Ways of re-wiring brain to prevent some attacks

[nataliejosephine]

Hello :)
For the past 2 weeks I've suffered with severe panic attacks with all the general symptoms, faint, hyperventilating, numb, nauseous etc... but I also have the need to use the toilet (a number 2...). It seems my attacks have come on more since I was ill at work a few months ago with a dodgy stomach, and because I'm often left single managing the shop I struggle to use the toilet if there are customers. Along with having motion sickness, this feeling had first attached to that and my journey's to work were sometimes very difficult, especially the feeling of possibly losing control of my bowels :S

The thing is, I went off work due to stress (I wasnt getting full on panic attacks at this point), but during my time off, I got more stressed and now I'm on my 4th week off and my panic attacks are getting worse. Just yesterday I set a goal to walk to a friends house... I got 1/2 mile in and I felt anxious, so I sat at a busstop... only to then have a full blown panic attack and a stranger missed his bus to help me (Thank you Keith! x). The stop was outside a carpet shop and after talking to Keith and trying to calm my self, (and my mom walking to me, to help me home) I knew I had to use the toilet ( a thought I had before, but I held it in ) the panic wasnt letting up and Keith asked the shop if I could use their staff toilet. Thank god they agreed! I ended up in the toilet for half an hour with a few horrid sprouts of the panic attack and then braved the 2 minute taxi home, holding onto my mom and aunt.
Now, this is incredibly embarrassing, and I know why it's come about, but the panic attacks seem to have made themselves worse, when I'm trying to fix it. My body doesn't feel right, I feel like I'm losing control. I've tried some cbt therapies and I managed to go out with family for 2 hours to the local pub with barely any issues...

What can I do? I'm so damn nervous about seeing the doctor next week because last week I went in and I had a panic attack in the toilets and I had to have help. Then after seeing the doctor, I ended up having a small minor one. It's like my stomach is constantly trying to go to the toilet, even if I;m aware I have control and that my stress is the main course of it getting worse. I can't travel to visit family tomorrow, i cant travel to see friends and i am working on it every day and failing sometimes. I just want to get better now, otherwise I'm scared I'll be stuck like this for a long, long time.

How the heck can a minor fear of needing the toilet when I can't go get as bad as not being able to leave the house?

[jayb1]

I had my first panic attack 20years ish ago. All the usual symptoms along with a incredible need to urinate. That was when I was just about to get on a bus to go to work. My brain decided that every time I got on a bus I'd need to use the loo. Then I became frightened of getting on a train and even in a car. I struggled on for 10 years using transport when I really had to but in the last 10 years its been only if I can walk there. No holidays , no theatre trips no visiting family and so on. My advice nip it in the bud now go and see your gp asked to be referred for psychotherapy (which I'm finally doing after becoming agoraphobic) Please don't let it drag on like I did.

[hillface]

I had my first ever panic attack on a train. In the end, I got myself so worked up, guess what? I couldn't get on a train without panicking again.

So, I then had a panic attack on a bus.

I now struggle with getting any type of transport alone.

It's been 18 months since this all started. I've tried various medication. The only thing that seems to be working, is CBT.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. :shades:

This involves a lot of hard work! Unfortunately, there's no easy way out of panic attacks. I haven't had a panic attack in about 2 months. Anxiety, yes.

It's all about exposure. Don't stop setting yourself those challenges. Square breathing: In for 4, out for 2. Practice twice daily to get the full effects.

Think about a place where you were happy. Mine was on a beachside bar with my partner having a drink of squash in the sunset. Beautiful time. Imagine what you can smell, taste, feel, hear and see. Practice this too.

Ginger tea is great if you suffer with nausea. It always helps me :D

Most of all, do not avoid these anxious scenarios!!!! The more you do the thing, the easier the thing will become. It may take a long time and lots of practice, but you'll get there.

