My Triggers, Do you relate?

[abramellin]

Hi, I have had anxiety and panic attacks for around a year and a half now. I have compiled a list of triggers, I was wondering if any of you had similar triggers.

Hunger: When i'm hungry or first thing in the morning I am anxious, this can both mild or extreme. I have been tested on multiple occasions for blood sugar problems, I even went on the hypoglycemia diet for 6 months, if anything it made my symptoms worse.

Shower/Heat: When I have a shower I am almost guaranteed to have a panic attack. I it has something to do with the temperature of the water. If I take a cold shower I don't have them. However, taking a cold shower everyday is not really an option.

Exercise: I am often triggered when doing exercise.

Sex: Before sex I can become nervous which I think is some what normal, however after I reach orgasm I tend to have a panic attack. This only started in the last 6 months.

Leaving Home: If I have to go far from home without others and a quick escape route I literally freak out.

Responsibility: If I have been given a task, something that HAS to be done I will often become very anxious and panicky. For example this make holding down a job very hard. Even the simplest of tasks can lead to this reaction.

If you relate to any of these please let me know :)

[jackie13]

Hi there

I can relate to being away from home. I always need to drive just incase I need to get back. I am worse though if my husband takes longer being out than normal, I panic something has happened.

At the moment, I have had a bad week, first one since last year. I didn't understand what had brought it on until my husband pointed out my trigger. We went out to London last Saturday night and I had FAR too much to drink over 2 days. He reckons that it opened that little door in my mind where all the bad things of the past came out and I could not find a way to lock it again.

I have been very anxious and depressed as I have been on citalopram for 2 years and thought they were not working anymore. I kinda understand now that it was the alcohol.

It still is not easy. Sometimes the best way is to face these figures and study the triggers.

Hope I have helped.

Jackie xx

[Annabelle]

hi

hunger is a big one for me - i passed out last august cos my blod sugar drooped too low and ever since any twinge of hunger and i panic - if i haven't eaten for a few hours i panic, if i can't get something to eat when i need it - i panic - it sucks cos i know im putting on weight but im just so scared to go to long without eating in case i faint again - i can totally relate! i also have no idea how to get over this one.

xx

[speedey]

Hi

Sometimes I am the opposite, the sensation of food in my tum tum for some strange reason can trigger my panic off. I can relate to what you say about being in the shower - that does it for me too. Responsibility, yes - same for me or if I have a certain deadlines or things that need doing, even the simple things seem like an impossibility. Buts that the thing, because our minds see then automatically as "impossible" we then get nervous & panic etc because we think "the impossible os not possible" when really its only a simple thing in the first place. Do you know what I am trying to say?

[melvin]

hi have just started to get them again i think its when i get hot or if i have some body pain

[abramellin]

hi

hunger is a big one for me - i passed out last august cos my blod sugar drooped too low and ever since any twinge of hunger and i panic - if i haven't eaten for a few hours i panic, if i can't get something to eat when i need it - i panic - it sucks cos i know im putting on weight but im just so scared to go to long without eating in case i faint again - i can totally relate! i also have no idea how to get over this one.

xx

I have the same thing with food, I also have no idea how to get over it. Distraction is the best method for me. If I am not focused on the food I don't have the bad reaction.

[abramellin]

hi have just started to get them again i think its when i get hot or if i have some body pain

Yea I think it is because we are over stimulated, Being hyper vigilant will make you react to the slightest thing.

[abramellin]

Hi

Sometimes I am the opposite, the sensation of food in my tum tum for some strange reason can trigger my panic off. I can relate to what you say about being in the shower - that does it for me too. Responsibility, yes - same for me or if I have a certain deadlines or things that need doing, even the simple things seem like an impossibility. Buts that the thing, because our minds see then automatically as "impossible" we then get nervous & panic etc because we think "the impossible os not possible" when really its only a simple thing in the first place. Do you know what I am trying to say?


Do you think that the shower problem has something to do with heat, or something else?

[abramellin]

Hi there

I can relate to being away from home. I always need to drive just incase I need to get back. I am worse though if my husband takes longer being out than normal, I panic something has happened.

At the moment, I have had a bad week, first one since last year. I didn't understand what had brought it on until my husband pointed out my trigger. We went out to London last Saturday night and I had FAR too much to drink over 2 days. He reckons that it opened that little door in my mind where all the bad things of the past came out and I could not find a way to lock it again.

I have been very anxious and depressed as I have been on citalopram for 2 years and thought they were not working anymore. I kinda understand now that it was the alcohol.

It still is not easy. Sometimes the best way is to face these figures and study the triggers.

Hope I have helped.

Jackie xx

My partner left to go to another state a few months back and no matter what I said to myself I could not calm down, I was exhausted by the time she got home.

[Meltdown]

Although I know what is meant, I think it is dangerous to think in terms of "This thing TRIGGERED my attack..., "Doing that MADE me have an attack..", because it implies that external things can MAKE us have a Panic attack.

Nothing can make you have a panic attack, except your own mind!

By looking for triggers, we are also looking for things to avoid, and so the cycle continues. It is crucial (IMO) to abandon this mind-set if panic is to be beaten!

