winter_sun
14-06-12, 10:02
I’m a 20 year old female and am so relieved that I’m not the only one that’s experienced these symptoms. I too get them randomly, even when I don’t feel nervous about the situation and I think I feel ‘OK’. I’ve had a couple at the cinema, had quite a few at home (one eventually leading me to A&E, although they reassured me with an ECG and said it was just an anxiety attack, but my heartrate got to around 115 bpm). I haven’t yet conquered them, the main thing that affects me is the pounding heart, it goes so fast some times that I feel like it’s never going to stop or that I’m going to have a heart attack, then it’s an intense nervous feeling in my stomach, like butterflies, my hands sweat, I feel detatched from reality and very lightheaded. Whereas breathing exercises work for some, they don’t for me and I find the only thing I can do is wait for it to subside, the shortest one I’ve had is 10 mins and the longest, 3-4 hours (the A&E visit). What confuses me is that I don’t really feel like I have anything to be stressed or anxious about, I have a good job, I am financially stable, I have a boyfriend, I eat well, I’m making an effort to exercise more, I’ve not got any phobias or fears really… Only thing I could possibly think it could be is that I’m very close to my mum, but my parents moved to Cyprus in September 2011 so maybe I subconsciously miss her. We speak everyday and Skype every week, so I’m not certain that it is that that is causing it. All I know is that I feel like I’ve read every anxiety book going and I still can’t stop them *I’ve stopped all caffiene intake, I don’t drink or smoke or take drugs. Day to day I feel good and bad, the most common feeling I have most days is lightheaded/dizziness/spaceyness, tiredness and occasional waves of nausea. I have had a noticable decrease in appetite since the biggest panic attack I had a few weeks ago, and after eating I feel sick and/or need to dash to the loo. My doctor has put it down to anxiety, but did not suggest any form of treatment so I'm feeling like I'm just going to have to live with it forever. If anybody feels the same, I’d take great comfort in talking to someone.