hi all,im a newbie

[matt-24/7]

hi,im new on here and keen to talk to anyone in similar circumstance to myself.
im a long term anxiety sufferer (9 yrs now) and really need some assistance/success stories etc in overcoming this horrible illness.
a bit about myself ,it all came about at a time in my life when things were all going great:yesyes:,i was 21,good job,expensive car,great social life and wonderful gf of 4-5 yrs,what more could a guy want?
i was walking home one evening when i noticed i felt odd,and by the time i got indoors my heart was absolutely pounding out of my chest and i was struggling to breath :scared15:,i thought i was having a heart attack and called a doctor,once it had died out i felt exhausted,and also terrified of it happening again.the doctor said it was a panic attack and id hyperventilated,i was sceptical and thought it was somethin else more serious.
after that day my life crumbled,i couldnt be around ppl,lost every bit of confidence i had and shut myself away from the world:weep:
my life now is much the same and im 90% housebound,i have 2 beautiful boys and that same girlfriend (god bless her) who miss out on so much in life as im unable to function like a normal person:doh:
iv lost countless friends through all of this,and feel im coming to my wits end with it all,its robbed me of the best yrs of my life and made me half the man i used to be.
well thats me in brief (lol) im keen to talk to anyone who can offer advice of any kind,or just to talk and feel like im not the only one with this affliction would be a gr8 help:D
thanks for lookin,matt

[diane07]

Hi matt-24/7

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[Redrainbow]

Hello Matt,
I'm fairly new on here too, reading your story made me think of my own life story a bit, yes this illness takes you a bit by suprise doesn't it? I have three children and a wife without them i'm not sure what i would do. But it's nice to find people who i can talk too on here. I don't feel so alone.

[BRB.emet]

Hey Matt welcome! this site is great and you will get to chat with many people going through the same things. I have panic attacks but not over the same reason, iv'e just got to say that they are horrible. So you are not alone, we can get through this!

[matt-24/7]

Thanks for the replies guys,i was given this site by my doc who said it would be a great help,and from some of the threads on here i can see it is just that
this condition does a good job on making you feel an outcast and it is really re-assuring to know that there are people going through the same or similar,i really hope it can be overcome and always do my best to stay optimistic,the replies alone are a great start.
iv been referred to a specialist starting on the 13th (superstition:doh:,doh!)and hope its the start of my recovery,though at the moment being free from this feels impossible,im hopin over time i can get my life back to a point that i am happy with,and im sure its achievable.

[Veronica H]

:welcome:Matt. I am glad that you are receiving help and wish you well in your recovery. There is a brilliant book by Dr Claire Weekes;SELF HELP FOR YOUR NERVES ISBN 0-7225-3155-9.This is available from the NMP shop. Dr Weekes was a physician and scientist. She was a fellow sufferer (nominated for the nobel prize for medicine) and really understood this illness. She took the mystery out of it, and devised a simple programme for recovery. I can't recommend this enough. This will get better.

Here is a link to her site;

http://www.drclaireweekes.co.uk/


Veronicax

[Redrainbow]

Hello again Matt,
To be honest it's a godsend there is a site like this, without it a person would go completly mad (lol) i nearly did. I thought i would be the last person in the world to suffer from depression as i was always such an outgoing person, life and soul of the party, which just goes to show it really can happen to anybody. Some days i find really bad but some are alright, but it's the sleepless nights hit hard too. What do you say Matt?

[matt-24/7]

hi again,i totally agree about the site,and like yourself i was if anything extrovert,outgoing,totally confident and nothing phased me,i was always the one harrassing friends into nights out,and not staying in,and now things are almost the exact opposite.i also used to be a very laid back guy who never lost his cool,but nowadays my patience/tolerance of things is pretty lax,and i find myself getting stressed over the most ridiculous things sometimes.as you say some days are better than others but this can make it feel all the more frustrating,and yes sleeping is a problem,i find it very hard to "switch off" so dont have a regular sleep pattern,all this said, i have come a long way since it started and try to remind myself of this,on the good days at least:D

[Redrainbow]

Hello again Matt,
Amazing! your story is not unlike mine really. Yes i also seem to be the complete opposite of what i used to be, i cannot believe this has happened to me really. I see the nurse/councillor on thursday 14th to talk things through. I,m not sure if i'm looking forward to it or not, but i must go. And you are certainly right Matt it helps to remember the better days from years ago. That always brings a smile to my face, Regards Wayne.

