View Full Version : Heatwave anxiety (sounds mad, I know)
Hi there, is there anyone else out there that, like me, have got themselves into a right state because of the heatwave? As soon as the weather started hotting up my anxiety rocketed and now I'm quite agoraphobic again. Am fighting it of course but I'm struggling, am I worried that it'll be so hot I won't be able to breathe or am I worried that I won't be able to go out (I'm supposed to be working but came home today - too hot in shop)? Can anyone give me some positive thoughts about this ruddy weather coz I sure as hell can't think of any.... roll on winter I say! (Yes, luckily my sense of humour is still intact!)
nomorepanic
24-07-06, 22:08
Louise
I am really struggling too. I don't suffer anxiety much now but this heat is killing me and I am getting panicky over it.
I am sleeping downstairs on the settee with a fan on cos it is way too warm upstairs.
I am lucky that it is air-conditioned at work so is relatively cool but I also have a fan on on the desk and the guy opposite me today was cold so he put his fan heater on - aggggggggggggghhhhhhhh. Everyone is saying it is too cold in the office so keep turning it up and I am sitting there sweating.
I can't go out at lunchtimes cos it is unbearable
I feel tired, dizzy, hot, sick, faint and generally rubbish and I can understand how you feel completely.
I can't wait for it to break. I love to see the sun but this is unbearable isn't it?
Roll on cooler evenings so I can sleep in a real bed for a change.
All I can suggest is water water water. Keep drinking cos you will feel much worse if you are dehydrated as well.
Hope you feel better soon and so do I!
Nicola
Very few anxiety sufferers actualy enjoy these heatwaves :(
Here are some other posts:
HEATWAVE (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11312)
Heat, panic and other problems (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11340)
Heat - humidity - and fainting (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11869)
Ray
http://www.anxietyrelease.org.uk/
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers
Im sleeping on the settee with a big massive fan on me too and every window open. It is a bit cooler tonight though. I even have windows open in the winter hehe. I think you should get yourself a fan it always makes me feel better. My partner isnt too happy that i keep sleeping on the settee though but when im anxious i like to be on my own, probally different to alot of anxiety sufferers.
Carol x
If you have peace of mind you have everything
I just keep repeqting, cold icey weather , it may work soon/xxx
When I'm in a fit state to move, I think I'll make a break for Scotland!
Ray
http://www.anxietyrelease.org.uk/
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers
i hate summer. The heat makes me sick and that makes me have Panic Attacks. I just keep hoping for an early winter. I live in Texas and it is constantly hot!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last year we had snow for the first time in i don't know how many years. I stay in the air condition as much as possiable. Have you tried swimming ? My husband sticks a wet rag or towel in the freezer till it is frozen, then sticks it on my head when I am sick it helps. Well hope you feel better.
:)Twila
Hi Louise
Reading yoru post you ar SOOOOOO like me - I work in a shop with no air con - just rolls of fabric stacked up to the ceiling - and its sooooo stuffy and airless int here as well as 84 degrees int he shop!!!! I even went out and bought 2 fans for us workers and the boss thinks we are making a fuss!"!! I missed a day of work last week coz my asthma was bad and I almost fainted on friday and am getting really worked up and anxious about wednesday when the hot weather is supposed to peak to 34 - I am obsessed with the weather reports and getting really worked up about fainting at work - glad Im not alone tho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hang on in there - it will get better - and if not then we will just have to have time off work!!!
Love wenjoy xx
Wannabeloved85
25-07-06, 08:25
The heat wave ends wednesday, irt was on the news. Followed by lots of rain for bout a week or so! nice!! lol bring on the rain!
Becci x x x
eeyoresraincloud
25-07-06, 10:28
I had to laugh reading this topic, I thought I was the only one that hated the heatwave. when ever I speak to anyone they are like 'what are you mad, its glorous, enjoy it while you can etc...'
I can find nothing positive about this weather and I am fortunate to be on the coast so at least the humidity isn't that bad.
Apart from all the same feelings of panic I hate the physical side of this, sweating when you get out of the shower, not being able to sleep unless a fan is whipping the bedroom into a frenzy, swollen feet and hands, complete lethergy, having to wear trousers, cause thighs rub under skirts, oh I could go on an on...
Bring on the autumn thats what I say.
lizmarshall
25-07-06, 10:45
Hi Louise,
I have a cold at the moment, feel like crap anyway and the heat is just making me worse, i work 9 til 3 in an office with no air con and then i do a cleaning job at my sons school from 3.15 til 5.15 (no air con again) end up sweating like i dont know what, i like it when it's warm but not like this.
Liz
Hi Everyone, thanks for your words of support, I've just cried for the first time in ages (I don't cry very often) and I can feel some of the anxiety coming out which has been sitting in a knotted mass in my stomach for days now. It's always good to know that there are others feeling the same way as I do, I now don't feel so isolated. Thanks once again and roll on tomorrow - my stupidly expensive portable air con unit thingy is arriving! Louise x
Hi Louise - Ive been crying too - its my day off today and its so unbearable I feel dizzy everytime I stand up or move about to get another glass of water - I feel really down and tearful coz I hate being like this! If this weather doesnt break I will quit my job coz Im useless even at home and at work I just cant face serving customers as I get dizzy and faint and breathing weird when serving - sounds pathetic but I cant cope anymore with this heat....
Love wenjoy x
Paddington
25-07-06, 12:05
Helo Louise,[oh and all fellow sufferers of this heat,love the fan whippingthe bedrom into a frenzy comment,ha ha ha]i hate this heat too.I am overweight with red hair so made for the heat NOT!!I have found tho,that as i have done more things during this heat wave i dont panic as much???Changing my thought patterns maybe??I have been to a few concerts[those that know me are up tospeed with my huge strides since joining this forum]BUTi must say i am anxious about tonight as i am taking my grandson to his first big rock concert,guns n roses!!!!!It is sooo hot i am worried i will flip or worse not make the journey??I am telling my self not to be defeatist as i have done this before,but it is because i have him with me ,i so dont want to let him down.It was just me and adam before so if i went wobbly i had a get out clause,so i feel a bit pressured :( Well,i hope i make it ok...and then i will follow Ray to scotland!!!!Maybe yur tears will help as i think we think heat,or cold or anything is the cause of our panic when at times it is just the way we are inside hun,you let it out,then have plenty t drink so you dont dehydrate:)...keep cool folks.Love mary-rose.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
we are all in the same boat and can guide each other ashore
honeybee3939
25-07-06, 12:22
Hi Louise,
Im the same, i hate this heat, my anxiety as been high, dizzy etc, and i am realy struggling when i leave the house. Im fed up of not been able to sleep at night, im tierd through the day because of it which makes my anxiety worse.
I have been sleeping in the spare bedroom on my own with the fan on.
Your definatley not on your own, roll on the cooler weather.
Love
Andrea
xxx
Its really comforting to know theres loads of us not coping - but any other tips other than relaxing your breathing, drinking loads and loads of water - which Im already doing - and doing little between ll and 3??????
Its already 26 here in the south of the uk and I keep being whooshed over by dizziness and have to keep sitting down. did all my housework at 7am this morning so am sitting down from now til teatime when hubby is in - salad for tea again coz I cant face standing at the cooker again tonight!!!
Love wenjoy xxx
ps - well done maryrose - wow you really are into your music arent you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxx
arent we all cheerful souls! this hot humid weather is awful, i constantly feel as if i cant breathe and now have a scary habit of constantly clearing my throat, stomach is in turmoil and i feel pressure in my throat which is so scary, i dont think i have a chest infection but the phelghm is brown speckled but i do smoke(even though i hate it) im sad for all you guys but so releived not to be alone with this. has anyone got any tips on how i can get through this, i can feel myself not wanting to go out or see friends just stay alone with my fear and panic. any advise would be so welcome xx luv tracie
tcamp
Yeah tracie - I need advice too - thinking I might not work tomorrow even tho I lose a days pay but I just feel too dizzy to even stand up. S**t I hate being so negatve coz Imnormally so happy and cheerful - love wenjoy x
has anyone tried the cool down sprays you can buy - you can buy them in most supermarkets and chemists - cant remember the name but it is a blue aerosol can - gives a quick blast of cold spray to cool down - fantastic but only lasts short time.
........life is for living not just for surviving
And I thought I was the only heat wimp! I am also a constant weather obsessive - checking the daily forecasts and hoping for rain and snow.
Funnily enough I suffer from a sticky throat, gunky sinuses and general aches and pains and bloating during the hot spells. London is ferociously sultry - it reached 90 degrees in my office by noon today and we have no air conditioning. When it hits 90 I down tools and go home - I refuse to work in what is basically beach weather. Luckily I had 3 days holiday last week when it peaked in the mid-30s and didn't set foot out of my flat for 2 days. I'm taking tomorrow off though!!!
