Hey everyone!

[dilbuck]

Hey all,

Just wanted to do a quick introduction. I'm a 32 year old male who started my struggle with anxiety about a month ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with pain in my left arm which, I would later find out, was more likely a crap than anything at all. After waking up from this cramp I immediately went into heart attack mode, accelerated heart rate, dizziness, light headed all the warning signs naturally. I called the ambulance and was taken to the ER where I was hooked up to an EKG, blood tests, etc... Anyhow, everything came back perfectly normal and was just told it was nothing more than heart palpitations. The doctor asked about my family history of conditions of course and anxiety happens to be one of those. She told me that I probably had a panic attack and to go see my primary doctor to get checked up the following week.

My primary care appointment came up and everything was feeling good though I was having small bouts of anxiety where I worried about my health but was able to overcome them pretty quickly. Then, three nights ago I had one of the moments like my first paragraph. It rushed out of nowhere and almost overwhelmed me again. Luckily, I was able to use some of the information I received both from my doctor and websites on deep/meditative breathing and I was able to make the initial attack pass. I had a lot of difficulty falling asleep that night with this overwhelming fear that I was going to die in the middle of sleep but made it through to the next morning.

I'm really trying to work my way through anxiety without getting medicated but my doctor did offer to write out a prescription. My day to day anxiety level tends to fluctuate. I'll have brief moments where I feel tingling in my arm or some tightness in my chest but if I step back and focus I can force my mind through it. A fair amount of my day feels sort of hazy, especially if my mind isn't focused elsewhere. I've found that an idle mind really allows my anxiety to take over.

I've read a lot of the forum already and am looking forward to getting to know some of you. The post Health anxiety exposed totally helped put my mind at ease as far as my non-existent heart problems go. In fact, when I start to panic about arm pain or something I immediately say .17% over and over in my head to calm it down. I'm happy to be hear and happy to read that other people are struggling with the same thoughts that I am currently. Good luck to everyone with your journey and thanks for having me!

-Dilbuck

[MiST]

Welcome abaord, it's good to have you.

Yep, it is reassuring to know that many of us suffer from the same symptoms, and to remember that anxiety can't physically hurt us. We just have to accept that our bodies want to be anxious, let it do it's thing and carry on with our day, without fear.

Only when we lose our fear and stop feeding that fear can we move forward and enjoy our lives once again.

Good luck my friend.

[rhiannon]

Sorry to hear about this new and scary change in your life. I have suffered from anxiety since I was about 7 years old, and therefore had many years to learn about it! Education, support, and friends that know what it feels like help the most. Good luck!

[dilbuck]

Thanks to both of you Mist and rhiannon. Rhiannon, I can't even imagine dealing with it for that long. I'm already tired of it and it's been less than a month. The plus side, I'm starting to get better at calming myself down. I had the day off of work today and it was rainy and gross so many of my go to distractions were eliminated. I had two really anxious moments where I could just sense it all coming down on me. Fortunately, I was able to take a step back and relax. Keep on keeping strong everyone!

[LLaine]

Hello :3

and welcome, I'm new to this too and yes, it's pretty reassuring to know that someone out there
can somehow relate to how you feel. It makes it so much worse and frustrating sometimes talking to people who refuse to understand.

I hope you are well today.

I too have opted not to take meds. My psychiatrist has had me take meds before, and I found it difficult to work on my job
(mostly cause it's a creative job) and the problem with anti-depressants for me is that it pretty much eliminates all feelings.
So yup... :3