panic attack reversal?? haha maybe?

[decker6869]

hello all! ive been dealing with panic attacks for a little while now, and for the most part have been slowly improving. Normally my attacks cause my heartrate to skyrocket and of courrse hyperventilate and get all the wonderful chills and tingles and what not. But today i felt something never felt! today i did not panic, guess because i started embracing it and just knowing it can do no harm and what not, instead my breathing seemed slower then normal and i guess i let that un-nerve me to the point i started getting afraid and then i started tingling in hands and feet and all over face and lips,also got a little dizzy or light headed,not sure which,how do you tell? that helped un-nerve me as well. guess what im wondering is has anyone else freaked out when they felt they were underbreathing? its probably just my irrational thoughts because i was expecting to hyperventilate,instead i just breathed deep and slow and i guess the change of routine scared me into an attack of some sorts... im feeling better already, lasted maybe 25 minutes,still some tingles but geesh... and my mind awlways wants to relate stuff to my heart... silly mind, trix are for kids! :shades:

thanks for reading!

[PUGLETMUM]

hi decker,

this is just all part and parcel of gaining control of anxiety/panic, anything can set you off!!! even feeling better!!! its because you are'nt used to it at first, almost like it feels weird to not feel panicky and anxious all the time?

i think you're making a breakthrough here though as you are seeing it for what it is, physical symptons of adrenaline induced anxiety.

keep going!!

emma

[decker6869]

your totally correct about not knowing what it feels like to feel normal again. Indeed i feel i have moved a tad bit forward. Since i started egging it on it has decided to change tactics on me!

Tonight for instance, i started getting tingles in the face and hands for no reason, wasnt anxious or having panic (which is usually what brought on the tingles by way of hyperventilating,or so i thought!) at all. was watching a tv show with my mom and cousin,was plenty distracted and even managed to hold down a good chicken and vegetable dinner (GERD SUCKS!) for a change. Anyhow the tingles came on, and since i wasnt used to them without the hyperventilating or rapid heartrate, i got a little freaked by it. Needless to say i was deep breathing and relaxed but the tingles wouldnt leave me be, they eventually enveloped my hands,arms , entire face and lips,top of my head,back of my head,chest and upper stomach region. needless to say i was pretty much in the throws of fear at that point. the attack started around 1130pm central time and didnt really subside till about 230am central. 3 hours of tingles! bout drove me nuts! i fought the fear as long as i could, but when everything i have been using to ward off the panic and what not didnt help at all, i just gave up and got afraid. which probably explains why it was so long this time. ----on a plus note though, my heart rate never went nuts and i never hyperventilated. was just regular ole fear and a lot of tingles. i see that as progress still.

thanks for posting, talking to people always makes me feel better!

[PUGLETMUM]

hi decker,

glad you are sounding a bit more positive about your relationship with anxiety/panic.

i also suffer hyperventilating and tingling(usually the first sign for me that im getting worked up)

i also have BIG panics at night-time so i also know how you are feeling there as well.

the book that ive used for the last 5 years, actually asks you to go one step further, and actually ask that your anxiety to INCREASE!!!!!!!!

i know this sounds completely crazy, but im sure you are 1000% aware that our fear of symptoms and our beleif that we cannot handle symptoms is actually what makes the symptoms increase, so this guy is saying STOP being frightened of the symptoms by asking them(genuinely - you cannot ask them to increase but HOPE they dont!) to get as bad as they possibly could.

and guess what when you feel strong enough and sick and tired enough that you give it a go, it DOES and WILL work!!!

i guarantee it, but you have to start changing your relationship with the fear, you have to stop beleiving that it can harm you. when your feeling a bit braver PLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE try it and let us all know if it helps you(im convinced it will if you genuinely dont fear it, because the symptoms DO NOT get worse they start to subside because you are giving them no more fuel)

oh also can you just clarify what does GERD stand for/mean?

all the best emma

[breeze25]

When I first started trying to handle my panic attacks it was hard as it seemed if I found a way of making them better, my body would do its best to try and come up with something else to try and freak me out about.

Mev xxx

[Lindalou64]

I ALSO GET THE TINGLING IN MY HANDS LIPS ECT AND ALSO A NUMBNESS......SOMETIMES WHEN IM HYPERVENTALATIN I THINK SOMETIMES WE DONT EVEN KNOW WE ARE HYPERVENTALATING FOR ME ITS BEEN SO LONG IVE BEEN BREATHIN THIS WAY FOR MANY YRS.......linda xx

[PUGLETMUM]

yeah, the shallow breathing is known to be at the route cause for a vast amount of the symptoms

[decker6869]

thanks for all the support everyone.

