After-effects of stress

[beauty]

Hiya, ive recently starting suffering from panic attacks again, i got them about 2 years ago for a few months and managed to overcome it. But now it has started again, and i feel i understand why. My step-mum died suddenly in october last year, I graduated from uni this year which was scary cos theres always a worry that you wont pass, my whole family including me have stopped talking to my dad which has been very hard and i have started a new job which was of course squite stressful. However during all of these trials i felt fine in terms of panic etc but now ieverything is over and i can relax it has started.
Does anyone also find they experience the worst feelings/panic AFTER the stressful events have passed? also can anyone suggest anything to help me calm down?
Thanks xxx

[Stephanie]

I think exactly the same as you, when you are dealing with things you just get on with it, when you have time, then you panic- it happened to me at the end of a very stressful year at school (teaching). I think we have to just ride it out. I'm currently experiencing intense anxiety, I can't sleep at night because of it, but I just keep thinking, just let yourself panic- let it wash over you... it will go eventually. There is always help out there. Do you take antidepressants?

[beauty]

Yeah im begining to think that, like if i just let it happen it will pass, cos thats what happened to me last time i got it, it just kind of passed after a couple of months. The only thing is in the meantime its stopping me from doing things i normally do which is upsetting :weep:

[Greeneyed]

Hi Beauty,

This is always the case with me, I get through the extreme stress then panic happens some time later. If we could change how we handle stress then we could probably stop the onset of panic.

At the moment I am extremley stressed with work issues to the point where I have an upset stomach and I am on a very short fuse. I can see the signs which will lead to panic - drinking a little more wine when I get home from work to calm me down. Random chest pains in my arms and legs etc. I will get through this period then panic will no doubt strike in the next few weeks when I am actually feeling fine and least expecting it.

[beauty]

Yes this is exactly how it seems to work! I suppose its better in a way cos it would be even worse if the panic happened during the stressful time cos then it would be ultra-stressful! But it seems almost ironic that just as things are settling down and back on track the panic strikes!

I think you're right about how it probably the way we handle the stress at the time which causes the after-effect of panic.

I think for me it is the fact that during stressful times i am the calmest person ever, everyone always comments on how well I have handled it etc And its not that i purposefully put on a strong front, i actually feel strong at the worst times, it almost suprises me sometimes, I end up thinking 'how am i this calm?!!' And i think because i dont let out the stress at the time by crying, screaming, stressing etc it comes out in this form instead!

[Greeneyed]

Someone once told me that panic attacks were "the curse of the strong" I have always remembered it. I think they meant it in the sense that they can happen after years of coping with extreme stress and seeming to the world like an extremly strong and controlled individual - eventually the stress has to come out somehwere hence the panic attacks.

[beauty]

wow that completley makes sense.

Well we've kind of worked out a way in which they can happen..so can we stop it? Cos sometimes being strong in a bad situation comes naturally, its not as though its forced...so how do you change it? I suppose one way would be to find an outlet for stress which you could use at the time but i havent got a clue!