[matt-24/7]

hi wayne,i was going to ask if any of your friends knew about it,(just saw on your reply that they dont) as i have never told any of mine,only my partner and closest family members,though i am thinking about telling mine just to get it out there and not have to keep making excuses for things etc,and hope they are as understanding as others iv told.i see my councillor on the 13th and though im keen to get cracking,im also terrified,but this seems to be the norm for me with regard to meeting people and getting out and about.
the "ton of bricks" reference was spot on,and this is something i never saw coming as i said very little phased me,but my main issue is being around people in general,and getting out,i dont go anywhere on my own,ever!
my partner and father in law help with this as much as they can,but i really need help to be able to do this for myself,and im hoping this appointment is the first step to achieving this,heres hoping! matt
(best of luck with your appointment too,hope it goes well:))

[tink28]

hi,im new on here and keen to talk to anyone hiin similar circumstance to myself.
im a long term anxiety sufferer (9 yrs now) and really need some assistance/success stories etc in overcoming this horrible illness.
a bit about myself ,it all came about at a time in my life when things were all going great:yesyes:,i was 21,good job,expensive car,great social life and wonderful gf of 4-5 yrs,what more could a guy want?
i was walking home one evening when i noticed i felt odd,and by the time i got indoors my heart was absolutely pounding out of my chest and i was struggling to breath :scared15:,i thought i was having a heart attack and called a doctor,once it had died out i felt exhausted,and also terrified of it happening again.the doctor said it was a panic attack and id hyperventilated,i was sceptical and thought it was somethin else more serious.
after that day my life crumbled,i couldnt be around ppl,lost every bit of confidence i had and shut myself away from the world:weep:
my life now is much the same and im 90% housebound,i have 2 beautiful boys and that same girlfriend (god bless her) who miss out on so much in life as im unable to function like a normal person:doh:
iv lost countless friends through all of this,and feel im coming to my wits end with it all,its robbed me of the best yrs of my life and made me half the man i used to be.
well thats me in brief (lol) im keen to talk to anyone who can offer advice of any kind,or just to talk and feel like im not the only one with this affliction would be a gr8 help:D
thanks for lookin,matt hi matt im new to this too!! infact im not sure im even replying correctly?? but i was glad to read ur story, its kinda weird but my experience happened outta the blue too!!! Im in a great marriage, been with k now for 13 years, married 7 years got a wonderful house, great job i couldnt wish for anything else ( maybe a bit of money) he he:roflmao::roflmao:. But all of a sudden i started to get panicky bout going out with friends-family, worrying bout things ive never found a problem before? then i started to crumble, had to get help!! explaining it to my husband was hard i thought he wud think i was some kinda freak!! Then my mum took me to the gp, i thought they were going to lock me away!! but when that gp told me i was suffering with panic attacks i was so glad he understood!! oh dear outta time gota go to work!! finsh my story when or if you reply?? take care hope we can chat? bye tink xx:noangel:

[matt-24/7]

Hi tink,thanks for the reply,i know what you mean about worrying people will think your a freak,this is one of my biggest issues fear/worry over how they might react should you have a full blown panic attack,which ironically fuels you more on your way to havin one:doh:.
though iv had my ups and downs throughout this,and have been what i consider to be "NORMAL" for some quite long periods,it always seems to rear its ugly head from time to time,and doesn't ever seem to get easier to combat (not being defeatest here,i know it can be overcome)and my biggest fear is losing control completely and ending up sectioned or something,though its highly unlikely it still plays on my mind:doh:
Im happy to talk whenever i can as i feel sharing with someone whos been through the same/similar can make a big difference,problem shared and all that,i feel better already with the few replies iv had already (thanks again everyone:))
I wish you luck with your recovery and hope to talk soon :):) matt