:bighug1:

[nataliejosephine]

I had my first panic attack 20years ish ago. All the usual symptoms along with a incredible need to urinate. That was when I was just about to get on a bus to go to work. My brain decided that every time I got on a bus I'd need to use the loo. Then I became frightened of getting on a train and even in a car. I struggled on for 10 years using transport when I really had to but in the last 10 years its been only if I can walk there. No holidays , no theatre trips no visiting family and so on. My advice nip it in the bud now go and see your gp asked to be referred for psychotherapy (which I'm finally doing after becoming agoraphobic) Please don't let it drag on like I did.

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one to suffer with attacks related to going to the toilet. If I didn't have this irrational fear then I would just have my usual anxiety. But, because of the stress I've been under I guess it's just be manifesting. I have an appointment with a counsellor in 3/4 weeks, but until then I've been looking at things I can do at home :)
Thank you very much for your reply. I'm glad you're getting help, and I wish you all the best in controlling/defeating this cruddy thing!

---------- Post added at 21:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:52 ----------


I had my first ever panic attack on a train. In the end, I got myself so worked up, guess what? I couldn't get on a train without panicking again.

So, I then had a panic attack on a bus.

I now struggle with getting any type of transport alone.

It's been 18 months since this all started. I've tried various medication. The only thing that seems to be working, is CBT.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. :shades:

This involves a lot of hard work! Unfortunately, there's no easy way out of panic attacks. I haven't had a panic attack in about 2 months. Anxiety, yes.

It's all about exposure. Don't stop setting yourself those challenges. Square breathing: In for 4, out for 2. Practice twice daily to get the full effects.

Think about a place where you were happy. Mine was on a beachside bar with my partner having a drink of squash in the sunset. Beautiful time. Imagine what you can smell, taste, feel, hear and see. Practice this too.

Ginger tea is great if you suffer with nausea. It always helps me :D

Most of all, do not avoid these anxious scenarios!!!! The more you do the thing, the easier the thing will become. It may take a long time and lots of practice, but you'll get there.

:bighug1:

Are the breathing exercises explored in your CBT sessions? I tried one that was recommended online but it only made me worse. I guess it's because I'm then panicking over the fact that because I'm doing the breathing techniques I must be having a "bad" attack.
I do the senses technique sometimes, but I must admit I've forgotten to do them when I'm having a panic attack, and it's more as it's progressing that I do it. I'll have a look at ginger tea, thank you :D

Thank you for the advice! I'm definitely trying to nip this in the bud before it gets worse because I've already had those cruddy feelings of "what if i cant leave the house" etc and I do not want that! Stuff that shi-te! lol

[dally]

Hi
I do notvlikectaking meds and having been very agarophobic, and suffer with ibdD I really understand your plight.

I feel you should try CBT def. But also try a beta blocker which stops excessive adrenaline being produced. Especially when your wanting to go out and about.
It helps take the edge of anxiety for me , and stops panic from spiralling outcof control.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I've been through that stage with toilets. You see people talking about it on here, I've always had the impression it's pretty common. If you think about it, nausea is a very common one with anxiety disorders so you are on lookout for the toilets when in places so you can escape if you wanted to be sick. It was the same with using the toilet for number 2's for me. It was worst when I was more at the panic stage of my GAD, when I was at work. I would end up spending time in the toilets trying to calm down and make sure I didn't need to go. When I first started with the breakdown at work I had no clue what was happening on that day when it happened and I was back and forth to the toilets to try to go.

The toilet situation is another one of the control issues in anxiety really. Always being in controlled, managing risk and having contingency plans.

I know what you mean about the breathing exercise too, I've been there with that. I have GAD & OCD (the OCD came in the relapse 4 years later due to a med) but I also have asthma. Since I had symptoms with breathing, I had the obvious worry of it affecting my asthma too. So, doing any breathing exercise just felt alien anyway since asthma sufferers don't breath as deep, it's part of the condition, but I would be focussing on the sensations and worrying I would lead myself into greater anxiety.