emmas-- GERD= Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (Acid Reflux,but worse)
I hate anxiety/panic! I know its my own stupid thoughts and irregular fears over things that shouldnt even bother me. I know that it cant harm me except for the fact that i hardly move around at all,which is awful for my cardio. I am almost at a point where i am wanting to medicate with a benzo or something just so i can try to live normally again, even if sedated... i lay on my couch all day, i get up maybe once a day and walk maybe 25-30 steps then i sit upright as long as i can or till i get sleepy.. My panic/anxiety keeps me immobilized,i cant stand it. It all goes back to me having fears that something is wrong with my heart, and until i can get to a doctor to have em check me out i think ill be struggling with that thought/idea/ball-n-chain until then. I fight and fight and i tell myself im fine and what not , and that i have been going through the same junk for 2 and a half months now, but i think i just let it get too deep in my head. Its almost maddening in a sense!

The darn GERD doesnt help either, gives me stomach pains and aches at night. I am taking prilosec for it but gonna get an upgrade when i get to the doctors. I am also starting to try apple cider vinegar with honey and baking soda to see if that will work for me like it seems to do for so many others. But the stomach stuff makes my anxiety/panic 3x worse, i guess because i associate the stomach stuff back to the heart somehow,i always associate everything back to my heart, its getting real old and im actually getting mad at it and frustrated to a point. I challenge the thoughts and emotions,i invite the symptoms to come on and it helps but then my body does a change up on me and manages to scare me in a different way. I know i can beat it because i beat it in 2004, but this panic/anxiety makes that form i had look like baby stuff.

Anywhoo i am trying to remain positive, and i have been taking baby steps. I get up everyday and walk, even if just a little bit, which is sadly, more then i had been doing. I sit upright at least 5 hours a day everyday now, which is also sadly to say,more then i had been doing. I do recognize improvements and i do understand it takes time to re-learn things and get used to doing stuff again, i guess i just feel low at this moment, like why me and what did i do to earn this badge of irrational fear/thoughts...

sorry for the rambling, gonna go write in my little daily events book! thanks again for all the support!

[PUGLETMUM]

hi decker,

hope your feeling a bit better today?(wednesday)

yeah you dont really need the advice as youve obviously been here before, but im recommending you get 'dont'panic' by R REID WILSON from the anxiety disorders association of america or amazon.

the thing is there probably is NOTHING wrong with your heart and your heart and body do need exercising, are you going to lay down all your life? coz if you are then your gonna get heart failure!!!!

i know that this hurts to be talked to like this, believe me its harder when it comes from a therapist!! but you know what youve gotta do, and yes the anxiety/panic can come back STRONGER and BIGGER than it was before, the only good thing about having it more than once is that you can tell yourself you got over it last time!

the reason it comes back stronger is because it hasnt been dealt with properly, you probably need some help through cbt, but i think you say you cant afford to pay? im not sure but this book ive told you about is written by a doctor, not just ANYBODY and its about restructuring your thoughts so it HELPS coz as you know your thoughts are at the root cause of your problem.

ACCEPTANCE - you are gonna have to try and accept you could have a heart attack because youcannot know 100% that your NOT!!!!! none of us can be certain 100% of anything, and its wanting this certainty that causes all of this anxiety and panic, the thing is even if you get told your hearts fine you will STILL worry, so just accept it as a possibility and then keep taking your baby steps as though you are okay whilst keep reminding yourself that you accept the POSSIBILTY of a heart problem happening, it really works for me but i think you could do with trying to get this book,

anyway i hope i havent upset you by anything ive said coz i dont mean to but the thing is you are NOT ill, you have a psychological disorder and that isnt the same, you can turn it around YOURSELF you dont have to take meds or have anybody to help you, YOU can do it yourself you have the power inside you to do it, ofcourse it helps that you can talk to others who know 100% how you feel alot of us have been there!!!!

all the best emma

[decker6869]

heya emmas!

you are right of course, and deep down in my soul i know that i have to get up and fight this even through the pain. It feels like such a daunting task.

You are right i cant afford medical help for myself as every resource i may come across goes to my mothers medicine and doctors and stuff. I think some of my worry is over her too. She had a hemorraghe behind her left eye and lost some of the sight,they say its repairable, because her blood preassure was through the roof! they were unable to figure out how she walked into the emergency room! now not having insurance all the doctor visits and medicine will tear your lunch up! i am un-employed because of my damn panic and what not and the bills are well over 2,000 U.S.D. a month.. its a rediculous circle of stupidity if you ask me, other countries take care of there people.... go figure..yay capitilism and what not!

I will definatly check out your recommended book!
i was also thinking of getting joe barry's panic away e-book? anyone have any advice on that one?


