anxiety/panic disorder

erifdekciw said:
so it is triggered by social situations? This isn't like some random problem that can happen to someone who doesn't have anxiety problems? It's normally people who avoid social situations and are afraid to be in public?
Click to expand...

I've had them triggered by that like making a speech or knowing you will have to spend an extended period of time in a place. It's not the social situation but the fear of having a panic attack in the middle of everyone/everything. For me, one of my crutches was a water bottle because a panic attack for me could easily be triggered by a dry throat.

I would start swallowing rapidly then shit would go down hill from there. Surprised so many people have similar problems. Fucked up bunch we are eh?

I haven't had a panic attack in over a yr and a half. However, anxiety is normal and I still get the same kind of symptoms before big events but can grit my teeth and get through it.
 


Dwight Schrute said:
For men it feels like a heart attack. You get short of breath, start breathing quickly, and your heart starts to pound like crazy. You get cold and clammy, and start sweating like crazy. (At least I did)

Then, it feels like you are going to die. I would start freaking out and if I were by myself (which is when it'd usually happen) would start pacing all over the place. It's this feeling of impending doom.

You think, "I am going to die right now."

Sometimes it causes you to dry heave and even vomit because you are so freaked out.

I literally felt as if I were going crazy. I would have anxiety attacks in cars (while riding as a passenger - since I wasn't in control), and in a large crowd (like at church sitting between a shitload of people). Most of my anxiety attacks occurred while sleeping, which was brutal because you'd think sleeping would be peaceful.
Click to expand...

I've never had the dry heaves, but I have gotten down on my hands and knees in the middle of Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, because I was so certain I was going to pass out and I didn't want to crack my skull open when I did...
 
I can relate man.. About 2 years ago, I had my first panic attack. I've actually suffered a few before but had no idea what they were. I'd get very sweaty palms, feel generally anxious, cant breathe well and feel like im dying.. all that shit, feeling the same things described by others. And dwight nailed it, it's fucking crippling. It's one of those things I would never see coming, and boom it hits you. I'm not anti-social or anything like that in general.

I think it was triggered by me being unhappy with where I was living and some paranoia. It started happening a lot more too, almost daily anxiety for the last few months, because I was also planning a big move so I'm sure that also played a part. I finally relocated about 8 days ago, I'm now living in another country, and feel like a million bucks.

The one thing that did work for me, when it hit hard, was taking a 0.5mg Clonazepam. But of course since I hate pills, I'd try to tough it out most of the time unless it got really bad.

And as far as how do you know a panic attack is coming? You don't. It just hits. Out of nowhere.

Glad to know im not the only one who has to deal with this shit.
 
Fuck it I take the easy way out... I was taking 0.75mg of Xanax 3x a day for 2 yrs.. Now I'm taking 1 mg of klonopin a few times a week. Being self employed, employees, etc - stressed the fuck out. So it's mando.... Take benzos
 
handrewrites said:
Okay, I think I'm going to have to push the "high-intensity exercise" idea in this thread more aggressively, seeing as how the above three posters didn't mention exercise at all.

Exercise and Anxiety: High-Intensity Workouts Best

Seriously, try something like full-intensity kickboxing (disregard shit like tae-bo) for a few weeks and tell me you feel just as anxious as before. I dare you, I double-dare you motherfucker. Then you can kick the shit out of me afterwards.

What many people don't realize is that exercise has an enormous effect on the mind, especially high-intensity stuff. Elderly women who did resistance exercises showed improvements in memory and reduction in cognitive decline.

With anything involving high-strength or high-power movements (weightlifting, punching, kicking, etc.) your brain is responsible for half the force generated. Better-developed muscles are only half the equation - your neural efficiency (how good and how strong your brain is at sending signals to your muscles) has to improve that much more too.

All this is in addition to the physiological benefits of exercise, plus the increased confidence that you get from the knowledge that you can now kick the shit out of a greater number of people in the world than you could before.
Click to expand...

I'm 28, self employed my whole life, have a child and a wife who quit being an RN to raise our child full time, get stressed as FUCK sometimes, and I've never had a panic attack like most here in my situation have mentioned..

The only difference is is I'm certain to work out hard at the very minimum 4 days a week.. usually average 5. I know that's a fallacy, but I'm willing to bet if I didn't exercise at all, that stress would definitely have come out some other way in the form of a panic attack, OCD, or many other things.

