New Girl

[Green]

Hi,

Just wanted to introduce myself. I have been suffering with anxiety for over a year now and at the moment i am finding it unbearable. I have been prescribed new medication and i am hoping this will help me a little more. I am really hanging on by a thread at the moment and i could do with some support. I am so alone with this.

[steve]

Hi Green. I'm Steve. I am also new to this site, having only found it last week, but I've also been suffering anxiety probs for 12 - 18 months (I loose track of exactly when it started). By this site it looks like everyone has similar feelings, although the triggers of the attacks and duration probably vary considerably.

I can go for a week or two without one, then unexpectedly it will just happen. At the time I feel like I can't breathe, am going to pass out, my heart beats so loudly I can hear it in my throat, I feel like I'm going to throw up etc. The weirdest thing is though, that the fear of having an anxiety attack is what causes most of my attacks. For some reason I'll just start thinking "Gee, I'd hate to have an attack here" and that's all it takes to trigger it.

I mentioned on an earlier post I did this week that from now on I've decided to just face whatever it is that scares me, regardless of the consequences. I really think it's similar to the whole 'getting back on the horse that's thrown you' scenario. If something produces an attack, maybe we should just expose ourself to it enough that we no longer see it as a threat? It might not work for everyone, but I'm trying it. I'll be damned if I'm taking mind altering drugs just because a doctor doesn't know what else to do for me. I'm also taking a herbal tablet which is a combo of Valerian and Passion Flower, supposedly these are good for anxiety, but I've only been on them for 3 days so I don't know yet.

You'll probably see from this site that your not alone. Everyone here knows what your going through. Even if you cant talk to any of your friends about your probs, you can always discuss them here.

I check this site most days so if you want to ask any questions feel free.

Take care, and congrats for reaching out about it. It's the first step to beating it.

Steve :)