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View Full Version : whats wrong with me? Am I experiencing panic attacks?



RedFoxGirl
04-21-2013, 09:48 AM
Hi,

I'm new to this forum but joined to get straight to the point; what is wrong with me?

I've always been a hypocondriact about anything, ever since i was very young (I have recently only turned 18), been so unbelievably convinced I have all kinds of problems - from hypothermia in the summer, cancer, alapesha, heart attacks, strokes, anything at all for no apparent reason, you can name any disease or condition and at some point in my life I can pretty much guarentee I have had got into hysterics from been entirely convinced I have it - even impossible things. It only lasts up to a day or so, sometimes only an hour or less but I am positive I am suffering from every symptom and begin crying and if anyone tells me Im fine or don't have it, I get really really upset been convinced I am going to die.

Anyway, I've never had a problem going out, I have plenty of good friends and I am an outgoing chilled person for the rest of the time, I tend to be very quiet and shy around people I don't know but I grow out of it when I get to know them and I've managed to hold down jobs no problem : If I feel I can't freak out in certain circumstances I won't, I forget about it and I can control it. But if there isn't a reason to behave normal (like I'm not out or at college) I can't control it, I get really upset...


Recently...

Recently I have found the problem to be a lot more problmatic, I can't focus a lot of the time, and I get these as what I can only describe 'episodes' that come on randomly and can last anything from an hour to days. I feel nervous for no reason I find myself having physical symptoms like sweaty hands, rapid and slow changing heartbeat, feeling like I'm going to faint or have a fit or heart attack or something and I just lay down trying to 'ride it out'. I can terrified I'm going to die from all kinds of ridiculous things and I often ask my boyfriend to 'not let me die' (thankfully hes chilled about it all).
I feel like everything looks further away and different, I can't really explain it. But it always goes away.

I visited the doctor about it a month ago and they took blood tests, which came back completely fine so I felt silly going back about it. I will do at some point when I get the chance though but yeah, what are these scary episodes of manic fear, that seem so unbelievably real?




-Any thoughts/experiences are greatly appreciated

Thanks (:

davelenn
04-21-2013, 06:44 PM
You are suffering from GAD. The doctor told you that your health was fine. This should give you some solace.
I would return to the same doctor and ask him for medication to alleviate the anxiety.
A good antidepressant and a benzo helped me tremendously.

Lin
04-21-2013, 08:42 PM
Sounds like good advice from davelenn, as long as you don't mind taking medication. I used to hate taking it, but will now try anything to help get over any of my problems.
Also you could ask your Dr about other ways of helping you like meditation, acupuncture, mindfulness - NHS and mental health service provide courses on things like mindfulness and CBT, and you can sometimes get acupuncture on the NHS.
My psychiatrist recommended meditation and I have joined two groups and found it really good, and nice people. But you can easily learn meditation on your own, loads of books and websites free on internet. It definitely helps even if only do 2-5 minutes a day to start with.