Newbie with anxiety (I think) help :(

[Meetoo]

Hi everyone,

I'm here because I am pretty sure I am suffering anxiety attacks. I have had them since I was a kid, I would say. I have been to doctors and diagnosed with depression, but to be honest, I think I have something else that causes the depression and anxiety is definitely part of it.

I am a teacher, and yesterday I had an axiety attack in my boss's office. I had to go home and couldn't teach my lesson. She had made a comment that inadvertently hurt my feelings badly. She called me timid. It just flipped a switch in me and I immediately started to cry. I think it is related to some pretty bad trauma I had as a child, and I was always bullied for being so timid and shy. It made me feel worthless. In an attempt to figure out what was wrong, she asked me to step into her office and talk about it. That made me feel like I was in trouble or in the spotlight, and I felt incredibley helpless and embarrassed. That was when the anxiety attack started. I was hyperventilating and crying, sweating, deep red, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I asked to just go home. It was horrible. My boss and another supervisor were clearly concerned and didn't seem to know what to do. They then had to find someone to cover my class last minute.

Today I cancelled my class and all my appointments. I have to work tomorrow too, but I am not sure yet if I can go back. I am afraid of having another anxiety attack. I feel guilty that I didn't go to work, but I just don't feel like I can do it today, and I am not sure about tomorrow. I plan to go to the doctor in the morning, because this cannot go on forever.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? I am afraid. I feel so isolated and helpless. I feel like nothing will really help, and I don't want to put my job at risk. At the same time though, I feel like I cannot face the world yet. I haven't even showered or done anything today. I just took one short walk outside around the block to try to improve my mood. My boyfriend is gone all day today too, so I am alone.

Does anyone know what to do? Does it get better?

[Im-Suffering]

Hi everyone,

I'm here because I am pretty sure I am suffering anxiety attacks. I have had them since I was a kid, I would say. I have been to doctors and diagnosed with depression, but to be honest, I think I have something else that causes the depression and anxiety is definitely part of it.

I am a teacher, and yesterday I had an axiety attack in my boss's office. I had to go home and couldn't teach my lesson. She had made a comment that inadvertently hurt my feelings badly. She called me timid. It just flipped a switch in me and I immediately started to cry. I think it is related to some pretty bad trauma I had as a child, and I was always bullied for being so timid and shy. It made me feel worthless. In an attempt to figure out what was wrong, she asked me to step into her office and talk about it. That made me feel like I was in trouble or in the spotlight, and I felt incredibley helpless and embarrassed. That was when the anxiety attack started. I was hyperventilating and crying, sweating, deep red, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I asked to just go home. It was horrible. My boss and another supervisor were clearly concerned and didn't seem to know what to do. They then had to find someone to cover my class last minute.

Today I cancelled my class and all my appointments. I have to work tomorrow too, but I am not sure yet if I can go back. I am afraid of having another anxiety attack. I feel guilty that I didn't go to work, but I just don't feel like I can do it today, and I am not sure about tomorrow. I plan to go to the doctor in the morning, because this cannot go on forever.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? I am afraid. I feel so isolated and helpless. I feel like nothing will really help, and I don't want to put my job at risk. At the same time though, I feel like I cannot face the world yet. I haven't even showered or done anything today. I just took one short walk outside around the block to try to improve my mood. My boyfriend is gone all day today too, so I am alone.

Does anyone know what to do? Does it get better?

For you, yes it will get better.

These memories, emotions, triggers must be a) faced, b) recounted, c) purged. What you have been doing is in a way, expunging them. They surface, you feel them, and then seal them off burying them once again. To resurface at a later date when there is a sufficient trigger, such as the experience with the boss.

There is a big difference here between releasing energy associated with a belief or feeling, fear, memory, merely feeling it (crying):and doing nothing. You must do something with it, that is the purpose.

It is a process. Find the belief, feel it, watch the story it tells (mental pictures/memories), play it back for accuracy, insert new beliefs into the memory, reorganize it, have an epiphany which always comes with the release of a false idea, then come out of it neutral to where you once felt strongly. Your post has several triggers so no need for me to be specific.

So, do not lament, brood, pity, or cry for naught. Make a decision to heal once and for all (a decision is powerful) by recounting back from a trigger, and releasing the energies associated with the false ideas about who you are and your value judgments about the world that causes any fears.

