Coping In The Meantime

[OtherMike]

Hi all, this is my first time on this site or any other anxiety forum for that matter. I have been having panic attacks and anxiety attacks for the past year, they have been constant for the past month. I have been seeing a counselor for the past 3 months and that has helped. However I wake up each day feeling good for either a second or an hour, but that can switch immediately. I have health anxiety and my current fixation has been my breath. Sometimes, I feel as if I can't breathe automatically (I have yet to actually stop breathing) and that just sets off a wave of other sensations which then devolve into an anxiety attack.

I was having more pronounced anxiety about a week or two before this current semester started and that lead to me having attacks/constant anxiety in all of my classes for the first week (I don't believe its related to social anxiety/school stress, I just feel trapped when I'm in a class). I have been back to almost all of them of them but I still will leave early/constantly watch the clock. I rarely ever feel comfortable now, even sometimes when I'm at home.

I have been seeing a counselor at my school for some time now and its helpful. I have enrolled for a mindfulness class and have been doing 10-15 minute guided meditations in the morning. However all of this has only slightly reduced my anxiety. I have scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist but that isn't for 6 more weeks (I have been calling other practices and its the same timeframe). If I am kind of freaking out but still need to go to a class I stop at the campus bar for only 1 beer (2 or more will set off heightened sensations which in turn set off anxiety). I can't keep doing this.

Does anybody have tips (especially for dealing with anxiety in classrooms/work) for dealing with this? I am trying to get medication but its gunna take a while and I can't keep on either skipping classes or leaving them early.

[drinae]

Sorry to hear things are difficult. I hope you can eventually get medication, maybe the mindfulness will also take a little while before it starts helping. I have sometimes used guided hypnosis instead of guided meditations. There are some available online. A guided hypnosis for anxiety or confidence or similar in the evening can sometimes be enough to make me feel better the next day. The effects don't usually last more than the one day (unless I listen to the hypnosis session again). I am not particularly knowledgeable about hypnosis though so I don't know whether there are reasons why one should be careful with guided self-hypnosis sessions, but for me they have mostly felt like slightly intensified / deeper versions of guided meditations which has been good.