going to see a shrink I HOPE

[montanasky]

well i am hoping to go see a shrink, an maby see if maby they can find the right meds for me as my doc ain't really helping :(, i feel if i don't get this taken care off something bad is going to happen... i think i narrowed it down to panic attacks some times maby lol, like i was driving to a friends an i got maby 2 blocks away from the house an i just felt like turning around an coming strait home, i feel blaw some times, not sure if i have depression, i am tired all the time, i have no energy, my head feels stuffy, i feel almost kind of sick almost, i just feel ugh, i feel dizzy some times, i get irritated very very easy almost to the point i want to kill some one, an that ain't normal for me.. i just need to find a new med that will fix me, i have ben doing some research an have found some that have worked a lot for people. i cant do any thing i used to do because of this, i cant go out an work on my truck, i cant go out an play in the snow, i cant go on road trips, so i an willing to try almost any med to fix this... if you people have had any luck on any please let me know an i can run it by my shrink, when EVER i can get ahold of um..

[jessed03]

Sometimes it can take a few doctors or medicine changes to find the right combination. It took me a fair few tries before I found something that worked. A word of advice though; don't really read up too much on the drugs yet, and don't really read up on side effects and reviews. Everyone's experience is so different. Some need to try 4 different types before they find one that clicks, some need just the one. Reading too much into the drugs can sometimes bring on those psycho-somatic symptoms that we were trying to avoid. This was the case for me.

Once you're body stops wasting all that energy on anxiety, you'll find your energy return to normal. I used to work in construction, so I know talking to a trucker this isn't the most masculine of answers, but drinking some mint or chamomile tea has real relaxing properties. Taking cold showers seem to flush the adrenaline away too. You've gotta be hardcore to do them in the winter though!!

I know med's are good for stabalizing, but there's still work to do on the mind, unfortunately they don't fix us, or this forum would be emptier than a car park at Beer Fest. You can sort of neutralize panic attacks, or at least shorten their length pretty quickly by using some cognitive strategies. You may even begin to see results sooner than you'd expect.

Can I ask you, when you have panic attacks, what are the main thoughts that run through your head, and what are your actions when they come on?

Also, what are your living habit's like. Do you drink much alcohol, and caffeine? Do you eat enough, sleep enough, take any recreational drugs? You say find a 'new' med, are you currently on one? (Don't worry, no one judges anyone here, it can just help to pinpoint triggers)

[montanasky]

im a 19 year old male there is nothing wrong with tea lol, what runs threw my head is why am i feeling like this, why wont it go away, maby i should drive in to that tree... its a weird feeling its hard to concentrate almost.. ya my mom told me to stop doing research on meds lol, she said they react to people in difrent ways which i already know, i am just hoping maby i might be one of them people that pills might help... this has ran my life for 1.5 years an i am just so warn out from it, it has to end

[jessed03]

I think pills help most people if they have the patience. Some have a bad spell or two, and decide to take another route. Some take one and if that doesn't work, get disheartened and give up. There are so many types and combinations now, that you're bound to find one that gives you some relief. The pills take away about 60% of the anxiety though. The rest has to come from making any physical changes, or making some thinking and attitude changes. You sound exhausted though, it seems some relief would be mighty welcome!

I'm glad you don't have that male ego complex. Ain't nothing soft about some old school chamomile tea! lol

Is it these unwanted thought that cause the panic attack, such as hurting some one, or driving into a tree? Or are those just thoughts that you think out of frustration?

Anxiety is really weird, the more we focus on it, the more it sticks around. It's like those old Chinese finger traps. The more someone wiggles the tighter it gets. When we have a panic attack, it's our bodies state of high alert, as you know. When the alarm is going off, our mind feels strange, our chest pumps, our breath tight, and all the long list of symptoms occur. While a panic attack is building up, our mind subconsciously asks us "This seems scary, Can I handle this, is this something that is off serious concern". Obviously we hate panic attacks, and so our mind shouts back "NO! I can't handle this HELP ME!!"

Now we're in the thick of it, the emergency signal is sounding, and our body is ready for war. It takes some time until the cortisol, and adrenaline have died down, and we feel normal-ish again.

What happens, is people then remember this horror when the next panic attack begins to come, and when the mind once again, as it always does, asks "Can I handle this?" It gets the answer of "Based on last time? NO!!!!"... and back we go into the cycle, and it keeps repeating.

What people find useful, is to resist fighting against the attack. They decide to themselves 'You know what, they aren't nice, but they won't kill me. I'll hold tight and wait for the storm to pass. I WON'T RUN!' The panic attack then comes, as does the inevitable question "Can I handle this?" Except the mind gets a different answer this time; "It's quite unpleasant, but it will pass, I'm not running, Yes, I will handle it." And we get out of the other side, and we realize we were right, we did handle it! Even though we feel exhausted, we still handled it.

If we continue to do this, after a while everytime our mind asks us 'Can I handle this?' It receives the answer of 'Based on last time? YES!' and there's all this evidence of you surviving, and not running scared of the attack. This means the body can finally turn down it's alarm. It isn't critical danger anymore, as it's something you have proven you can handle with minimal fear. Even though it's still pretty uncomfortable, you begin to notice the duration of panic attacks decreasing, and the frequency reducing. You're on the path to long term recovery.

Add that in with the medication, and you're hitting it from both sides, the physical side, and the mental side. You're on the way to making lasting changes to kicking it in the ass for good. Even now I hear my body ask 'Is this something I can handle?' Now I'm able to answer Yes straight away, and the panic attacks that used to cripple me, never even come. With practice we can learn to turn off those emergency signals in our body, that we know as panic attacks or anxiety.

[montanasky]

(Is it these unwanted thought that cause the panic attack, such as hurting some one, or driving into a tree? Or are those just thoughts that you think out of frustration?) i'm not sure? all day i will feel just blaw, kind of dizzy, a little on edge.. some times i get this feeling like i get a cold chill, almost like my skin is crawling or something an then an i just feel like losing it.. you know when you have walked a lot or your nerves or something an your legs just feel like giving out on ya that's how my shins feel, not sure if that's related but thought i should add that, my body just kind of feels kind of jumpy i guess you would say maybe. i feel like my mind is racing but i'm not sure it is??? i think i have over came a lot from when this started over a year ago, but its just wore me out...

[stevie]

your mind is racing. people suffering from anxiety think all the time- that's why you are so tired... jessed is right. anxiety is like a chinese fingure trap- the more you fight and try to resist it, the more it'll cling to you. it's hard and uncomfortable, but let the thoughts pass by....