+1. Work out and work out hard.
 
Ok I skimmed the thread but to the OP stop taking shit that you hav eno idea what it is. Drink instead. It;s legal and it will kill brain cells just the same.
 
IceToEskimos said:
. . . I have gotten down on my hands and knees in the middle of Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, because I was so certain I was going to pass out and I didn't want to crack my skull open when I did...
Click to expand...

image.php


Is it possible it's just in your head?
 
had no idea so many people went through this shit. Im going to get my ecg results in a few days to see if I have any underlying heart problems, I'm pretty sure its just down to anxiety though. thanks for the posts guys A+ thread :D

also i dont take drugs, ive only done it twice and i think it was the second time i did it that triggered this shit, as id never experienced anything like this before that night when i took the pill. dont do drugs kids, especially if youre a gay webmaster
 
right now my unerlying anxiety is due to my heart rate, i keep thinking it beats too fast. the normal rate should be 60-100. i think mine is 110. its a vicious cycle because the fear is what makes it worse. i woke up after sleeping for 2 hours last night in a anxious state, took me a while to get back to sleep.

its crazy how all of this just hit me without warning last tuesday. It's really opened my eyes. Before that date I was pretty insensitive tbh. My own mother has had this for 15 years and I've always brushed it off as being unimportant or not a big deal. Made me realise what a champ shes been for going through with it all these years with all the responsibilities and shit shes had.

im determined not to take medication, i dont think its necessary for me personally. Ill take up counselling/psychotherapy instead as I think I can stop this irrational fear while its only been alive for a week.
 
IM can be very stressful.

Forget tactics, tricks, networking, and business management skills.

The toughest part of this gig can be balancing life and work, taking care of our health and still trying to show up every day with a killer effort, when we could be losing it all 24 hours later.

IMers are the suicide bombers of make monies online.
 
King. said:
same here, i was just watching vids on youtube when my heart started racing for no apparent reason. this was 5 days ago and im still sort of depressive/confused/cant think clearly, but im sure others have had it much worse than me. i had another anxiety attack yesterday but i managed to control it by walking for an hour. i seriously have no idea how bipolar people manage.

in a way i think it did its job of getting me active, i pretty much dont exercise or move around and hardly go out anymore. gonna start doing that more now as it really helps.

has it totally gone for you now, or do you still get anxiety?
Click to expand...

It doesn't happen anymore. I think it was simply just the shock of going from a normal job w/ benefits to being 100% fully responsible for my own well-being and income.

It didn't hit right away but I think slowly in the back of my mind some doubts were coming to light.

I really can't explain it. It was just a terrifying several months where'd I'd get these attacks. They'd hit for no reason at all and at any time which was the worst part. And the thing is - I was HAPPY. I was loving life and being self-employed.

And no, it hasn't happened since. I think I've adjusted myself to the way things are now and to this kind of life.
 
King. said:
im determined not to take medication, i dont think its necessary for me personally. Ill take up counselling/psychotherapy instead as I think I can stop this irrational fear while its only been alive for a week.
Click to expand...

Have had anxiety off and on since I was a kid.

Funnily enough I actually bought an ebook about 10 years ago (way before I knew anything about IM) for it and it actually worked. One of the methods is to tell yourself you want the anxiety to be stronger when it happens. The trick is that releases the fear you feel which can then dissipate it.

Would agree to not go the meds route. Cognitive therapy is the way to go. Anxiety is a learned response although some people can be more predisposed to it. Meds will give a quick fix but then have their own problems. I did take xanax a few times, and sure it helped but then my memory started going and who really wants to be on meds for the rest of their life.

When I've had a bought with them along with the whole feel like you're going to die moments, its when I finally say ok I dont even care anymore if I die now due to exhaustion of thinking about it that they finally go away. Again it's mostly just down to releasing the fear you have and the anxiety will die, as that's what it feeds on.
 
I have been Diagnosed wit PTSD, Panic Attacks, General Anxiety Disorder and Agorophobia ( Fear of leaving my safe zone ).

Shit sucks, mine started right after i ETS'd from the Army, but they were like most peoples ( felt like i was dieing, went to the ER, they said I was ok, the reassurance lasted for months til the next time,, rinse wash repeat). Then in 2005 I had my first full fledge panic attack.