In the meantime, your students need you. You are valuable, period. Put yourself as that child into their seat and see how many of them are you (as you once were), do you understand? They need you. Separate time while at work, past, present, future. And be present for them. The moment is your point of power, so staying present will help. At home in quiet times, recount the past as suggested. The more 'mental crap' you release, the less overwhelming your emotions will become, negatively speaking.

You will be filled rather with purpose and a zest for living, expressing. Without that ever present critical eye of judgment. (Childhood conditioning).

[wiggler]

I had my first anxiety attack in september, I thought it was because I was smoking that I had so much tightness and difficulty breathing, until I quit smoking and went to the hospital they told me nothing was physically wrong with me. It happened again while I was driving, and I knew it was me panicking. I then started panicking about having anxiety and the panic attack lasted about a month. I was terrified of everything, I was a mess. I went to counciling to learn how to deal with it and started on an anti depressant which took me along time to break down and do. I can honestly tell you it will get better, but only if you make yourself do what you're afraid of. If you let your anxiety scare you into staying home it will only get worse. I had the same problem when this started. I would get into council, read something if you have trouble sleeping. Take a bath and relax as best you can. My councilor told me that anxiety is your body getting stuck on high alert and it is very hard for people with it to come back to a normal level. Look up mediation videos and breathing exercises on youtube. And think about what you would be doing if you weren't anxious, and do it even if you are. See a doctor about it as well, its very hard to start managing on your own when you don't know much about it.
Best of luck.

[Mr Jingles]

"She called me timid. It just flipped a switch in me and I immediately started to cry"

It astonishes me again and again how what seems like the tiniest things can set off anxiety in me. A few days ago I had hours of rolling panic over, get this, I had bought a new $3 mouse for my laptop, and started to have buyers remorse thoughts. Over $3.

So you are doing a great thing already. Joining a community of people that can validate that you are not the only one who is easily triggered.

[av1988]

Hi everyone,

I'm here because I am pretty sure I am suffering anxiety attacks. I have had them since I was a kid, I would say. I have been to doctors and diagnosed with depression, but to be honest, I think I have something else that causes the depression and anxiety is definitely part of it.

I am a teacher, and yesterday I had an axiety attack in my boss's office. I had to go home and couldn't teach my lesson. She had made a comment that inadvertently hurt my feelings badly. She called me timid. It just flipped a switch in me and I immediately started to cry. I think it is related to some pretty bad trauma I had as a child, and I was always bullied for being so timid and shy. It made me feel worthless. In an attempt to figure out what was wrong, she asked me to step into her office and talk about it. That made me feel like I was in trouble or in the spotlight, and I felt incredibley helpless and embarrassed. That was when the anxiety attack started. I was hyperventilating and crying, sweating, deep red, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I asked to just go home. It was horrible. My boss and another supervisor were clearly concerned and didn't seem to know what to do. They then had to find someone to cover my class last minute.

Today I cancelled my class and all my appointments. I have to work tomorrow too, but I am not sure yet if I can go back. I am afraid of having another anxiety attack. I feel guilty that I didn't go to work, but I just don't feel like I can do it today, and I am not sure about tomorrow. I plan to go to the doctor in the morning, because this cannot go on forever.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? I am afraid. I feel so isolated and helpless. I feel like nothing will really help, and I don't want to put my job at risk. At the same time though, I feel like I cannot face the world yet. I haven't even showered or done anything today. I just took one short walk outside around the block to try to improve my mood. My boyfriend is gone all day today too, so I am alone.

Does anyone know what to do? Does it get better?

Ah, you sound just like me. I used to suffer from severe anxiety. Every morning, I would take a shower and worry about what I was GOING to worry about later that day. Seriously, I had panic attacks thinking about how I may or may not have a panic attack at work.

You are not isolated. You are not helpless. You need to get in touch with YOU. Love yourself.

I cured my anxiety through finding a sport that I loved and playing it regularly, and taking back CONTROL of my brain. When you get nervous and panic, your brain takes control and you can't stop the crazy amounts of feelings that begin to fly around.

Controlling this can be achieved. One thing I love to ask myself when I was kicking the attacks was "Hey, how many panic attacks have killed me? Have these attacks actually done anything to me?". These answers are very simple and eventually, these answers led to my cure.

Some people are more sensitive than others. You seem to be more sensitive than me. There's nothing wrong with that though! It's just who we are, and we are all great!