panic attacks

[carolg]

Hello my name is Carol and i have just recently started to have panic attacks when i go out the house, my mouth fills with water and i have difficulty swallowing so i find it easier to stay at home rather than go out which is bringing me down real bad is there anyone out there that has had these problems and can give me some information as what to do
look forwaed to hearing from you
Take Care
Carol

[Meg]

Hi Carol,

Is this perhaps because you feel that there is a lump in your throat that stops you swallowing - also it is normal to produce more saliva when you're anxious than normal.

Try not to stay at home and avoid the situation- that way you continually get more scared of going out and reinforce this fear message to yourself and it can eventually result in agoraphobia. Tackle this as early as possible.

First Steps : First Steps to overcoming Panic and Anxiety (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=942)

Tight throat : MORE HORRID SYMPTOMS!!!! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1957)





Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance

[nomorepanic]

Hi Carol

Welcome aboard the forum.

Do you only get these feelings when you go out? Are you fine in the house.

The obvious problem with this is that as you say you stop going out.

These are common anxiety symptoms and will go in time once you accept that they will not harm you atall and are a normal reaction to panic/anxiety.

I hope we can be of some help to you.

Nicola

[carolg]

Thankyou both for replying to me i am better in the house than i am when i go out so i find it easier to stay in as i dont get the panic attacks as much i am waiting on seeing a councilor and it was them that gave me this place to come to
Carol

[nomorepanic]

Carol

The counselling will really help. I am impressed that they gave you this place to come. Did they have a leaflet on it or just told you the site address?

Meg's "First Steps" post (link above) is well worth a read too. There are some great tips on there for us all.

Nicola

[carolg]

yes they did give me the leaflet about no panic they were good with me i went a few months ago to see if they could help and now i am on a waiting list for some counciling

Carol

[bluebottle]

Hi carolg,

Nice to have you join us. :)

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it is vital that you try to go out as much as you can. Even if it is only a walk down the garden for now. Avoiding going out will eventually make you so frightened of it that it will feel as though you will never be able to step foot outside.

Fear is difficult to deal with, but it can be beaten and when it is you will get such a buzz from doing it.

Regards,

Blue

[carlin]

Hi Carol, try to take things slowly, as suggested, one step at a time, even if it is to the end of the garden, to the front gate or street door, stay a little longer each time, look around, try to distract yourself, i know it's not easy, believe me, i know exactly how you feel, seeing a counsellor will help greatly, keep in touch good luck

[mumof4]

Hi and welcome i have the same problem when i go out but i make myself go out as a couple of years ago i wouldnt leave the house cause of it and it does make u worse.

I force myself to go shopping and out to the town cause i know i have too.

[seh1980]

hi Carol,

I used to have the same problem. There was a time when I didn't leave the house for 2 months. However, the longer you stay inside, the harder it gets to go outside. Maybe you could take someone with you so that you don't feel alone at first and then slowly build on it from there?

Sarah :D

[FAN]

hi welcome i think the other posts are spot on avoiding going out makes it harder i had days when i only got as far as the garden but made myself do it every day and even when i didnt get out i just stood at the door shutting myself away made it harder the longer it went on hope you find reading the posts on here help you feel your not alone with this

fan x

[nomorepanic]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">yes they did give me the leaflet about no panic they were good with me i went a few months ago to see if they could help and now i am on a waiting list for some counciling

Carol

<div align="right">Originally posted by carolg - 07 February 2005 : 15:58:31</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
Carol - was the leaflet for the charity site "No Panic" or this website "No More Panic". Sorry I am just interested to know.

Nicola

[clickaway]

At least seeing a counsellor will force you out of the house. I see a therapist every week and doing so gives me a positive point each week, as I know he is there to help me on the road to recovery.

You might even find that the thought of that meeting will actually make you more positive and able to go out of the house.

If you cannot face going out the house, at least open the front door and breath the fresh air, and maybe walk down the front path.

I know how it feels, believe me.

Ray

[carolg]

Hi Nicola

It was a leaflet given to me for the web site

Love Carol

[Meg]

YES - Thats great news !!! They are getting out there .

