HELP!

[lottie]

HI IM LOTTIE I HAD MY FIRST MAJOR PANIC ATTACK LAST WEEK WHICH FRIGHTENED THE LIFE OUT OF ME I DIDNT HAVE A CLUE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND ENDED UP CALLING AN AMBULANCE, I WAS WONDERING IF SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME SOME ADVICE SINCE THEN MY FEAR ISNT HAVING ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK ITS THAT IM NOT BREATHING CORRECTLY. iF I TAKE A BREATHE AND CANT CATCH IT I START TO PANIC AND THINK I HAVE A BREATHING PROBLEM, WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND HE SAID ITS ALL PART OF THE ANXIETY ITS REALLY SCARING ME!!!

[sunndyd]

hi, it is part of the anxiety i feel like i cant take in a full breath lol so now i yawn a lot.. You could try to distract ur self and if u get really distracted u will realize afterwards that you are breathin fine on your own, if you think about it you must breath fine in your sleep. If you feel a panic attack comin or your getting stressed about the breathing , just tell your self in just anxiety and yes u feel uncomfortable at the moment you are fine and but it cant hurt you! and try to relax. my breathing dont bother me too much at mo gets worse at night but i dont let in worry to much i just accept it

[Veronica H]

Hi Lottie

It is very frightening but it will get better. There is a brilliant book by Dr Claire Weekes called 'self help for your nerves', published by Thorsons. This is available from the NMP Shop. Her work can also be downloaded free to your MP3 from the shop. I can't recommend this enough, as it really explains what is happening to us, and how we can recover.

Veronica

[sedalia]

Hi Lottie,

I also recently had my first major attack. In a way, that is the worst one as, like you said, you don't know what's happening. I've been really scared of having another one and can't go out alone at the moment but as the previous person said, I would also recommend claire weekes. She teaches you that altho the symptoms of a panic attack are really frightening, they are harmless, and that you will never suffocate no matter how difficult you think your breathing is. Once you learn to try and accept the feelings, and let them happen, rather than trying to fight against them, then your fear of them will reduce, as will your anxiety in general. I know that it's really hard not to be afraid but what she says does make sense. Good luck.

[den68]

i spent a year terrified of pas not being able to believe thats what was happening to me. Once i learnt diversion techniques that helped to take my mind off them byt when i accepted them they started to go

[mapmaker]

My counselor suggested I learn a new hobby to help me deal with my anxiety...like singing or playing a musical instrument. That the brain is lazy by nature and it has already worked out this path of behavior *IE panic attacks and anxiety* and that by forcing it to work and learn new a new skill you build new pathways in your brain. It's great for distracting you from thinking about your symptoms.
I hope this helps you out.

Your right panic attacks are frightening.....and they really suck to go through them. But try to think of something else....and talk to a friend.. it helps. It Helps Alot.

[matt78]

Hi Lottie!
First step - don't worry! I've had panic attacks, big and small, and all feel very scarey. But... Panic attacks are quite common and while they can feel terrifying, you can control them, and learn to spot them before they happen. It may seem hard to believe, but there really isn't anything wrong with your breathing, and you haven't got "some weird, strange breathing problem!" You can however focus too much on your breathing and forget to let your body do it for you, which can make your breathing feel uncomfortable or difficult. Try to relax, get up and walk around, and move about your normal business, taking your mind off your breathing and you will find your body will take over again and you will feel better! Good luck, and remember - your panic attack can't hurt you, so don't be scared!

[beex]

hi yes they are the wosrt thing at the time and evry one says dont worry youll be ok. But at the time its so not true u do feel like u are dieng and can breath. But the sad thing is u will get better and theres not much others can realy do for u. Other then just being there. I found for me just to go lay down close your eyes and soon ull feel ok again. Good luck and rememmber your not a lone in this

[Crush]

HI IM LOTTIE I HAD MY FIRST MAJOR PANIC ATTACK LAST WEEK WHICH FRIGHTENED THE LIFE OUT OF ME I DIDNT HAVE A CLUE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND ENDED UP CALLING AN AMBULANCE, I WAS WONDERING IF SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME SOME ADVICE SINCE THEN MY FEAR ISNT HAVING ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK ITS THAT IM NOT BREATHING CORRECTLY. iF I TAKE A BREATHE AND CANT CATCH IT I START TO PANIC AND THINK I HAVE A BREATHING PROBLEM, WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND HE SAID ITS ALL PART OF THE ANXIETY ITS REALLY SCARING ME!!!

