getting so sick of this : /

[vonnhelsing]

Getting tired of having a temporary freak out every time I feel a sudden pain somewhere in my body. It takes my breath away and really makes my heart race.
I can pretty much stop it from developing into a panic attack but for some reason this is worse. Atleast when I have a panic attack its done and over with and im usually so exhausted from it that I sleep really well ...

Also I've been having a fear of taking a shower. Read an article about someone collapsing and dying in the shower and now I avoid taking showers and i just feel gross. I cant even enjoy a nice hot shower anymore cause im trying to rush so fast and get out of there asap. Why did I have to go and read the news???

Its just never ending..

[SSMommy]

Hey there...I had to reply to your thread because I much prefer baths to showers and it's primarily because one of the first panic attacks I ever remember having was in the shower.

I hate the news. Yes it's great to know what's going on in the world but there are so many things that the media just can't leave alone and they should. I stopped getting on Facebook for about a month because I swear there was so much negative stuff circulating.

I honestly think many of us would be better off not reading or watching the news. Some of us here internalize things pretty significantly which I believe makes those bad stories hit home even more. We start with the what if, what if, what ifs and start relating it to our own life. I know I do.

I know a lot of my fear, or maybe even all of it, circles around death. The hard thing is realizing we only have so much control there and controlling only what we have the ability to...and learning to accept the rest. We can eat healthy, exercise, and take care of ourselves but it is hard to not obsess over it sometimes.

I find my fears and anxieties get worse when I am really stressed OR when things are going awesome. It's like my anxiety just doesn't want me to get too comfortable. It sees me enjoying life and then punches me in the face knocking me back down.

[vonnhelsing]

Me too! So many times ive been feeling great only for the happiness to be followed by depressive feelings of 'whats the point of being happy it will only last for a short while' its almost as if im scared to feel happy. Happiness has become such a strange unfamiliar feeling.. when I feel happiness it is usually very very intense almost euphoric happiness.

Taking a shower has become such a difficult task. Sometimes I need to ask a friend to stay in the room as im in the shower and needs to talk to me and distract me.

I try my hardest to remain positive. Use the idea of one day living a normal life again as motivation to keep up with those happy positive thoughts.

[SSMommy]

Oh man... I have done that in the shower as well... Especially in the bad times... I would have my mom or husband there or would have to leave the door open. I know it feels ridiculous sometimes but it is really hard to shake the irrational fear.

[SSMommy]

I personally get very over stimulated in there.... Hahah... That sounds bad but trust me - I'm not doing anything 'extra' in there to cause the arousal. Temperature change, bending, scents of the soaps and shampoos, and steam.I'm thinking the could all contribute but I just think I am hypersensitive to way too much stuff.

[ab123]

Vonhelsing, I have someone sit with me in the bathroom too when I am anxious, one thing if it makes you feel better, take out the thing you push down to keep water in the tub...if your worst fear happens and you pass out in the shower, the worst part will be the cold water waking you up.

[loganson28]

Can totally relate to the shower thing and being hypersensitive. Any tingle I feel in my head or around my chest sends me into panic mode. I made the mistake of checking my heart rate during a shower once and noticed our heart rate speeds up when we're showering, which sent me into panic mode. Since then, I've showered with the door open.

Just remember, we've been to the doctor and we've been cleared of any real threat. WE ARE OK. :)

[Brews]

Man, I can relate to this one.

For me it's any kind of indigestion/especially in my chest like heartburn or something. Feel like my heart is clinching up and about to rupture or something at any moment. I don't get indigestion that often but when I do boy that really can set off a panic attack.

I'm the opposite with the shower, It's like my place of peace. I know some people can pass out from the steam but I'm from Georgia and lived in Florida and I handle humidity well so I love it. Vonnhelsing maybe you can have someone come check on you if you are not out by a certain time, or if no one is home have someone call you to make sure you got out alright.

[johnqaz741]

Getting tired of having a temporary freak out every time I feel a sudden pain somewhere in my body. It takes my breath away and really makes my heart race.
I can pretty much stop it from developing into a panic attack but for some reason this is worse. Atleast when I have a panic attack its done and over with and im usually so exhausted from it that I sleep really well ...

Also I've been having a fear of taking a shower. Read an article about someone collapsing and dying in the shower and now I avoid taking showers and i just feel gross. I cant even enjoy a nice hot shower anymore cause im trying to rush so fast and get out of there asap. Why did I have to go and read the news???

Its just never ending..


Similarity of symptoms is amazing , i 2 afraid of being happy because it immediately reminds me of my sadness.
living alone for survival in foreign country also fuelling anxiety ,

[GeneAllen]

Is it the "shower" or the being alone in the shower? I found myself feeling trapped in the shower. Once I stayed with it, and just let the feelings rush over me, and hopefully down the drain as I enjoyed the warm water and steam, thinking I am safe here as I am out of here, and I can take it and come to enjoy the being in the shower alone, warm, no others talking, just spending time with the one I can't ever leave, ME. This can come and go, but return to the idea of the shower washing the anxieties down the drain as you breathe deeply and slowly, thoughts diminish in the conscious awareness of breath. Most people breathe way too shallow and quickly most of the time, so slow down, and before you even get into the shower see yourself (imagine) the shower experience being one of great peace and solitude, see yourself smiling as you do this and enjoying your time alone. Just some random thoughts.

Peace

[Exactice]

Been there too!! Had a panic attack in the shower and even had a rush of bad thoughts, I realized that I have become so hypersensitive to any changes in my body. It took some time to get over it, but one of the interesting things I do is I play music in the shower and I try to sing along. Sing to songs I really know and like. It helps to distract myself and get comfortable.

As another post stated the arousal in the shower is not uncommon as technically you are vunerable (naked) but you are cleansing yourself and that "feels good" more so again as stated, the warm soothing water, the scent of the soaps, all contribute to one of the greatest senses and that is touch.

Vonnhelsing, try to find the joy in showering, rather than the fear. even it its using some type of sensory stimulation. (Scents, warm water etc)

You can do it, you are just being hypersensitive like many of us, you have to just remind your self that before you felt the same way the only difference was that you were not so aware of it and it never really affected you =)

[StudentAnx]

Me too! So many times ive been feeling great only for the happiness to be followed by depressive feelings of 'whats the point of being happy it will only last for a short while' its almost as if im scared to feel happy. Happiness has become such a strange unfamiliar feeling.. when I feel happiness it is usually very very intense almost euphoric happiness.

Taking a shower has become such a difficult task. Sometimes I need to ask a friend to stay in the room as im in the shower and needs to talk to me and distract me.

I try my hardest to remain positive. Use the idea of one day living a normal life again as motivation to keep up with those happy positive thoughts.
I relate to that. In the rare times where my mind isn't working overtime thinking about any and everything, I get like an extreme burst of confidence and the highs do feel higher and the lows lower. I try and tell myself that people have fought back from worse than what I'm going through.

The strange thing for me at the moment is I keep overcoming some elements and replacing them with others.
Just as I have my panic under control and totally over mild agoraphobia,
replaced with health anxiety which is now my biggest problem. ah!