insomniac 1

[Insomniac 1]

Hi folks,
My name is Rich and I am a sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks but I'm not a nervous person, lol. As ironic as that sounds I'm usually a cool, calm and collective sort of guy. My suffering comes at night in the form of severe sudden panic attacks in which on one particular night I thought I was dying and called 911 and spent 2 days in the hospital. Afterwhich the Doc said I was fine, no heart attack, in fact he said my heart was perfect. I came to this site because I had another episode night before last but I did'nt call 911 this time I rode it out and visited this site. Today I'm introducing myself to you all and for me its a big "GLAD I FOUND YOU" I hope that I, we, you can all help each other and somehow either cure it or live and deal with it so it don't destroy us. Hopefully most of you who visit this site and the host all feel the same cause I want to be free of this or learn as much about it so when an episode occurs I won't need to call 911. I'll try anything and everything anyone has to offer as to remedies to ease my panics. I surf the net alot looking for rememdies but this site appears the best bet to actually meet people suffering as I do and are searching for relief. My heart is with everyone here as I've had dear friends who have suffered and died from drug dependencies from this illness. I don't take meds, I take only vitamins and herbals. I hope I can nip this in the bud without conventional medications.
Again my name is Rich and I'm glad I found you.
Thanks a bunch

[yorkylover]

Hi Rich and:welcome: you have come to a good site,lots of support and friendly advise.We all understand how you are feeling.:hugs:

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Rich,

Welcome to the site. Many here will understand how you are feeling and you will get support. Glad you found us.

Take care,

Laura

[Insomniac 1]

Thank you Laura. I've lived with anxiety all my life but its the last few years that I've experienced panic attacks as severe as the last few I've had. I'm a believer in self help so as we communicate our maladies hopefully it eases us towards something more positive. thanx

[yorkylover]

Panic attacks are scarey especially the very first one!!!!!!:scared15:

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Rich,

I too have had anxiety all my life but have been blessed to have had only 2 panic attacks. I agree that discussing how we feel is crucial to healing ourselves and have found this site immensely helpful in my own road to recovery. I hope you do too.

Yorky, I agree about the first panic attack being very scary. I thought I was going to die and apparently so did my doctor as I was in his office at the time because he called an ambulance!

Take care,

Laura

[Lindalou64]

Hello Rich And Welcome You Will Find Lots Of Info And Support Here It Does Get Better,wish Ya Well,linda

[lorac]

Hello Rich

:welcome: to the site I am sur you will get lots of good advice and support on here

Take care

Carol

[nomorepanic]

Hi Rich

A warm :welcome: aboard and lovely to see you here.

You will meet some lovely people and get loads of support and advice

[kellie]

Hiya Rich :welcome:to NMP its lovely to have you here.
You will get lots ofd support/advice/reasurance and make some great friends along the way. keep posting in the relevent places and we will help you as much as we can.

take care. :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

kellie.xxxxxxxx

[marie1974]

hiya and welcome to nmp, like u i come across as sociable and very friendly but i actually suffer with SA, inside i feel terrible panic and wonder wot people think of me and do i sound or look ok etc etc. i always worry wor people think but i put on a good front until i am home then i panic and stress etc

[Cherry Milkshake]

Hi Rich,

New here too so just thought I'd say hi and I ended up in hospital with my first two panic attaks convinced I was having heart attacks too. Scary wasn't the word. Good luck with getting over this with no medication, you're very brave.
H x

[Captain America]

welcome!

i'm doing it without meds as well, but not because i'm brave. it's because i'm afraid of the medication!

although still very anxious and go off on things (like muscle wasting..ugh), i've managed to keep the attacks at bay now that i recognize them for what they are and have coping skills for them. for me breathing is the main thing above all else. i take my pulse, and breathe in for a beat of 4 or 6 (or 8)depending on how fast my heart's beating, then out, breathing out until i feel the heartbeat just barely slow down. then i keep doing it, extending the out breath gradually until i'm about 3 or 4 beats past the point where the heartbeat slows down. this activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is being bombarded during an attack. if you try to breathe out too long at first, you may find like i did that the heartbeat starts speeding up again while you're still exhaling. this means you've gone to far and have to breathe in again a little longer before exhaling again until you find that balance right where it starts to slow down on exhale.

i hope that makes sense. it works for me though. my last attack was because i was hung over and therefore it lasted for like 6 hours. using this technique i ended up falling asleep after about a half hour. it's helped me get back to sleep after panic dreams too.

[milly jones]

hi rich

welcome to nmp

glad u found us too

take care

milly xx

[weeble40]

welcome to NMP hope to see you around sometime

Emma xxx