Told my wife i was dieing, fight or flight kicked in, wanted to run, cry, felt like i was losing my mind. I admitted myself to the hospital, stayed for a week, they thought it was my thyroid, etc.. nothing.

For the next 6 months after that panic attack i was like worried I would have another one. Every morning i would wake up , look up at the ceiling and start scanning my body to see if everything was ok.

Here I am 7 yrs later, still have them, but few and far between. I still have the Agorophobia but I am slowly stretching my range away from home. I do not take meds, as I have a anxiety of taking meds that alter my thoughts / may cause suicide. The above poster was correct. My anxiety is getting better, I did CBT for years,, but I read this dude from the UK called Charles Linden.. His shit seems to work. I have been doing it for 2 yrs ( I admit I do not completely do all the steps he lays out ), some of them will give me panic attacks just thinking about them.

Panic Attacks are the Fear of Fear. Not a fear of normal portion like arachnaphobia etc. If you can realize that the fear is not real, your subconcious mind will start ignoring the sensations. Then gradually over time you will become anxiety free.
 
I know exactly how you feel. I have en extreme sensitivity to substances, and the exact same thing happened to me many years ago after smoking a fatty laced with some shit.

First off, you will be fine. Be patient. DO NOT allow yourself to become agoraphobic, do whatever it takes.

Now back to something you can relate to... So I burned this J right, instant panic attack and thought I was dying (haha), spent night in hospital, woke up fine and the next two weeks were great. All of the sudden two weeks later, BANG! I'm on the floor hyperventilating having another panic attack. Everyday, every waking moment, I felt like death was eminent... for a year.

In hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Hopefully you can say the same someday.

Everyone will have a theory as to why this happens to them, but the truth is, it really is different for everyone. Some people's adrenal glands malfunction after dealing with stress improperly. Some people have poor emotional management. For some it's diet or substance abuse, among many other things. (and no, I don't consider rolling or having an adverse reaction to burning a J substance abuse....sometimes you can just have a bad reaction)

The point is, it's your job to figure out what your needs are, and to pull yourself out. I've been suicidal. I've tried anxiety and anti depression drugs "guaranteed" to help me prescribed by my doctor. All that did was make me wanna kill myself even more. (seriously, like locking myself in a bathroom when my house was full of people who cared and loved me) Needless to say I do not recommend anti anxiety pills, but go with what feels right to you.

For me, the thing that helped the most was self education put into action. Try shit. It's not the end of the world even though it feels like it. And if it is, then what do you have to lose right? So get started today.

Some key things to look into:

-meditation- learn techniques, only some will resonate with you, go with what works. For me it all started with flame meditations.
-meditation soundtracks
-hypnosis- a professional hypnotist that specializes in taking their time with anxiety change work can help big time, but it's only an initial push, you still need to follow through on your own
-hypnosis tracks- play when you lay down at night, all night (focus your mind on them)
-sota bt7 brain tuner
-sensory media- you will probably have triggers that make days worse or better, find out what they are and cut those things which you react to out of your life- people, tv/movies, music, etc..
-purpose- know what the fuck you want out of life and strive for it. If today it's to live normally and feel good, then do whatever it takes to do that
-heartmath solution
-from panic to power- JUST the book so you can relate to it, not the worthless series they sell on tv
- learn your own habits and behavioral patterns- after some time, your reaction to stimuli (and being anxious in general) can become automatic and will need to be changed.
-diet
-exercise

If you need help or have specific questions on anything I mentioned, PM me I'll hook you up.
 
+1 on the exercise and healthy state of mind.

IMO it's all in the brain, drugs for this sort of shit is a band-aid remedy at best and will NOT fix your problems. It's kind of like trying to fix a flu with a very potent breath mint, yeah it will clear your sinuses etc. but it isn't attacking the problem at hand, just masking the symptoms.

I had panic attacks, anxiety etc. when I was younger and a fucking idiot. I was in a very bad state of mind etc. and didn't do much exercise.

In my experience, the best way to live is to completely do GOOD for your body, with diet, meditation, exercise etc. Sounds like hippy shit, but meditation + strenuous exercise (lift 3-4 times a week, boxing) did the trick. No Xanax or any bullshit like that, and I've never felt better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom