Tanner40
15-01-14, 12:30
Good Morning all. I am hoping that this post might help someone, as well as myself. showing the way my symptoms arise and the way in which I ( hopefully) avert a full blown panic attack.
Woke up this morning to the following symptoms:
Very tight and tense shoulder muscle , especially right side.
Very achey right arm.
Hot and flushed feeling.
Sweating. Feels like the room is hot.
Slightly nauseous.
Right fingers tingling slightly.
Rapid breathing.
Thoughts:
My arm is aching. It's my right arm so it's probably not a heart attack.
Something is terribly wrong for my right arm to be hurting. And I'm sweating
and slightly nauseous. It could be a heart attack even if it's my right arm. So I google. In women, right arm pain can be a sign of a heart attack. Oh crap, I know I'm having a heart attack. I'm going to die and I don't want to die. I shouldn't smoke. I know that I'm having a heart attack. Or it could just be anxiety.
Un-catastrophizing my thoughts:
So, my right arm is hurting. Improbably slept on it wrong. It feels like it could be muscular. I'm 53 years old. It's okay to wake up with some aches and pains. It doesn't have to be anything dangerous. I can tell that my neck and shoulders are hurting due to muscular tension. Muscular tension can and certainly does cause my right arm to ache.
Actions:
Deep breathing exercises to slow down my breathing. That also manages to cool myself down. I'm no longer hot.
Stretches. This manages to isolate the areas that are tense. Shoulders, just like I thought.
writing in my journal and then posting on NMP. In essence, putting the lie to my irrational thoughts.
Panic averted and anxiety lessened. Does my right arm still hurt? Yes, it does. Do I think that I am in imminent danger? No, I don't.
Is all of my anxiety gone? Not all of it, but most of it.
These are the types of things that I do when I feel panic creeping in.
Now if only I could stop smoking. So many things that I do for myself. One I haven't yet mastered.
I hope that this post helps someone in some way of coping today.
Woke up this morning to the following symptoms:
Very tight and tense shoulder muscle , especially right side.
Very achey right arm.
Hot and flushed feeling.
Sweating. Feels like the room is hot.
Slightly nauseous.
Right fingers tingling slightly.
Rapid breathing.
Thoughts:
My arm is aching. It's my right arm so it's probably not a heart attack.
Something is terribly wrong for my right arm to be hurting. And I'm sweating
and slightly nauseous. It could be a heart attack even if it's my right arm. So I google. In women, right arm pain can be a sign of a heart attack. Oh crap, I know I'm having a heart attack. I'm going to die and I don't want to die. I shouldn't smoke. I know that I'm having a heart attack. Or it could just be anxiety.
Un-catastrophizing my thoughts:
So, my right arm is hurting. Improbably slept on it wrong. It feels like it could be muscular. I'm 53 years old. It's okay to wake up with some aches and pains. It doesn't have to be anything dangerous. I can tell that my neck and shoulders are hurting due to muscular tension. Muscular tension can and certainly does cause my right arm to ache.
Actions:
Deep breathing exercises to slow down my breathing. That also manages to cool myself down. I'm no longer hot.
Stretches. This manages to isolate the areas that are tense. Shoulders, just like I thought.
writing in my journal and then posting on NMP. In essence, putting the lie to my irrational thoughts.
Panic averted and anxiety lessened. Does my right arm still hurt? Yes, it does. Do I think that I am in imminent danger? No, I don't.
Is all of my anxiety gone? Not all of it, but most of it.
These are the types of things that I do when I feel panic creeping in.
Now if only I could stop smoking. So many things that I do for myself. One I haven't yet mastered.
I hope that this post helps someone in some way of coping today.