Popped out of nowhere!

[boo]

Hey guys!

Well, these past few months have been pretty hard for me. It seemed that just one night, a panic attack sprang out of nowhere. And then this weekend, suddenly I've been having moments where I'm scared I can't breathe/can't swallow, and really talk myself into not being able to do those things.

I'm seeing a councillor and my school and going to talk to my physician next week, but...this really sucks. :( I'm sick of feeling so out of control and scared.

Does this happen to others? Did you feel like anxiety just suddenly SPRANG on you out of nowhere? I'm normally such a calm and reasonable person, so it's strange to not be able to control my body/thoughts.

And does anyone have advice for what I should do during those panic attacks where I get scared I can't breathe/swallow, even though I actually can?

I know everything will be fine. I'm just sick of it already!!!

[Robbed]

It's not at all uncommon for anxiety disorder to just 'spring' out of nowhere. This is precisely what happened to me. Basically, on one night I just could not sleep for the world. Literally, I was awake all night. And I got SO scared about not being able to sleep and about how bad I would feel the next day at work. The next night, the same thing happened. But this time, I had what could only be described as a panic attack. After it was over, I jumped in my car and drove to the county mental health clinic at 100+MPH. Of course, they informed me that I have anxiety disorder, and that I would need to go on medication. But, knowing people who actually take antidepressants, this isn't something I wanted.

Anyway, as far as seeing a physician, I personally would not go on medication. Especially this soon in the game. What you REALLY need to do is work out the reasons behind your anxiety disorder. A good therapist might be helpful here. Or you could try self-help. As far as dealing with symptoms of anxiety disorder, there is really no way you can MAKE them go away. Any effort to do so will only make them worse. In fact, one of the main things that keeps anxiety disorder going is that fear of your symptoms. The fact is that anxiety symptoms will only improve as overall anxiety levels decrease. And you can do LOTS to make this happen by learning to live with your symptoms. By not worrying so much about your symotoms, your anxiety (and, therefore, your symptoms) will gradually abate.

Finally, try to be patient. The one BIG problem with anxiety disorder is that it is VERY slow to go away. To make matters worse, symptoms can temporarily worsen at times. Sometimes, there is no good reason why this happens - it just does. When this DOES happen, just realize that it is a normal part of anxiety recovery - EVERYBODY goes through it. The bottom line is that you need to give anxiety disorder the time it requires to heal.