside your bed (or carry it in your purse or something) so that you can do #1 thru 3 immediately, and then when you've kind of recentered yourself, you can figure out "what's the next thing I have to be doing right now?" I've found the distraction to really work well, particularly if I practice it (and I had PU-LENTY of chance to practice!).

Hope your day is better today, and hope this will help! Take care ~

[gypsylee]

One of the key things I've read (from various sources) that helps me with anxiety is the concept that we have much less control over our thoughts than we like to believe. At first this sounds counter-intuitive but once you realise that, you stop adding more fear to the "first fear" (as Claire Weekes called it). Anxious types are always hypervigilant and conscious of how we feel and as soon as we feel anxious we start adding to it by thinking "what's wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? Why am I not normal??" etc. That produces a vicious cycle.

If you can accept that there is much more to the mind than just the conscious part, and that the subconscious is always doing stuff in the background, you can ease up on yourself for feeling anxious. I like to imagine the subconscious as this bubbling pot of emotions which sometimes "overflows" into the conscious mind. So you could be just sitting there watching TV, with no stress, and you start to feel anxious for no apparent reason. If you're like me you instantly start thinking "OMG what's going on? Why is this happening?? This is never going to stop and I'll spend the rest of my life in a mental institution!" LOL. By that stage (which could only take a minute) you're starting to panic!

But what actually might have happened is something on the TV (some music or someone's voice or ANYTHING) reminded your subconscious of something bad and it "boiled over" into your conscious mind and you felt anxious. If you can step back at that point and not start freaking out about that anxiety, you stop the vicious cycle. The anxiety probably won't stop and it could be pretty bad but that's where you might have to say to someone "my anxiety is playing up and I need to go lie down". That's the other thing we do which makes it worse - pretend it's not happening and feel too scared to say anything in case people think we're crazy, but thankfully it's becoming more and more understood/accepted to say you have anxiety.

So those are just some ideas that have helped me and I think are important when dealing with this "beast" (and it can be really nasty).

:)