MJ
22-08-05, 20:32
Hello all, I came across this forum a week ago, and have been avidly reading the site and forums and find so much that relates to my own experiences, it really does help to know that I’m not alone and other people really do feel the way I do, it’s one thing to read a list of symptoms on a website/news article on panic attacks and anxiety disorder, but it’s quiet moving to actually read how people really feel when they experience it.
I thought I’d write a little about myself, I’m 23 years old and have been suffering from panic attacks since I was 14, this has since developed into what I’d call general anxiety disorder, that sometimes peaks into a full blown panic attack. I did have some therapy for it back when I was 15/16 however it seemed very little was known by my counsellor about panic attacks, apart from giving it a name, and doing some general relaxation exercises etc.
At the age of 19 or so I started to take control, and for the past 3 or so years I’ve really been on top of the panic attacks, whilst still experiencing brief periods of anxiety (I actually think I learned to cope, by dismissing all the physical symptoms I was getting as something else, like a cold.. the flu, not eating a good breakfast etc) this seemed to help me just dismiss the symptoms as trivial and ignore them. This has worked so long for me that I was surprised that a month ago the night before going on holiday I had a full blown panic attack (shivers, shaking like crazy, sweating, insane heart rate, de-realisation, very very quick thoughts, mind racing like mad) it finally passed after 2 or so hours when I was so worn out I fell asleep sitting up in the chair. Since this I have somewhat gone back to how I was years ago, starting to panic every time I go shopping, have friends over, go In a car etc. I have been thinking about going to the doctor and asking about some C.B.T, I want to avoid going down the medication route as I never needed/used it before and to be honest the thought of taking them scares me to death.
The only thing that I can think may have triggered this relapse would be a general increase in my stress levels at the moment, due to learning to drive (I used to have a phobia of even being in a car, let alone driving) and impending exams for my degree. I am hoping that once these are out of the way I will be able with the support of friends/family and these forums be able to overcome these attacks again and regain control of my life.
I think that’s about it for now, sorry to waffle on, but it does help putting into words my experiences, even if I’m now starting to feel panic just writing this post (strange eh).
I look forward to getting to know everyone.
-MJ
I thought I’d write a little about myself, I’m 23 years old and have been suffering from panic attacks since I was 14, this has since developed into what I’d call general anxiety disorder, that sometimes peaks into a full blown panic attack. I did have some therapy for it back when I was 15/16 however it seemed very little was known by my counsellor about panic attacks, apart from giving it a name, and doing some general relaxation exercises etc.
At the age of 19 or so I started to take control, and for the past 3 or so years I’ve really been on top of the panic attacks, whilst still experiencing brief periods of anxiety (I actually think I learned to cope, by dismissing all the physical symptoms I was getting as something else, like a cold.. the flu, not eating a good breakfast etc) this seemed to help me just dismiss the symptoms as trivial and ignore them. This has worked so long for me that I was surprised that a month ago the night before going on holiday I had a full blown panic attack (shivers, shaking like crazy, sweating, insane heart rate, de-realisation, very very quick thoughts, mind racing like mad) it finally passed after 2 or so hours when I was so worn out I fell asleep sitting up in the chair. Since this I have somewhat gone back to how I was years ago, starting to panic every time I go shopping, have friends over, go In a car etc. I have been thinking about going to the doctor and asking about some C.B.T, I want to avoid going down the medication route as I never needed/used it before and to be honest the thought of taking them scares me to death.
The only thing that I can think may have triggered this relapse would be a general increase in my stress levels at the moment, due to learning to drive (I used to have a phobia of even being in a car, let alone driving) and impending exams for my degree. I am hoping that once these are out of the way I will be able with the support of friends/family and these forums be able to overcome these attacks again and regain control of my life.
I think that’s about it for now, sorry to waffle on, but it does help putting into words my experiences, even if I’m now starting to feel panic just writing this post (strange eh).
I look forward to getting to know everyone.
-MJ