I was the same when I started Mindfulness meditation. Sitting still, when I was agitated, and trying to focus on a part of my body when all I ever did was focus on symptoms in my body anyway, seemed counter productive to me. What I learnt was that what I thought was focussing really wasn't, I had forgotten how to truly focus on something and feel it with all my senses. It took some time, but I found I could get into to it, understand it and most important - feel it. I was the same with Calming Technique (breathing exercise) and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

Sometimes it just takes some perseverance.

[hillface]

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one to suffer with attacks related to going to the toilet. If I didn't have this irrational fear then I would just have my usual anxiety. But, because of the stress I've been under I guess it's just be manifesting. I have an appointment with a counsellor in 3/4 weeks, but until then I've been looking at things I can do at home :)
Thank you very much for your reply. I'm glad you're getting help, and I wish you all the best in controlling/defeating this cruddy thing!

---------- Post added at 21:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:52 ----------



Are the breathing exercises explored in your CBT sessions? I tried one that was recommended online but it only made me worse. I guess it's because I'm then panicking over the fact that because I'm doing the breathing techniques I must be having a "bad" attack.
I do the senses technique sometimes, but I must admit I've forgotten to do them when I'm having a panic attack, and it's more as it's progressing that I do it. I'll have a look at ginger tea, thank you :D

Thank you for the advice! I'm definitely trying to nip this in the bud before it gets worse because I've already had those cruddy feelings of "what if i cant leave the house" etc and I do not want that! Stuff that shi-te! lol

Yes the breathing was discussed in CBT. :D

Try it, it works for some people. It's all about trial and error with these things.

[nataliejosephine]

Hi
I do notvlikectaking meds and having been very agarophobic, and suffer with ibdD I really understand your plight.

I feel you should try CBT def. But also try a beta blocker which stops excessive adrenaline being produced. Especially when your wanting to go out and about.
It helps take the edge of anxiety for me , and stops panic from spiralling outcof control.
I'll definitely look at CBT. I don't want to take more medication for anxiety, but if it comes to it I'll keep the blockers im mind, thank you :)

---------- Post added at 15:48 ---------- Previous post was at 15:41 ----------


I've been through that stage with toilets. You see people talking about it on here, I've always had the impression it's pretty common. If you think about it, nausea is a very common one with anxiety disorders so you are on lookout for the toilets when in places so you can escape if you wanted to be sick. It was the same with using the toilet for number 2's for me. It was worst when I was more at the panic stage of my GAD, when I was at work. I would end up spending time in the toilets trying to calm down and make sure I didn't need to go. When I first started with the breakdown at work I had no clue what was happening on that day when it happened and I was back and forth to the toilets to try to go.

The toilet situation is another one of the control issues in anxiety really. Always being in controlled, managing risk and having contingency plans.

I know what you mean about the breathing exercise too, I've been there with that. I have GAD & OCD (the OCD came in the relapse 4 years later due to a med) but I also have asthma. Since I had symptoms with breathing, I had the obvious worry of it affecting my asthma too. So, doing any breathing exercise just felt alien anyway since asthma sufferers don't breath as deep, it's part of the condition, but I would be focussing on the sensations and worrying I would lead myself into greater anxiety.

I was the same when I started Mindfulness meditation. Sitting still, when I was agitated, and trying to focus on a part of my body when all I ever did was focus on symptoms in my body anyway, seemed counter productive to me. What I learnt was that what I thought was focussing really wasn't, I had forgotten how to truly focus on something and feel it with all my senses. It took some time, but I found I could get into to it, understand it and most important - feel it. I was the same with Calming Technique (breathing exercise) and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

Sometimes it just takes some perseverance.
Didn't think of it like that. Work is the main reason why my anxiety has gotten to this stage, and I know I need to tackle that without the fear of going back to work and it happening again. I was hoping to return as a cashier and take a salary cut because it means I won't be left alone in a shop for 4-6 hours like I was before.