It also frustrates me to know that,like you say, it is all in my head. A vicous cycle of irrational thoughts that lead to stupid results. I know it in the bottom of my very being but i just cant seem to shake this mess! In 2004 i just said bite me and continued living.. this time around my very quality of living is turned upside down! i used ot be an avid workout person! i lifted weights and such everyday, granted i neverf worked on cardio that much,which doesnt help my current situation. Although i would work up a good sweat and breathing and what not.. and here i am a year after i stopped working out and boom back to panic/anxiety... i seriously think my stopping working out(for job purposes,was too tired from work so i let it slip) has contributed to my panic/anxiety/heart bullcrappy... i want to get back to lifting some weights but i have to first beat this mess about walking around. Its rediculous! I literally break out into anxiety induced panic from just standing up and walking! It drives me nuts!

thanks for reading, and i will definatly take your advice emmas, and i will continue to fight the fight and try to push myself past the brink of fear! Thank God i found this website as the communication and information has been a real blessing!

p.s.--is it possible to over-extend your lungs by deep breathing too much causing a little soarness or vibrating feeling in your chest? i notice when i am deep breathing too much ,probably by focusing on my breathing too often, that i get a tingly/vibrating feeling in my chest...perhaps from over-extension therefore the lining of the lung cavity or chest wall gets irritated? maybe? ahh well, talk to you all later i hope!

[PUGLETMUM]

hey decker,

you sound ok, sorry about the financial side of things etc, and yes we do get more help in this country, but right now we are fast getting into debt to pay for my cbt which costs 75gbp probably 3 times that in dollars? for 1 hour a week.

but until i have the last 7 yrs we would not have been able to afford it. hang in there you know circumstances can and do change.

yeah im also thinking you have a close maybe co-dependant relationship with your mom, i had the same thing until mine got sick with cancer and died in 1993 me age 20(more like stuck at 14 when had suffered first spell of serious anxiety), and since then ive struggled. dont mean to be the bearer of bad news here but you wont always have your mom to think about or to care about you will you? you could do with getting yurself sorted asap so you can get on with YOUR life.

you can do it!!! start today, go thru the panic /anxiety when you get up, your not alone im suffering fear and panic when i have to be alone and im struggling not to avoid or depend on someone else so i do knoe how you feel!!! we dont have the same fear but the symptoms are exactly the same.

all the best emma

[decker6869]

Thanks for keeping conversation open with me emmas,it really helps
You are right about me and my mom, we have been all we have my entire life(27 years old) and i don't know what im going to do when she finally takes that final journey to be with the lord. I hope by then i will have had time to get it burned into my skull,i know that we all must die. My main fear is, when i die,is it going to hurt? will it be agony and what not? I think those are the things that really scare me the most.

My anxiety/panic is not really that bothersome when i wake up, its when i know i have to get up and walk somewhere,walking is my main trigger now.. i can beat it though, i go to a doctor/physchiatrist this coming week.. oh the joy... in america there going to do 1 of 2 things... prescribe me alprazolam(xanax)/Lorazopam(Ativan) and send me on my way, or they'll put me on a anti-depressent which i really dont care to take or mess with... If i had to i might take a benzo on an as-needed basis... maybe once a day or once every 2 days or however the panic comes up.

Anywhooo, the last 2 days i have been doing a little better, i even walked outside for a couple minutes yesterday, but im so used to the air conditioned air when i was breathing the hot humid texas air outside i almost couldnt take it in, hhahaa... anyhow, here's to hoping we all kick this faux-disease in the rearend!!!

[SSTARR1701]

Hi. I just joined this site and have been reading through some of the threads. I suffer from panic attacks and my first thought when I get them is of my health. Especially my heart. I do have Mitral Valve Prolapse, which in itself is not life threatening. But when the panic takes over, that's the first thing I think about. I actually read that people with MVP are more likely to suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I also took care of my mother who had cancer. I watched her go from being very independent and strong, to bed ridden and unable to respond. It had started with a lump in her breast. And when that was removed the doctors said 'we're pretty sure we got it all'. Of course it came back somewhere else, then spread again after that was treated. All this does is feed my panic that my doctor might be missing something when I get checked up. Fueling my fears. I even had one of my mom's technicians tell me "just cause it isn't on the scan, doesn't mean it isn't there". ??????? Talk about a terrifying idea for someone who has panic attacks about thier health!
I think we just have to listen to those who have been fighting this much longer than we have. I know if there was something really wrong with my heart, I couldn't do the things I do (heavy lifting, yard work, caring for animals etc). Of course that doesn't stop me from wondering when the panic takes hold. Just know you're not alone.

[Lindalou64]

hey decker,
how long have you been disabled to work ,if over a yr you are entitled to disability benifets, until you get back on ya feet again and with ya mom is there anyway to try and get low income source insurance we call it masshealth here in massachusetts,theres like 20 or more different programs of insurance,all depends on ya income.....i wish ya the best,sounds like your doing good by fighting this and just know it wont harm you...best to ya....Linda x