[abramellin]

Although I know what is meant, I think it is dangerous to think in terms of "This thing TRIGGERED my attack..., "Doing that MADE me have an attack..", because it implies that external things can MAKE us have a Panic attack.

Nothing can make you have a panic attack, except your own mind!

By looking for triggers, we are also looking for things to avoid, and so the cycle continues. It is crucial (IMO) to abandon this mind-set if panic is to be beaten!

While I understand what you are saying and agree with you, It is not exactly helpful or realistic to pretend that we do not have triggers. Also there is a great division between people who believe that this disorder is "all in the mind" and the people who believe for example that there is some biochemical malfunction at work. There is lots of evidence to support both, and while some triggers will fall into the "all in the mind" Category others do not. Also might I point out that the reason for posting this was to see if others had had similar experiences to myself, not to provide a solution to the disorder as a whole.

[speedey]

I don't know if it being shut in a shower cubicle that makes me feel claustrophibic or its the heat or the sensation in my chest when breathing in the steam! I think whatever it is, its the change in state of what you are feeling ie, the heat, the change of how my chest feels, or the change in feeling all contained in a cubicle! What do to think about it?

[Meltdown]

While I understand what you are saying and agree with you, It is not exactly helpful or realistic to pretend that we do not have triggers. Also there is a great division between people who believe that this disorder is "all in the mind" and the people who believe for example that there is some biochemical malfunction at work. There is lots of evidence to support both, and while some triggers will fall into the "all in the mind" Category others do not. Also might I point out that the reason for posting this was to see if others had had similar experiences to myself, not to provide a solution to the disorder as a whole.


Actually, rather than being unhelpful, by suggesting that "triggers" do not cause panic attacks, I was trying to offer the best help that anyone could to someone suffering with this disorder, which is to realise that "triggers" do not cause panic attacks, but our thoughts and feelings about certain situations do! If I had realised this a lot sooner, I could have avoided suffering several years of panic attacks!

For instance, if I have a panic attack whilst travelling in a train, it could be argued that trains are a trigger for panic. Actually, what happens is that a panic attack happens in a train, and the mind associates being in a train with having a panic attack. It is therefore more likely that a panic attack will occur the next time one is in a train.

Does that mean that trains are a trigger for panic, and need to be avoided? of course not! the train did not trigger a panic attack (how could it?) but my thoughts about being in a train probably did. If I start avoiding trains as a result, I will then probably move on to avoid other things too.

Yes, some people think that panic is caused by some fundamental physical or chemical imbalance, and spend all their time looking for the causes, or triggers. I suspect that it is this group who do not improve!

By realising that panic is "fear of fear" and is purely a psycological condition, an exaggerated response which needs to be un-learned, is to take the first steps towards recovery!

[abramellin]

Actually, rather than being unhelpful, by suggesting that "triggers" do not cause panic attacks, I was trying to offer the best help that anyone could to someone suffering with this disorder, which is to realise that "triggers" do not cause panic attacks, but our thoughts and feelings about certain situations do! If I had realised this a lot sooner, I could have avoided suffering several years of panic attacks!

For instance, if I have a panic attack whilst travelling in a train, it could be argued that trains are a trigger for panic. Actually, what happens is that a panic attack happens in a train, and the mind associates being in a train with having a panic attack. It is therefore more likely that a panic attack will occur the next time one is in a train.

Does that mean that trains are a trigger for panic, and need to be avoided? of course not! the train did not trigger a panic attack (how could it?) but my thoughts about being in a train probably did. If I start avoiding trains as a result, I will then probably move on to avoid other things too.

Yes, some people think that panic is caused by some fundamental physical or chemical imbalance, and spend all their time looking for the causes, or triggers. I suspect that it is this group who do not improve!

By realising that panic is "fear of fear" and is purely a psycological condition, an exaggerated response which needs to be un-learned, is to take the first steps towards recovery!

You really are just like a dog with a bone... I said I agreed with you in my last message. What more do you want. I did not start this post to engage in a debate with you.

[Meltdown]

I am glad that you agree with me about the causes of panic.

I took offence because you implied that my belief that focusing on "triggers" or causes is a mistake, was "not exactly helpful or realistic"


I strongly believe that looking for triggers or causal factors for panic disorder is a blind alley. Yes, some things do seem to make us feel anxious, and lead to panic attacks, but it is absolutely vital to realise that it is the thoughts in our heads which cause the panic, not the situations themselves.

I am passionate about this because this way of thinking "cured" me of panic attacks. A mixture of CBT and reading claire Weekes book has meant that I haven't had a PA so far in 2009 (though I accept that they may come back at some point).

I just want to pass on to others the adjustments to our thought patterns and behaviour I have found helpful in beating panic.

I sometimes wonder why more people who have "recovered" (as much as one ever can!) from panic do not post here to pass on their tips for getting better? When I get responses like this, I have my answer!

[ladybird64]

Hi :)

I am finding this quite an interesting thread and in particular that there is evidence that biochemical malfunctions may cause/trigger panic attacks.
I freely admit that I have not done much research into panics and their causes, I have been a member of this site for a year and have read a couple of Claire Weekes books.
I have never heard of panics being caused by "an outside force" so to speak and would like to find out more if possible.
Is there any way I could access any info relating to this?

Thanks