Anxiety is getting worse - starting to not breathe properly too frequently

[lior]

How do you know when you are having a panic attack?

I don't usually suffer from panic. Just anxiety.

But recently I find myself not being able to breathe normally, like I'm only able to gasp. And at the same time all my movements are jerky and jittery and I have to control them. And my arms feel weak. And often I end up touching my forehead quickly. In a sort of crazy way.

And it happens when I feel really wound up about something - usually when a few worrying things enter my mind at the same time.

Is that panic?


Today has been particularly bad. Every little thing mounts up. I have to go near where my family live on Saturday and I feel sick at the thought of bumping into them. My aunt emailed me and wants to see me, and I don't want to have to talk to her, when she is so awkward about emotions and clearly doesn't want to hear about my depression. My brother emailed me and is apparently clueless at how badly he behaved to me. My smaller brother emailed me recently and I feel sad still about that, that I'm not seeing him. The internet wasn't working earlier and just that sent me into a tizzy because I couldn't do the work I wanted to. And I hate working alone all the time. I miss having colleagues that I see daily. There's too many things whirring around.

I'm shaking and close to tears :(

[unspoken]

I don't get the 'typical' panic attacks people describe where they feel like they're dying. I do hyperventilate when I'm very anxious though and what I would consider a panic attack is when I am hyperventilating and crying and can't stop it. Then my arms and legs go numb and I get pins and needles. Sometimes I feel like I can't swallow and it makes me panic.

I think there are lots of physical manifestations of anxiety and what you're experiencing does sound like severe anxiety. Have you seen your doctor about this?

There are breathing exercises you can do. There's some info on abdominal breathing on this page: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/coping This article may help too http://www.patient.co.uk/health/controlled-breathing-pursed-lips-breathing

Try to distract yourself and don't let all your problems get on top of you at the same time. CBT may help with this, there are self help books that can help you to examine the things that are troubling you and put them into order, rather than them all getting on top of you at once.

[Sunflower2]

Welcome to the world of panic attacks! I think you know you know it was your own panic attack. Everyone's are different.. Different symptoms and intensities and feeling, but if you're feeling like you body isn't in your control because of worrying.. yep that's a panic attack!
I guess what you can take from this is now your know what your panic attacks are, you know what symptoms to expect and fight. Like I get racing heart rate and dizzy, so I do long slow breaths and that makes them go away again. It's not easy and it makes you feel awful, but they are controllable, and once you learn what works for you in controlling them, it makes them better.
I'm sorry you're feeling like this, you sound like you're under a lot of stress at the moment so it's not surprising you feel the way you do. Can you take some time out this evening to relax your body and give your mind a break from worrying?

[unspoken]

When I used to get panic attacks at work and hyperventilate I used to stare at one point on a wall or an object and focus on that. A teacher at school taught me to count while I breathe in and then out to try and reach a higher number with each breath. Doing a bit of brisk walking or a short run can help too, or cycling, anything that gets you out of breath naturally and forces you to breathe more deeply. I find having water and something to eat that combines short term energy with slow burning energy helpful in the aftermath of a panic attack, I feel much better once I've eaten.

[lior]

Thank you, those are good links - I've bookmarked them in case I experience that again. Which is likely, but I hope it doesn't keep happening! I'm in some very bad moods these days, I can be fine and singing one moment and whirring so much I want to hurt myself an hour later. And then back again. It's exhausting and confusing.

I feel a bit odd - if that was a panic attack, then I'm finally a bit more like everyone else on here - good for social dynamics, bad for my health, right?

I'm in CBT but my therapist has just got promoted so I don't have an appointment this week. I'll talk to her about it next week. Depression has usually been the bigger problem for me. But I think I might be almost phobic of seeing my family now, so I should probably talk to her about it. My heart races whenever I have to go somewhere even a little bit close to where I know my family might be. It's a massive source of anxiety. I don't see a way out of it. And there's so much else to worry about too.

I got a place at a networking event last minute tonight, and ended up facing my boss who unsurprisingly was there, plus someone that might end up interviewing me for a job that I really don't want but might have to apply for because of my lack of options. So I ended up MUCH more stressed having faced her. MUCH more. I don't know how to be cool about this one. I have to go on Wednesday to another networking thing and be the charming wonderful professional version of me in order to get an interview for that job I don't want. And I'm none of those things at the moment.

I did my nails though, so that was relaxing, and I won't be ashamed that my nails look terrible for the next couple of days.

[AnxietyDJ]

I tend to suffer from a whole range of panic attack symptoms at different times - from just feeling hot and out of breath, through to heaving as though I need to vomit, to pins and needles, to being spaced out, to feeling as though I am going to pass out, and everything in between.

It sounds as though you're going through some kind of panic, but we all suffer in our own individual ways.

Hope you feel better soon! :)

[Beautifuldisaster]

My worse panic attacks are just how you describe them, I hyperventilate, find it difficult to breath, speak at the speed of light while tears stream down my face.
I found breathing exercises help me so much, to focus on my breathing and then slowly slow it down.

[lior]

I have learnt how to do the pursed lips breathing thing online now, which I will try if I end up panicking again.

I'm quite generally anxious at the moment because I don't have an appointment with my therapist this week, and I don't know how to deal with a few situations:

- do I go for a job I don't want?
- how can I get motivated to want to apply for stuff? Do I even care about work at all?
- how can I be motivated to care about getting better? Cos somehow, I don't really care, I'm just doing the minimum to get by, I've slowed my whole life down and I forgive myself for it, but I'm not saving or progressing my career or even having enough fun.
- how do I deal with my family at all? Am I phobic of my family? I'm sure my aunts and grandma are concerned about me but I won't talk to them because I feel like it's indirect communication with my mum which I am very afraid of. I won't talk to my brother either because he has let me down massively but he doesn't even realise. So I know he won't improve because I haven't communicated to him.

I don't know how to deal with any of those situations, and when I think about any of them I get very anxious.

I feel exhausted from it all.