panic attacks are horrible

[helloalex]

hi im alex, im 15 im new to panic attacks and i think im getting them from my phobia of sick,
ever since i remember ive had a phobia of sick and people being sick near me,
im absoloutely petrified of it, i wont take medication with risks of being sick or go on roller coasters, or eat certain foods and things generally related in the posibility of me being sick, if someone is feeling ill or wants to be sick i will start not being able to breath and try to stay as far away as possible and i have to find someone to calm me down
but now its getting worse and now im having panic attacks from this phobia it started about 2 weeks ago when i had one in the night at 4am i woke up feeling sick so i started panicing and walking around my room then opening my window and drinking water then shaking and not being able to breath so i ran outside of the house and walked round my garden, i try not to remember but i know i felt dizzy,shortness of breath,felt sick,hot,shaking,felt faint all from just panicing about being sick.i came inside at one point and told my dad i was just going to stand outside for a second so he didnt worry about me, i was outside till 7am then i came inside and watched tv tell i fell asleep, when i woke up my dad asked me what happened and i broke down crying from it and him and my stepmom tried to help me saying i should get water and have some dry food or something. i later that day called my mom to tell her about what happened and she didnt seem to care much just about why my dad didnt wonder why i was outside for so long.
ive had 2 attacks since then, once in the night and once at school.
i told my mom to book a doctors appointment but she said 'you just need to get over it alex' and 'the doctor will just think your nurotic', she told me she tried to book an appointment but there wasnt any
and now i just dont know what to do,
im scared to go to sleep as i think i might have one and i feel sick as i fall asleep, i feel depressed and just feel low in general and keep crying i just dont what to do
:'(

[melody]

Hi Alex,

I am sorry your mum said that to you. Your doctor wont think anything like that. Anxiety & panic attacks are common. I think they relate to loss, or feeling unsafe in a situation. Your mind plays tricks on you & makes you think you can't cope. Then your body listens to your brain & makes your body not cope as well. They are treatable.

If there is a counselor available to you, then I think that would be a good place to go for help. They can talk about it. They will be able to help, or tell you where you can get help no matter what your parents say. Also there should be help lines in the phone book to help find these councilors.

What you are afraid of is fear itself. There is no shame in seeking help. The advice I was given was to record when the panic attacks occurred, what I was thinking & doing, what I thought at the time of the panic attack, & then the outcome of each panic attack on a sheet of paper. This establishes the trigger. I found I was thinking very unrealistic & mean thoughts about myself. Then you are free to challenge it those thoughts are true, or if they are nasty rubbish you picked up somewhere.

The other thing I was told to do was meditate & focus on relaxing out each muscle one at a time for 10 mins each day. Let the breathe soften out & the mind be clear of thoughts for this small amount of time when you can be alone every day. It helped me a lot. Helps to break out of the cycle.

Hoping you feel better soon :)

Melody

[Valka]

Hi Alex,
sorry to hear you feel this bad! I think you're absolutely right in thinking the panic attacks come from your phobia, and I think you should definitely go ahead and get an appointment with your GP. Ask your mum to try again tomorrow or Monday. The doctor isn't going to think you're neurotic because he or she will know about phobias, panic attacks and those horrible feelings you're experiencing.
Remember that the panic attack can't harm you. It feels terrible but it's only temporary and it isn't harming you physically. I always try and hang onto this fact when I feel like everything falling to pieces.
Hope you feel better soon - come and post or chat in here when you feel bad, there's lots of people here who've been through the same!