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View Full Version : Panicking again...I hate this feeling!



Mander
13-11-09, 23:07
I've been doing better but the panic attacks are getting worse again. :(

Today I started out feeling a little bit nauseated after lunch. I had to run some errands, though, so I made myself get out of the house. I started feeling really barfy on the train into town, and by the time I started to go around the shops I just felt terrible, absolutely terrified. I just kept thinking that if I collapsed in the shops at least someone could call an ambulance, and was reciting the Lord's Prayer in my head, as the first mantra that came to mind.

Of course the fact that I was walking around the shops and getting the things on my list, not hyperventilating, and not collapsing is all evidence that I wasn't having a heart attack, which is my usual fear! After a while I calmed down, but after about an hour the panic came back. Now it's hours later and I still feel bad, though not as terrified.

Today my symptoms have been light-headness, slight pains in my chest, upper back, and arms, and a runny nose and unpleasant sore throat from the cold I seem to be getting. No doubt most of the discomfort I feel today has to do with the cold!

I just hate this. I don't even know what set me off today, really. Usually just feeling a little queasy doesn't make me panic, because it happens all the time. No idea what causes the queasiness; I haven't narrowed it down to any particular triggers except riding in a car or bus.

I don't really know what I'm asking, I just wanted to get it off my chest, I guess.

Jac 2009
13-11-09, 23:16
You did it. You went into town and did what you had to do. Pat yourself on the back and stop looking for negative - you did it! Nothing triggers it except you. Don't look for triggers - ther lies madness! xx

clairescavys
14-11-09, 15:17
Hi Mander

Well done! Congratulations on getting into town and back OK. I suffer from similar symptoms and I find that when I travel out into town/supermarket, I'm so tensed up already and just looking for what I will next worry/have a panic attack over (which does not help at all). Sometimes it appears to be set off by nothing in particular, just some days are better than others and it sounds like your trip was not on a 'better' day. Just keep at it, and congratulate yourself each time, and like Jac said, stop looking for negatives!

I find that after a supermarket/town trip, I 'treat' myself to as much time as I like in my favourite bookstore (I love books), going up and down the book aisles also helps me calm down if my trip was not wholly successful (i.e. having panic attacks). Depending on what you're into, this or something similar might be an idea. Also, if I buy a book from the bookstore, reading it on the way home keeps me calm and keeps my mind of panic attacks.