Tips on cooling sprays - don't bother wasting six quid on those commcercial water atomizers - go to Boots or Superdrug and get one of those plastic atomizers from the Travel accessories section. They only cost a couple of quid and you can fill them up with water and keep refilling them. A fine mist of water on the face and neck makes a hell of a difference. Very useful on the Underground - honestly its like being in an overheated sardine can down there at the moment.
Looking forward to a good downpour.
Swelteringly
D.
Hiya - I agree about those cooling sprays - I usually leave the shop floor - head for the ladies - and sprinkle cold water fromt he taps on my neck and feet - much to the amusement of my colleagues - I am sure some people think Im mad - but they dont know how ill heat makes some of us feel - ugh!!!!!!!!!!!
xxxx
I seem to have opened a can of worms here!! Hi again to all you heat phobics, I have loved reading your replies and am amazed and inspired by your courage, going on the underground indeed!!! I think we've all just got to ride this out and learn from it for the future. I don't have the energy to fight this one at the moment but the minute it cools down I will be back out there pushing back those barriers again. Louise x
im another none coper,i am feelign dreadful more panic more anxiety more agitation ect ect dizziness,lethargy,iv always been a bit like this but this year is horrendous,im suffering protracted seroxat withdrawal so thought it was a mixture plus im allergy prone with hayfever but boy this makes me feel better its not just me ,cheers guys
april tones
25-07-06, 23:40
Hi guys!!
I have done a few posts like this in this thread,general anxiety, and ocd one i think
I am forever checking weather too!
I started getting panic with humidity and feeling like cant breathe xxxxx
fibrochat) http://apriltones.proboards54.com
its times like this that i could hug everyone on this site-i dont come here often but when i do its because im having a bad phase.
im a heat phobic/thunderphobic and its like a no win situation. i can barely breathe-thus hyperventilate-thus have tingly fingers-thus tell myself im having the beginnings of a heart attack-thus generaly freak!!
then thunder is due which is great because it cools things down..wonderful except thunder scares me rigid! lol
i feel like the only one in sussex that is willing it to snow!
Hi there - well - after a 20 degrees night with no sleep I look like i have suitcases under my eyes not bags!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its supposed to be unbearable today and my asthma reading tells me all I need to know - its humid and smoggy and I feel yucky but am dragging myself into work and will see how it goes - whats the worse thing that can happen>?? I feel so bad I have to come home - big deal I tell myself - at least I will go in and make an effort!!!!!!!!! For now lets pray the rain and storms clear the air when they eventually arrive!! love wenjoy xx
Granny Primark
26-07-06, 08:31
Hi,
I normally adore hot weather. However this is my first summer whilst suffering from panic and im finding the heat extremely difficult to cope with.
No doubt when it gets colder il be moaning for the heatwave to come back.
The good thing to come out of this heatwave is that ive lost my appetite and lost quite a few pounds.
However my hubby says if i go any thinner il disappear! (i thnk thats probably wishful thinking on his behalf lol)
Theyve forcast thunderstorms for this afternoon and im dreading them. But at least it should cool everywhere down.
Take care
LYNN
Hi, me again. Today is the day I've been dreading - they said today wld be the hottest but in fact tomorrow will be hotter. My anxiety is sky high and all I want to do is sleep until it's all over. If only I could get this knot out of my stomach and could eat properly.
Wenjoy - you're doing the right thing, by going in to work even though you feel bad - I just can't manage that at the moment which is causing all sorts of problems at work, but I'm doing my best and I won't beat myself up over this.
great thread
I have just been to doctors complaining of increased heart pain, anxiety, lower back pain, general feeling of unwell.
Blood pressure was a little raised, but ok.
Heart beat sound ok.
We agreed that is probably increased anxiety due to heat wave and my PTSD symptoms.
I have felt:
Extreme tiredness, fatigue
Dizziness
Feeling faint
Pains in lower stomach and back (worse at night)
Shakes
Joint pain. (especially in RTA old injuries)
Weird heart beats/pain (worse at night)
Increasing frequency of number 2 visits to toilet (now up to 4 times daily)
Feeling increasingly nauseas
Chronic severe headaches
Poor concentration
Blood shot eyes
Mouth ulcers
Feel extremely low
Reduced appetite
Increased anxiety
I bought some of those rehydration sachets from Boots + Kalms.
