Meltdown
14-01-07, 12:37
Hello - Just wanted to say Hi - and thanks for the help that I have found on this board. Reading some of the stories from other members has helped me enormously. I am a 45 year old male, and have been suffering symptoms for 2 and a half years
I began suffering from panic and palpitations in 2004. It was the night before I was due to fly for the first time in 15 years and I was nervous and exited. It was a very hot evening, and I was giving my 3 year old daughter a bath ready for bed. Suddenly I had a Palpitation and felt an overwhelming need to escape. My breathing became very rapid, and I felt like my body was about to explode. The only way I was able to calm down was to go for a drive in my car with the Air-con on max cool!
These symptoms flared up every so often, when in situations of stress, or pressure. At work I sometimes (embarrassingly) had to stand up and leave a meeting just before it became my turn to speak! I saw my doctor in 2005, and had an ECG test done – result normal, though the Dr said my problem was probably an ectopic beat, and told me to ignore it! (easier said than done!)
My problem came and went, then in the months leading up to Christmas 2006, my attacks became worse and worse. On a family trip to see a show, the rushing to get there got to me, and I experienced the worst attack I have ever had! I felt that I was going to die (although I tried to convince myself otherwise) I had to get my wife to stop the car, and sit on a wall, to recover. I was hyperventilating, and both forearms and hands were numb and tingling which was very frightening, and something that I hadn’t experienced before (A classic symptom of hyperventilation, I have since learnt) I felt so bad that I insisted on being driven to the nearest hospital to be checked out! (My wife and kids carried on to the theatre, so that they did not miss the show)
After Christmas, I decided to make a concerted effort to beat this problem! I bought a book by Paul McKenna which had a hypnosis CD with it. Listening to this CD helped me enormously! I have tried to get more sleep. I have taken up Yoga. I decided to learn more about the problem. Finding this site has helped me tremendously, simply by reading the accounts of people like myself. Just when I felt that my problem was getting worse and worse, and fearing the outcome, I learnt that it doesn’t have to be that way, that things can be turned around, and that by learning to relax, these terrifying symptoms can be overcome! On a really bad day, I take passiflora tablets (“Natracalm”), recommended by somebody here. I am amazed how much they help!
Now I am much more relaxed. I am writing this partially as therapy, and partly to help others. I have gone from experiencing maybe 50 palpitations a day to just one or two. When they happen, I just ignore them!
I think (and from talking to others) that panic/palpitations are manifestations of a certain personality type. I am a perfectionist by nature, and become obsessive about things being right! When things aren’t right, I become stressed and frustrated, and this is when the palpitations and panic can start. Although I am well respected, and have a responsible job, I am plagued with feelings of inadequacy, and often feel I could have done better. I lack confidence, and although I play in a rock band in my spare time, deep down I am basically very shy! I can be slightly depressive, and become angsty and annoyed about things in life that I don’t agree with. I tend to dwell on negative things. My mind is always active, and seldom calm and still.
So that’s my story! I am feeling so much better these days that I wanted to share it with you. I hope someone reading this will gain the encouragement I gained from reading similar stories!
I began suffering from panic and palpitations in 2004. It was the night before I was due to fly for the first time in 15 years and I was nervous and exited. It was a very hot evening, and I was giving my 3 year old daughter a bath ready for bed. Suddenly I had a Palpitation and felt an overwhelming need to escape. My breathing became very rapid, and I felt like my body was about to explode. The only way I was able to calm down was to go for a drive in my car with the Air-con on max cool!
These symptoms flared up every so often, when in situations of stress, or pressure. At work I sometimes (embarrassingly) had to stand up and leave a meeting just before it became my turn to speak! I saw my doctor in 2005, and had an ECG test done – result normal, though the Dr said my problem was probably an ectopic beat, and told me to ignore it! (easier said than done!)
My problem came and went, then in the months leading up to Christmas 2006, my attacks became worse and worse. On a family trip to see a show, the rushing to get there got to me, and I experienced the worst attack I have ever had! I felt that I was going to die (although I tried to convince myself otherwise) I had to get my wife to stop the car, and sit on a wall, to recover. I was hyperventilating, and both forearms and hands were numb and tingling which was very frightening, and something that I hadn’t experienced before (A classic symptom of hyperventilation, I have since learnt) I felt so bad that I insisted on being driven to the nearest hospital to be checked out! (My wife and kids carried on to the theatre, so that they did not miss the show)
After Christmas, I decided to make a concerted effort to beat this problem! I bought a book by Paul McKenna which had a hypnosis CD with it. Listening to this CD helped me enormously! I have tried to get more sleep. I have taken up Yoga. I decided to learn more about the problem. Finding this site has helped me tremendously, simply by reading the accounts of people like myself. Just when I felt that my problem was getting worse and worse, and fearing the outcome, I learnt that it doesn’t have to be that way, that things can be turned around, and that by learning to relax, these terrifying symptoms can be overcome! On a really bad day, I take passiflora tablets (“Natracalm”), recommended by somebody here. I am amazed how much they help!
Now I am much more relaxed. I am writing this partially as therapy, and partly to help others. I have gone from experiencing maybe 50 palpitations a day to just one or two. When they happen, I just ignore them!
I think (and from talking to others) that panic/palpitations are manifestations of a certain personality type. I am a perfectionist by nature, and become obsessive about things being right! When things aren’t right, I become stressed and frustrated, and this is when the palpitations and panic can start. Although I am well respected, and have a responsible job, I am plagued with feelings of inadequacy, and often feel I could have done better. I lack confidence, and although I play in a rock band in my spare time, deep down I am basically very shy! I can be slightly depressive, and become angsty and annoyed about things in life that I don’t agree with. I tend to dwell on negative things. My mind is always active, and seldom calm and still.
So that’s my story! I am feeling so much better these days that I wanted to share it with you. I hope someone reading this will gain the encouragement I gained from reading similar stories!