Anxiety leading to panic attacks.

[Hayleigh]

Hi i'm 17 years old and have been suffering from anxiety for a few years now. It started when i was about 9 years old when i had an eating disorder and i was worried that if i ate i was going to be sick so i practically just stopped eating. I went to an eating specialist and started to get over it and eat gradually. Then one evening i was out for a family meal and i started to feel sick. Then abit later on i felt like i was going to throw up and that was my first panic attack. Since then i have been phobic i am going to be sick. The last year of school i was in the medical room the whole time, i would go in in the morning, get sent to the medical room and then sent home. Then i left school and started work and i was determined i wouldn't let it ruin my job so i got myself over it and for the last year and a half i have been absoloutely fine. Then a few weeks ago i had a scare when i was out for a family tea party and i felt like i couldn't swallow my food. And since then it has bought it all back again. I have been off work for weeks and have finally gone back now but i end up having full on panic attacks at work and having to leave. I worry so much about having a panic attack that i bring it on myself. I feel anxious the whole time that i am going to have one. I worry about going out incase i have one. I don't like eating in public incase i have one and i went to the doctor and he won't give me any pills.

Advice will be appreciated!!

[sharnzy2]

Hi Hayleigh...when u have a panic attack what r u thinking about?

[Anxious_gal]

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=85055

could you ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist or a support group so you can have some extra support?

[Skin'eadWesty]

The food swallowing, I have a similar issue. sometimes I feel like im so full swallowing itself becomes really difficult, I feel like Im full up to my gullet even when I've only eaten very little. I found that splitting my meals up a bit more helped with that, I started eating 3 smaller meals, more spread throughout the day, and maybe having a bowl of cereal in between if i got peckish. If i go to a carvery or something and eat more than i should I get the same thing, and sometimes feel like my breathing is restricted. My GP told me its to do with muscle tightness, and that the eating isnt the problems, my blood sugar was actually very low which told him I wasnt eating enough as it was, and just having low blood sugar can cause an attack. The spacing out meals has really helped though, even if i have 4 meals a day that are very minimal i feel much better. And its got me getting enough in my system, which means I get the panic attacks less frequently. Dont know if its any help, best of luck