carrie_86
25-12-08, 17:07
hi, I only found this site today and have to say just from reading through it it has already helped and let me know there's other people like me out there.
I never cared much as a teenager, smoked, drank and used recreational drugs and it was when I stopped all these things that I became prone to panic attacks. I didn’t know what they were at first, and they were extremely scary as a 19year old - heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, actually feeling like I was going to die. I couldn’t deal with them at first, I used to cry and wake my mum up, but eventually I found a way of controlling them, being able to stop myself if I felt one coming on.
It worked for a while, and I did three years of university hardly having any. I still worried though, a lot, and this is where my hypochondria began. I used to get tonsilitus every few weeks, so bad that I couldn’t get out of bed. I was so scared of getting tonsilitus that everytime I thought I had a sore throat I would start to panic. It lasted a few years but in the end the tonsilitus stopped and I managed to get over my fear of it.
Things were ok until I moved back home in the summer after graduating. I don’t know if it’s because when I was living on my own I was forced to cope with things, whereas at home I can always speak to my mum (who is also a worrier)
My fears over my health are worse than ever and now, at 23, I find myself constantly scared of dying, looking up every small thing on the internet and fearing the worst. I always check my pulse, and worry if it’s too fast or too slow, I check it so often that it’s just a habit now - I’ve even found a way to hide the fact that I’m doing it so people won’t notice!
When my heart skips beats I panic that i’ve got a heart problem, even though the doctor has checked it before and it’s been fine. The panic attacks have started again recently, I had one at work and I had one worse than ever this morning where my heart was thumping out of my chest at about what felt like 100miles an hour! I thought I was dying and nearly called an ambulance. Then it passed, but I still spent the next few hours unable to sleep in fear that it would happen again.
I guess I’ve come to realise that i probably need help getting over this before it gets any worse again. I thought I'd got over the attacks a few years ago but they seem to be coming back worse than ever now.
That's my story, sorry if it was long! Just needed to get it all out :)
I never cared much as a teenager, smoked, drank and used recreational drugs and it was when I stopped all these things that I became prone to panic attacks. I didn’t know what they were at first, and they were extremely scary as a 19year old - heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, actually feeling like I was going to die. I couldn’t deal with them at first, I used to cry and wake my mum up, but eventually I found a way of controlling them, being able to stop myself if I felt one coming on.
It worked for a while, and I did three years of university hardly having any. I still worried though, a lot, and this is where my hypochondria began. I used to get tonsilitus every few weeks, so bad that I couldn’t get out of bed. I was so scared of getting tonsilitus that everytime I thought I had a sore throat I would start to panic. It lasted a few years but in the end the tonsilitus stopped and I managed to get over my fear of it.
Things were ok until I moved back home in the summer after graduating. I don’t know if it’s because when I was living on my own I was forced to cope with things, whereas at home I can always speak to my mum (who is also a worrier)
My fears over my health are worse than ever and now, at 23, I find myself constantly scared of dying, looking up every small thing on the internet and fearing the worst. I always check my pulse, and worry if it’s too fast or too slow, I check it so often that it’s just a habit now - I’ve even found a way to hide the fact that I’m doing it so people won’t notice!
When my heart skips beats I panic that i’ve got a heart problem, even though the doctor has checked it before and it’s been fine. The panic attacks have started again recently, I had one at work and I had one worse than ever this morning where my heart was thumping out of my chest at about what felt like 100miles an hour! I thought I was dying and nearly called an ambulance. Then it passed, but I still spent the next few hours unable to sleep in fear that it would happen again.
I guess I’ve come to realise that i probably need help getting over this before it gets any worse again. I thought I'd got over the attacks a few years ago but they seem to be coming back worse than ever now.
That's my story, sorry if it was long! Just needed to get it all out :)