Hi.

For some people it's breathing, for others it's what they eat. But it's the anxiety.

Look at the bright side, you got properly diagnosed. I'm curious if you were perscribed medication.

While you had your first panic attack, I hate to say, you could be headed on to worse things ahead if you don't take action to remedy this now.

Imagine beind dizzy, stoned, and unbalanced all day to the point where you didn't feel like you could go to work. Having disturbing thoughts.. There's no way you could study either. Imagine not being able to walk in a shopping mall or have a truck pull up beside you without having axiety/panic attacks. Imagine being too afraid to leave the house by yourself and having someone have to drive you around.

That's what happened to me.

If you just had a panic attack and are at the stage where you are paranoid, then I recommend you take control of this now and take medication or it can go to a place that you don't want it to.

[Crush]

Hi Lottie!
Try to relax, get up and walk around, and move about your normal business, taking your mind off your breathing and you will find your body will take over again and you will feel better! Good luck, and remember - your panic attack can't hurt you, so don't be scared!

You're right. She needs to relax. Without medication at this early stage it will be very difficult.

Focusing on eating, breathing, etc. could be part of OCD.

When you have anxiety it's very common to a bit of all the mental health issues along with it; OCD, Depression, Mania, Agoraphobia. Even myself I swear once or twice I kind of heard voices and saw things out of the corner of my eye.

She could have mild OCD with her breathing. I noticed I got the OCD as one of the first things after the anxiety, then I got a bit of mania, after I got worse then I got mild depression including disturbing thoughts (not suicidle..but just stuff I didn't like in my head). Then at it's worse I go the dizziness, light headedness, etc. Then soon after agorophobia. Then all the other symptoms got a notch worse so I was getting more dpressed, more manic spending $800 on computer equipment I didn't need while I was unemployed. We also went looking for a new house when we had no reason or desire to move. I did this to try to make myself feel better if I bought myself something. That didn't work of coruse. Then at its worse I swore I saw things out of the corner of my eye a few times.

Now that I'm better I can look back and laugh at it and put it in proper perspective. I was not mentall healthy back then.

[MorganRayne]

I am just starting high school, and constantley in class experiencing panic attacks In class. I am constanley thinking what if I pass out in front of everyone? What If I stop breathing in class? (Although those things have never happend) I need to get out of class and go to the bathroom! I find it very difficult to pay attention. Throughout the day I am frequentley yawning nonstop! Thoughts are running through my head saying. Im never going to stop yawing! This is keeping me from paying attention ( my grades have dropped )Growing up I have always suffered with anxiety problems. ex. Thinking I had cancer all the time. I was going to Die, I couldn't Breathe etc. A way tht help me get my mind of it is calling one of my friends on the phone. But regardless I still feel like its running my life. I need advice on what methods to use so this does not happen so frequentley. I always thinking Im unhealthy and all my friends are so lucky they dont have this. Here Latley it has gotten bad. I wake up every day expecting the anxiety, its almost like it is perminitt in my mind. It has gotten to the point were it makes me sick. ( causes me to throw up) Thats if I get myself worked up really bad.:weep: I am a very independent person and love to be the "leader" but I feel so weak and helpless when anxiety is the case. I HATE THE FEELING THAT IT IS IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE AND MY LIFE REVOLVES AROUND IT! Help me beat it and get my life back...

[Crush]

I need advice on what methods to use so this does not happen so frequentley. I always thinking Im unhealthy and all my friends are so lucky they dont have this. Here Latley it has gotten bad. I wake up every day expecting the anxiety, its almost like it is perminitt in my mind. It has gotten to the point were it makes me sick.

First you need to make sure you have anxiety. Anxiety could be very draining due to all the physical energy it takes to be anxious. What physical effects do you feel each day?

However, you may also just have depression causing bits of anxiety rather than the anxiety causing depression.. do you know what I mean?

Either way, you are having disturbing thoughts.. many of which I had.

Medicatoin will remove these thoughts and is the route I would take. But first you need to be clear on what is dominant - the depression, or axiety.

Please read below and see if this more closely matches what you are going through:

Are you clinically depressed?

If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms, and they just won’t go away, you may be suffering from clinical depression.

you can’t sleep or you sleep too much
you can’t concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult
you feel hopeless and helpless
you can’t control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try
you have lost your appetite or you can’t stop eating
you are much more irritable and short-tempered than usual