Thanks Carol


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance

[nomorepanic]

Thanks Carol.

We were wondering if the leaflets were getting handed out atall and obviously they are.

I wonder how she got hold of some of the leaflets. Nosy aren't I lol?

Nicola

[Karen]

Hi Carole

Welcome to the site.

You will get some good help and support here.



Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[carolg]

It was the councilor him self that gave it to me he had a lot of them at the clinic

Love Carol

[bubbles]

Dear Carol,

Welcome to the site.

Most people with anxiety do seem to suffer swallowing difficulties at some stage.

As everyone has said--try to go out if you can, avoiding it will make it seem far more intense in the end. A little at a time, trying to push yourself a bit further each time.

I managed to get myself stuck in doors for 6 months. It wasn't agrophobia as it's normally thought of---because if someone would drive me to a different town, I didn't have the problem! It only happened trying to leave my own home or in my home environment!

I fought back. Actually, I got angry about it! In the end, after many short excursions (& I was getting bored of walking to the garden shed!) I
made myself get on a bus (I don't drive). Even though I felt awful, legs wouldn't work etc----I coped---& I was so pleased with myself that I then repeated the bus ride every day for a week!! I suppose, just because I could again.

Lots of people on here will help & support you.

Linda.

[carolg]

Nicola

The councilor gave me the leaflets he had alot of them

Love Carol

[bluebottle]

Bubbles,

You said "I fought back. Actually, I got angry about it!".

This is, I think, is probably a common feature of recovering. I remember when I rang my relief GP about coming of Lorazepam and she actually advised me to take more! I was so cheesed off with her that I thought, no, I'm going to keep reducing them despite feeling rough. In fact, I'm going to get better without your help, and do it myself, with my wife's support of course.

So yes, getting angry with our fears can help some of us.

Regards,

Blue

[Meg]

Well - thats made my day !!

bright coloured ones .. Nic and I attended a conference in Nov with hundreds of them and we didn't think they'd been much response as we didn't see a surge - but you found us - thats good enough for me .

Now back to sorting your issues out.




Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance

[Biggle]

Hi Carol,

I think you've made the first step in finding out about the panic attacks and what you can do to overcome them.

I would shy away from giving specific advice as everybody is different. If you want to look at my introduction you can read about my particular experience. I went through panic attacks for years and did eventually beat them. At one point I had resigned myself to having to suffer them for life but you can actually get rid of them for good.

One thing that strikes me is that you have got into a similar cycle that I was in, which is that after having a certain number of panic attacks, you become fearful of having another, because they are so traumatic, and because if you were to have one whilst in company it would be very embarrasing. So you enter into a secondary cycle of literally having fear of fear itself, effectively cornering yourself.

The key is breaking the cycle - hypnotherapy helped me achieve this. Relaxation and breathing techniques can help you to realise that the attacks can be tackled at the earliest signs and put you in control so you aren't just waiting for it to happen to you. They worked for me to reduce the lump in the throat that seemed to simply appear. You can learn to recognise tension appearing in the body that precedes a panic attack and reverse the symptoms before they develop into an attack.

For me psychologists did not have a rational solution but DID have good practical suggestions. For example, they might say "..you're pushing yourself too hard here, so why not try this?" that sort of thing. Talking to someone who hears about situations like yours all the time should bring up a few practical ideas about how to overcome your problems.

I think the important thing is you are looking for the solution. That is how you find it.

Good luck.

[JPF]

Hi Carol

Welcome to the forum. I'm quite new to panic attacks myself and I was very fortunate that I found this place very quickly while I was researching about them.

The forum and the website are both packed with useful information and with tips that work. More importantly it's got a lot of people who understand how it feels and can offer their own feedback/advice/experiences which you can think about... Half the battle with panic attacks is recognising them for what they are - you're obviously doing that and, combined with the support and information you'll find here as well as the steps you're already taking with a counsellor, will help you enormously I'm sure.

Good luck and good health

J

[carolg]

Thank you everyone for your support i am sure i will get sorted in the end like most of you have done

take care
Carol