Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the midst of some severe anticipatory anxiety, the worst i've ever experienced and I guess I was wondering if anyone had any advice or tips for dealing with this?

A little background/context: I've had OCD and issues with general anxiety since I was a kid and while CBT and Exposure & Response prevention therapy has helped with my OCD immensely my general anxiety began to increase.

Then I had my first panic attack, at the airport right before boarding a plane (after thinking about this initial incident for some time, i've come to the conclusion the trigger was less about flying and more about my mum who is very fearful of flying and the feeling of wanting to be able to support her, even though i've done that many times before. For some reason, I had built it up in my head and then suddenly, panic).

The night before the return journey, I woke up in panic. Before we left another panic attack hit, it felt like my entire body was attacking me in any way it could, from sweating, to vomiting, Diarrhoea, shaking, dizziness, couldn't breathe - the works, all at once.

I'm due to fly in a few days and the anticipatory anxiety started almost a week ago. I'm waking up sweating and feeling nauseated. Waves of anxiety hitting me over and over again. Constantly have an upset stomach and a feeling of a kind of inner trembling in my chest. I'm terrified of another panic attack, which is ridiculous because i've survived them, right?!

Anyway, i've been trying to manage it with meditation, breathing exercises etc. I'm not currently on medication (just weaned off one that didn't help) and could just use any advice, tips or suggestions.

Thanks!