I feel slightly better already.
I use those ice packs from freezer. Place one at back, between chair/sofa, reduces heat.
keep fan on you
drink bus loads of water
watch for alcohol ( i am tee total) it dehydrates you
Dave
hi guys can ya help me out here,i never had this problem to this degree before the use and stopage of seroxat,iv always dreaded intense heat but never felt this ill,how many of you are on phsycotropic drugs? and how many have been on them in the last 3 years? sorry odd question but im wondering if this is drug related also
Hi,
This heat is grinding me down too. The other night after lying on the bed with the fan going I heaved myself off the bed, stamped my foot loudly and dramatically and whined loudly at hubby "I can't take any more of this!" He just looked at me and burst out laughing, which made me giggle and soothed the situation! Honestly though, I hate continually being wet from perspiration, not being able to breathe properly - I'm asthmatic and sufferred an attack just over a week ago from all this blasted heat.
Agggghhhhhhh!!!!!:(
Lu
Hi ther e- firstly - Lonely Lu - Im asthmatic too and cant breathe and am living on my ventolin and steroid inhaler - I manage but am very wobbly at the mo.
Louise - I went to work and coped until mid afternoon when I felt "whoosh" as the humidity rocketed in the shop and I felt dizzy and faint so sat down. have drunk about 4 litres of water today and I could wee for england!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
The thunderstorms look like theyll miss us in Dorset sadly but I am trying to stay calm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hang on int here all of you. love wenjoy xxx
Oh me to I hate this heat,[Sigh...]
I much prefer the Spring and Winter as I find Winter cosy. I think it’s much easier to warm up then to cool down if you know what I mean!
I'll have to go for a late night dip in the sea with my swimming costume on of course!!!!! LOL;)
Take Care,
Love Pip's X X X X
Hi, I also dont like the heat, in fact I have never liked the heat. My neighbours think we are mad in this house, they are all outside baking in their gardens and I'm indoors with air conditioning. I know who is the mad one and it is not me. When it started raining my daughter and I used to walk the dog. Every one else would be huddled under umbrellas and we would be going ' it's lovely'. Even the dog prefered it. Coolness, just imagine it. There has been a really heavy storm here and it feels a bit cooler. Wonderful. Janet:D:D:D
Hi there, I was feeling a bit better this morning, we had the first rain for weeks last night - just as I was watering the garden! That is until I read Wenjoys last post - 40 degrees in August? No, I don't think I will be able to cope, but as the forecasters can't predict further than a week ahead let's all hope that it won't happen. I haven't been in to work all week and have been just trying to keep calm. I have mild asthma and have been feeling it too - it's just the weather. But my worst symptom is my tummy which is still knotted - I can't eat much and so I feel weak which sets off a vicious circle nicely. At this rate I'll be stick thin by the autumn!
Maybe if we all think of cool thoughts the heatwave will go away....?
OOpps did I say Wenjoy said it would be 40 degrees in August? I can't find it in your last post - sorry if I have wrongly labelled you a doom merchant!! Think I must be going mad here!
I really am going dotty in this heat..... anyway, I've just looked at the BBC website and on their long range weather outlook page it says that there may be a few days of high temps in the first part of August but then there could be lower than average temps and LOTS OF RAIN. So, don't know where I got the 40 degree idea from (could swear I read it in a recent post) but there we are.
Now, this'll make you laugh. I am now the proud owner of an air con unit (known affectionately as "R2D2"). Great you might think, now she can stop being anxious.......... well no actually because now I'm worrying that I'll become too dependant on it and won't cope if a) it breaks down b) we have a powercut c) I have to go out. So, today it is sitting there in my lounge, raring to go and I'm sitting looking at it with the fans on full blast. HOW MAD IS THAT??????
Hi Louise
Sorry - it was me - I hold my hands up - the Daily Express and a weatherman on BBC said it may get up to 40 first week of august - sorry if I upset anyone just that I was sounding off as nobobdy wants tohear me moan and winge any more!!!!!!! Sorry louise. Love wenjoy xxx
Hi Wenjoy, you are forgiven! But my heart rate did jump considerably when I read it (so I'm not going mad after all!) which goes to prove that it's the thoughts that fuel the fears.
The wind has changed direction today and so a bit more sultry here in East Anglia, still feeling weak from not eating properly but trying to do things around the house and then I might be brave and go out for a short walk tonight. I can't believe how quickly the "boundaries" can come crashing in if you let them. Now I have to work on pushing them out again. D'you know what I mean?