So the Mindfulness Meditation helped with calming yourself when you felt anxious because of your asthma? I'll have a look into more breathing techniques and the PMR looks interesting. I've found a breathing technique that words how to do it quite nicely "By forcing yourself to breathe as you do in your most relaxed moments..." for me, when I deep breathe (even if this article is saying to do it) I get moer anxious, but when I am relaxed my breathing is slower and less pronounced, so I may try that instead of the deep breathing.

I have a doctors appointment on Monday morning and I'm nervous as anything that a repeat will happen. I was thinking of bringing a book with me, or waiting and walking around outside until my name is called... I need to stop overthinking it because it makes me more anxious but we shall see!
Thank you for your recommendations!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Anxiety in a GP's waiting room is certainly one I'm familiar with. I would be sitting there looking at the exit feeling the nausea earlier on and then it changed to only be about chest tightness. It's common but not just with us. My mum gets a bit of it when she goes for her blood pressure checks and she was concered it would influence the result but the practice sister said it is very common and they make allowances for it. So, they will understand you being anxious.

It's like dentists, they must see it far more than doctors. My latest dentist practice are great. I registered with them after a 10 year gap because my childhood dentist left the are and his partner couldn't take his patients on. I never bothered, as you do when you are young. I broke a tooth that had been crumbling and I had relapsed and was suffering badly with side effects from starting my current med. I told this dentist all this (their forms actually asked about anxiety disorders!) and they were great about it all. Really calming and professional, far better than my older previous dentist.

Mindfulness helped me in many ways. I guess it did help with the asthma concerns because it retrained how I saw things but part of it was rational thinking too about how asthma really felt and where in my body it would be present as opposed to the muscular tension I was really feeling. It still pops into my mind, as things tend to, but I dismiss it now. Mindfulness resolved my intrusive thoughts as it trained me to look at them as an observer but it also calmed me down too and reduced my GAD which had a massive impact on my OCD forms. Mindfulness is more a long term skill than a technique to use when you need it, although you can use it's many techniques to ground yourself once you understand them. It's proven in fMRI scans to reduce the density of the fear center and increase the density of the compassion centre in as little as 8 weeks so it makes changes across the board for anxiety & panic.

Here's a PMR guide to save you some time:

http://psychology.tools/progressive-muscle-relaxation.html

I suggest looking at the tools & techniques on this psychology website, it does include some breathing technique ones:

http://psychology.tools/download-therapy-worksheets.html

There will also be panic guides on there if you look at the bottom of that page. Calming Technique is there, which I did. My NHS CBT therapist gave me worksheets for them. The Calming Technique one is identical to the one she gave me, I can't remember if the PMR was the same.

PMR is something from the 1920's and the NHS still use it, so it's good. Back in about the 1980's it was expanded to create a new technique called Applied Relaxation. This might interest you because it takes PMR and trains you to relax when you experience a trigger and over time it gets you to invoke relaxation states quicker & quicker. AR is the other recommended GAD treatment alongside CBT by NICE.

[nataliejosephine]

Anxiety in a GP's waiting room is certainly one I'm familiar with...

Sorry about the late reply!
I've managed to get the panic over needing a toilet down to a more manageable and livable level now. It turn it did start other symptoms but I'm working on them :) I found being distracted helped for a the first initial steps, as well as doing something comfortable (I'd feel nauseous going to the doctors, too so I would an apple in the surgery and it calmed down).
It's helped A LOT knowing several people have similar problems, which sounds mean but it really assures you that there are people who understand and don't mind helping.

I've also looked at some of the exercises you posted and they help a lot with getting the high levels of anxiety down. So far, I've not had a full panic attack at home for 1 1/2 months. It's different when I'm with friends, but the panic isn't lasting as long anymore. I think my body goes into panic but then it remembers it will come out of it, and so with deep breathing and remaining composed it goes faster.

I really appreciate your help, so thank you! :)