Have you ever had a panic attack from real sickness?

[Ditapage]

I ended up in the ER early this morning because my ear felt full and it led to a panic attack, as I started thinking it was about to burst or there was an abscess in it or something. When I got to the ER I didn't present as a patient with ear fullness, I was trembling and feeling sick and panicked. I kept asking the lady at the desk if I was dying, if it was urgent, etc. when I saw the doctor he said I had a mild ear infection - which didn't warrant the amount of anxiety I was feeling. All I was thinking about was a story I read on daily mail about a sore ear being a brain abscess and the girl dying. Just thinking about it makes my ear canal feel like it's burning so naturally I started panicking

So my question is have you ever had a real symptom like ear, leg pain, headache, etc that gave you a panic attack because you started thinking the worst? Even now I'm at home feeling panicked about my ear even though I've seen the doctor. I felt calm at the hospital knowing help was right there, however. Whenever I get a feeling I get panicked, it feels like that body part is going to explode or I'll faint, etc. everything starts to feels like pressure is pushing against whatever I'm obsessing about whether it's ear, cheek, jaw, temple. I know ear fullness is from the infection (which I've been giving drops for) there's no pain because that was treated with pain killers, but I can't stop focusing on this fullness. Dr said this is an anxiety symptom. I imagine "normal people" feel ear fullness from an infection (plus I sprayed water directly into my ear!) and don't panic. Do you find you make any existing pain/illness worse with panic?

[Davit]

Yes, yes and yes, All of that. I over worked today and have to keep shutting down the anxiety that keeps trying to creep in. It will go. It always does.

[Ditapage]

Thank you! I suspected that panic can make anything worse.

Hope you are feeling better - I hate the creeping anxiety. I've had it all day thanks to the Daily Mail. I try to rationalize that all I am reading is what someone has written, I don't know anything about the girl's medical history or symptoms and what happened to her is rare. That should calm me down, but Any tips for this form of obsessing (besides not reading the articles of course!) my doctor is never happy when I mention Google.

[Davit]

I just picked a good movie off netflix to get my mind off things. For me it is always annoying that I can't do the things I used to do. Tomorrow is another day. Fresh picked strawberries and whipped cream helps. So now it is back to positive thought. You are right it is how you look at the trigger. It will get better, just not overnight. Vicarious is when you can feel others pain. It causes anxiety, I have to tell myself it isn't mine even if I can feel it. I'm not as vicarious as I used to be so I guess it is going to go away. Still when I read a post I can feel how they feel. No panic though. And it doesn't keep me awake.

[.Poppy.]

I had a migraine that led to a full blown panic attack. I've had them for years, but this was my first that started with aura/blindness - which caused me to panic. Once the headache set in my panic attack did too. I was dizzy, unable to see or think properly, and sick to my stomach, and in pain, so it was hard to tell where the migraine symptoms ended and the panic began. I called my mother when my legs and hands started going numb from the panic.

We ended up going to the hospital, which due to the degree of the pain was probably a good idea. They knew that I had a migraine, and they also knew which of my symptoms were panic related, which was nice.

Now, though, whenever I get sick to my stomach I have the same panic attack - dizzy, hands and legs start to go numb, can't really think straight. I've always hated feeling nauseous, now that reaction is just really amped up.

[spacebunnyx]

Oh gosh yes. Several times. Most recently with a breast abscess I currently have! I would say though that the vast majority of my anxiety has been about absolutely nothing at all.

Xxx

[Ditapage]

Always appreciate your advice, Davit, a good film does the trick ;) a bad night is when I allow the film to play in the background while I google madly on my phone getting increasingly anxious.

Poppy I've had migraines that led to panic attacks. They are awful!!! A migraine is bad enough but I started hyperventilating and pacing and thought my head would explode. ever since my anxiety started, nothing is just a harmless sensation. Every ache and pain and weird feeling is amplified and I feel like I will pass out. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who feels that way. In my case not even feeling is a panic symptom but every feeling causes a panic attack.

[GingerFish]

Yes. I get diarrhea a lot because I have IBS so whenever I get a flare up of that or just some cramps in general, I have a panic attack because I assume I have appendicitis instead.

Also when I had an ear infection last year, I was extremely dizzy and had lots of lymph nodes pop up, I think you can imagine the amount of panic attacks that lead to.

[Davit]

I'm going to mention this again because I can't remember where all I mentioned it. (parttimers, working up to allthetimers)

The parts of the mind have fixed rules what they can and can not do. Nothing is broke. They work on the instructions given and those start with the trigger. Hippocampus is the fork in the road. Memory dictates what instructions will come from the trigger. Back feed from previous experience dictates it's decision. If you know in your mind someone who had cancer then you can think you have cancer, you also know you might not. A fork in the road, which fork you use depends on positive or negative thought. This is fixed, you can't change it only the information that constitutes the instruction. Negative and you will think you have cancer. Positive thought and the thought is that it is possible but not likely. Symptoms come from Hypothalamus getting a negative message. There are none if the message is positive.

Riders are messages related playing in the background or on top. Negative ones change positive thought to negative and send the thoughts down the wrong fork. Positive ones reinforce positive thought if there is positive to start with.

The trigger is just a trigger, it is what you do with it that counts.