Wenjoy - have you been into work again? I too work in a fabric shop and it's like an oven there at the moment. I know it's a bit selfish but I just won't go in if it's too hot, what's the point? What I cannot understand is why anyone in their right mind would go shopping for curtains in this weather!!! Bonkers, the lot of them!!!
missacorah
28-07-06, 19:48
Hi everyone - delighted and amazed to discover this thread - some of the posts and the ways of thinking made me alugh out loud as it was like they were written by myself!
I am going away for a week tomorrow and have been having panic attacks all week about it. Of course I have convinced myself that they arent panic attacks and I am infact dying due to the recent heat. Today I looked up the weather and it said cooler for tomorrow here in East Anglia - not cold or anything but just cooler so I cant complain. I think my main worry is that the car will be stifling and I will collapse or something due to the heat and no one will be around to help me as I'll be on a motorway etc!!! Mad I know!!!
I am lucky enough to have 6 weeks off now as I work at a school so do not have to venture out in the heat but as someoe said here in an earlier post it its easy then when you have time to choose what you do to let yourself go a little and not go out etc and then things are even harder when you do go back out there!
I am here tonight to gain some positive vibes for my hols tomorrow and just reading some of your posts , especially those of you who are nice enough to throw a bit of hunour into your posts to entertain the rest of us really does make a difference. Fingers crossed I wil be okay - please pray for a freak snowstorm 2 moz!!!!!
Hi Missacorah, welcome to the madhouse! Yes, we all like to keep a sense of humour, even when all seems vey dark and gloomy.
Anyway - have a good holiday and if you can try and travel in the less busy times it will help (obviously). I often have to travel down south tosee my family and driving on the M25 on my own fills me with fear but I haven't collapsed yet and won't... and nor will you.
As for the heatwave - at last some respite , cooler this evening and I feel SO much better.......
Hi Louise
I am totally with you on the weather thing. I've always been a winter person anyway but since suffering from anxiety I hate the really hot weather with a vengence I think it's because the heat makes all the anxiety symptons like feeling faint, lack of energy etc much worse. I know exactly what you mean I avoid going out in the day at the moment. It will pass and we will soon be back to good old rainy weather!! I have found that just accepting a bad patch as a passing phase rather than worrying about if it's getting worse will help see it through.
If you haven't read them try reading books by Dr Claire Weekes they are very good
Keep your chin up
Wendy x
Hi Louise
Yes I am still working in my curtin,fabric shop and boy is it stuffy in there but having seen the dr I feel more positive that it is so common to feel faint and breathless in the heat especially if you have asthma!!!
Cooler today on the south coast thank god!!!
GHave a good weekend. love wenjoy xxx
Glad it's cooler down south, it's another stinker in E Anglia today but it will get cooler so just sitting it out.
Hi Fairygirl, yeah, read all of Claire Weekes about 15 years ago, very good stuff too. Am currently waiting for new book "Positively Happy" by Noel Edmunds to arrive from Amazon (yes, THAT Noel Edmonds), he was interviewed on Richard & Judy and his book sounds v interesting - all about thinking positively and asking the cosmos/unierse for what you need. Sounds a bit spacy but hey! if it works!
I have found Ignatia (homeopathic remedy) is fab for when feeling utterly overwhelmed, it calms me down every time.
BettyWho77
16-08-15, 14:25
I have had anxiety/agoraphobia over 45 yr. I know that sounds like some kind of record or something. But, there wasn't a day that I didn't work on it to get better.
Anyway I live in central Canada and we have been experiencing a severe heat wave for about two months now. I don't have a job but, I like walking and working out when I can. This summer has made me more housebound than in the winter. In Winnipeg, an average temp for winter is usually -25 or so, and we are totally accepting of that. You can always put more clothes on and still go about your business.
Since the heat wave, I can bearly walk a block and get so sick on the street. I just live in my " box" with my two fans and AC up to the max. I feel back to being severely agoraphobic again. I hate it!
Also when its this hot I can't sleep and not sleeping and having panic attacks is bad.
I am taking lots of fluids, carrying ice packs when I go out, but, I find I am really scared of going outside now.
I don't want to get back to the " old days" of totally being housebound, but, its getting bad.
Any tips on how I can get my " mojo" back... I know I am not meant to live in tropical climates.
BettyWho
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