Panic Attacks vs London

[milkcarton]

Hi There,

I hope that I could get advice or hear from anyone who is in a similar situation to myself but I have been getting really bad PAs over the past 10 months and I feel depressed and think I have had enough of London and want to move away.

I have been suffering from agoraphobia and general anxierty on and off for 10 years now. My PAs in London first happened in crowded places and on the tube where I had a migraine with aura that really freaked me out. Now, after 10 months of feeling uncomfortable in London, I want to move away and think that London is making me more depressed. I am not sure if my body is telling me this as a quick fix to leave the problem or whether it is avoidance but I have been finding it difficult to live here recently.

I moved here 2 years ago from the country and live with my boyfriend, we are in a very stable relationship and both have great jobs. I work in outer london and drive there but occasionally have to get the train and tube to the head office in the centre, which terrifies me! I don't have any friends in my area as I have found it hard to meet new people. The people I work with are all older than me and do not socialise outside work. I feel trapped in London at the moment, depressed and panciky about how busy and inpersonal it is here.

I am worried as my boyfriend says if we move then I am only running away from the problem and my PA will happen in any town/city. Is it true that I should get over my panic attacks here first or is it London that's making me feel like this and therefore I should leave for a quieter quality of life? I hope some of you have been in similar situations (well actually I would not wish this feeling on any one), maybe not just from London but from any place you have felt like this. It would be very comforting to hear from you and help me through this as my family are all a plane ride away and at the moment I feel like moving closer to them..

[DontPanicMrMannering]

Hi There,

I hope that I could get advice or hear from anyone who is in a similar situation to myself but I have been getting really bad PAs over the past 10 months and I feel depressed and think I have had enough of London and want to move away.

I have been suffering from agoraphobia and general anxierty on and off for 10 years now. My PAs in London first happened in crowded places and on the tube where I had a migraine with aura that really freaked me out. Now, after 10 months of feeling uncomfortable in London, I want to move away and think that London is making me more depressed. I am not sure if my body is telling me this as a quick fix to leave the problem or whether it is avoidance but I have been finding it difficult to live here recently.

I moved here 2 years ago from the country and live with my boyfriend, we are in a very stable relationship and both have great jobs. I work in outer london and drive there but occasionally have to get the train and tube to the head office in the centre, which terrifies me! I don't have any friends in my area as I have found it hard to meet new people. The people I work with are all older than me and do not socialise outside work. I feel trapped in London at the moment, depressed and panciky about how busy and inpersonal it is here.

I am worried as my boyfriend says if we move then I am only running away from the problem and my PA will happen in any town/city. Is it true that I should get over my panic attacks here first or is it London that's making me feel like this and therefore I should leave for a quieter quality of life? I hope some of you have been in similar situations (well actually I would not wish this feeling on any one), maybe not just from London but from any place you have felt like this. It would be very comforting to hear from you and help me through this as my family are all a plane ride away and at the moment I feel like moving closer to them..

I would try just having a break in the Country for a couple of weeks if possible just to see if being away from the City helps your PA, it would be even more depressing for you if you up sticks and moved back to the Country and still found you were suffering the same symptoms.

Dale

[KayleighJane]

Hello there, I thought I would write back to you as I am in a similar situation myself.

I have been suffering from anxiety and pa's since january, my bf and I moved into a lovely house last year and at the time i thought it was lovely, it was in a nice quiet area, out in the sticks a bit but it was great at the time.

Fast forward to my anxiety starting I just can't stand being there, especially alone, my bf works away every other week so i go and stay with my family during this time because now I find the quietness too much, its very lonely and there is no one around to talk to. I want to move closer to my family and somewhere that doesn't feel so isolated.

my bf however loves our house and doesnt want to leave, he says the same as your boyfriend that I will have anxiety in any house/town but I feel like moving closer to my family would help my recovery a lot. so basically I am stuck also. Its not a nice situation but I am just going to keep trying.

Kayleigh x

[Iva Lottasay]

I've suffered panic attacks whilst living in London but it was a combination of over work and very wheezy chest brought on by too much dust getting in to my lungs on a safari holiday which took ages to shift.

It all boils down to breathing incorrectly. Getting on a tube train is stressful given the things that have happened in the past, and being crowded up to strangers. Try to learn a good breathing technique through some meditation - I used the Calm Technique by Paul Wilson which you can literally get for 1p plus P & p on Amazon. It is based on TM which cost me A couple of hundred pounds to learn before I came across this book which is exactly the same method.

Meditation isnt weird. I also went for reflexology, pressure point massage of the feet.
I overcame my panic attacks with these and time off work.

I now live in the Derbyshire countryside, the pace is slower, the people are friendlier. I havent had a panic attack since but I did conquer them whilst living in London.

[milkcarton]

Thank you all for your replies!

Kayleigh, I am relieved to hear that I am not the only person feeling like this - we should hang on and try to overcome this!

Meditation may be a good therapy too, I haven't tried that one yet.

It's just an awful time at the moment and I can't seem to shift the panics at the moment. It's also really frustrating when I have had a good day and then the next day will be a really bad day with PA. It's a vicious circle :(

[KayleighJane]

yep thats all we can do really is just hang in there and plead our cases. My bf is away at work this work so i am planning on talking to him again once he comes home, he will probably wish he was back at work lol :)

If you need to talk though just give me a pm sometime x

[shellbyx]

hi guys i just read all your comments i am in a similar situation , i changed my job to becoming a foster carer and became over loaded with everyone elses stress , i seeked counseling and have been going for a while which helps me make sense of things, i handed my notice in 2 weeks ago on the fostering after wanting to seek myself and the root of the problem , i have joined here today and no longer feel so alone as i constantly read 8-10 people suffer with this but yet it feels i am the only person i know. so i would be most greatfull for some new friends to face this and move forward with and if i can give anyone support on what i have learnt to tackle the day to day living i will do my up most xxx sometimes i think its easy to forget we should enjoy the moment and it by passes us so very quickly . michelle x