Advice Wanted

[brandysnaps]

Hey For the last few weeks ive been feeling weak/panicy. When out always concered about my breathing, head etc fer of faiting/fitting. Over this period my problem has grown worse i avoid going out of the house on my own and rarely when i go out i feel the need to be around certain family members. I feel the need to be able to flee at times from which ever situation im in ,my sleeping pattern is terrible i can usually get asleep around 3am helped by drinking alcohol.
All this has left me depressed and with no enjoyment or motivation as i feel unsafe to do anything socially.Also i find it hard to control my mind and at times think im going crazy, how can i stop this?
Nothing specific happend to trigger this so help and advice is really needed any ideas, tips or past experiences that could reelate to this would be realy useful
thanks x

[andrew]

Hi Brandysnaps,

Depression and anxiety can start without any trigger, it sounds like you might be suffering from both. Drinking alcohol really isnt gonna help. Thinking you are going mad is a very common trait of anxiety.

Have a good read of the website, maybe you will be able to relate to other peoples experiences. Have you thought about asking your G.P. for help.

Hope this helps, take care .. andrew

[Bill]

For the last few weeks ive been feeling weak/panicy.

What often happens is a build up of pressure/stress due to for example a heavy workload we just get on with it daily so we're not aware of the stress we're under which reaches a point where our minds can't take anymore and this results in feeling panicky. When we feel panicky we start to shallow breathe so because we're not breathing properly we experience anxious symptoms which make us feel afraid and weak.

When out always concered about my breathing, head etc fer of faiting/fitting.

When we experience anxious symptoms, they frighten us because they make us feel "ill" so we start worrying what's wrong with us which then causes more stress, more panic and therefore more symptoms creating an anxiety cycle we feel we can't stop because we start to think we really are ill because the symptoms feel so real.

Over this period my problem has grown worse i avoid going out of the house on my own and rarely when i go out i feel the need to be around certain family members.

When these anxious symptoms make us feel so ill, we start to avoid going out because we're too afraid of collapsing in public with no one around to help us which is why we feel the need to be accompanied at all times with people we feel we can trust to look after us in such an event. This is often how agoraphobia starts because of our need to feel safe at home.

I feel the need to be able to flee at times from which ever situation im in

We feel the need to flee especially in crowded situations such as on transport or in shops because too much stress causes a feeling of being trapped which then surfaces when we actually do feel confined. This causes the fight or flight response because the excess stress is continually pumping adrenalin preparing us to fight or run. In years gone by we would be faced with a predator but in modern times the predator has become our workload which causes the same response but we cannot fight or run away from our workloads so we feel trapped which causes us to panic in crowded places.

my sleeping pattern is terrible

Simply because your mind feels in such an anxious state that you feel you can't relax enough to sleep. In a way it's like trying to sleep knowing there's a lion staring at you all the time (your excess stress).

i can usually get asleep around 3am helped by drinking alcohol.

Alcohol can help to ease our nerves and make us feel sleepy but it's also a depressant so not really a good method to use, especially if taking meds at the same time. That's how mistakes happen.

All this has left me depressed and with no enjoyment or motivation as i feel unsafe to do anything socially.

When we feel trapped in a cage, we will already be feeling depressed because we can't see an escape to be free from our anxious symptoms. The alcohol makes us feel even more depressed but sometimes we feel we have to try it simply to relax.

Also i find it hard to control my mind and at times think im going crazy, how can i stop this?

Sounds silly I know but you need to Stop trying to control your mind. When we try to control our thoughts, surroundings and people around us, we become rigid and this causes tension which leads to more stress trigering more panics. By accepting our thoughts as "nothing to worry about" and developing a more laid back approach to life, we relax and all the symptoms then stop.

Nothing specific happend to trigger this

There is ALWAYS an underlying cause for the panicky symptoms to arise. I could be due to a heavy workload or it could be stress at home. It could be a gradual build up or a particularly bad event. It could also be due to events in our past or simply a trigger in an ordinary day but there is Always a cause.

Firstly, try to indentify the trigger(s) because then you would know what course of action is required. Examples would be CBT, counselling or another therapy.

Hope that helps.:)