General Anxiety

[emilou]

Hi Guys, i am new to this but in need of some advice, i have been suffering from generalised anxiety for 3 years, i visit a councillor regularly and that has been a great help, the trouble is just as i start to feel anything like normal whamm a panic attack comes out of nowhere i try not to get downhearted but it is difficult, it is at the stage now where friends and family have lost patience with me, i think they think it has been going on for too long, but i still need support!!!!!
I have had just about every physical symtom of stress and anxiety and that just makes my anxiety worse questions run through my mind like...did the doctor miss something? surely this cannot be stress, it must be serious?, my worst symtom is a cloudy head feeling, which in the early stages was there constantly, it has improved immensely but when it does reappear it puts me straight back where i started.
Any support/coping strategies would be greatly appreciated, this website has been a great help so far just seeing that i am not along, Many thanks xxx

[Scrubmuncher]

Never expect anyone who has not suffered from this to beable to understand, if you don't understand it then others can't either, in my experience GP's never understand and the referral to a specialist is the best offer you can expect, yet again if the specialist hasn't been there, expect a lot of nodding heads and sincerity in the eyes but very very little actual understanding, only what hearsay dictates is the correct solution.
I am sure this is a chemical imbalance in me. When an attack happens, it is just like I am having drugs pumped into my system, what releases this chemical is my thought at that moment, adrenaline, my natural defence kicks in when my mind drifts towards thoughts I may not like, or corrupts my tranquil thoughts for whatever reason, that reason is the illness I live with, my mind self distructing.
My personal coping methods are simple, and work very well. I know very confident people, people I could never imagine getting worried, anxious or panic about anything. I put myself in their shoes for that moment, maybe even pretend to be them for that moment inside my own head. How would such and such deal with this moment, and somehow taking on anothers personality makes dealing with that moment less stressful. Forever? I doubt it, I think I will be stuck with this for life, i think my coping solutions just become better as I get older and more used to feeling uneasy, more used to knowing my mind is playing tricks on me. Knowing it is all in my mind helps.