Panic Attacks when traveling

[arabelle]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum. I want to share my life long story of panic attacks. I have been dealing with panic attacks since I was 20, I am now a 35 woman. These panic attacks have evolved through times and for a period of about 8 years it had almost disappeared, I really though I had finally be able to overcome it! But it came back stronger then ever in 2008. During the summer of 2008 I was rushed at least 6 times to the Paris ER ( I am french and based in Paris): symptoms: tachychardia for hours, light headness, feeling of fainting, adrenaline rush, nausea, feeling of shortness of breath etc... I was completely TRAUMATISED. I saw my GP and a cardiologist, was performed many exams during 3 days at the hospital ( ECG/Stress effort, echo, monitor, etc...) nothing wrong could be found except a begnine valve condition. The cardiologist decided to give me a betablocker called atenolol on a very small dose that I have been taking for the 5 years. This medication has help me a lot not to be focused on my heart and to get back to a normal life. I have been taking up yoga classes and gym classes to help release stress and adrenaline and I have to say I can cope much more easily now when I feel a panic attack is coming: basically I try not to fight it, I tried to focus on something else and if serious I take a xanax and it goes away. But my only big problem is when I travel far! I am well traveled person and have always loved traveling but every time I am going to a distant country, I am unable to relax because I am in a constant fear to have a panic attack specially at night and of course at some point it happens... The farthest the country is the more anxious I am. My last vacations were in central Mexico to visit my parents who are expat there and after a week trying to cope with anxiety it finally happened at night, it was so terrible I had to shorten my stay and leave 1 day earlier... The minute I stepped into the plane I was feeling better... This is really plaguing my life right now because I am totally in control of these anxiety attacks when home ( or in a secure place) but completely terrified and paralysed by fear whenever traveling far ( outside Europe). Does anyone experience this? Thank you for your comments, Arabelle.

[Alan Mack]

Hi arabelle, I'm jealous of you as you can travel further than I could ever dream of, the most I could travel feeling calm is to my front gate lol

I understand what mean, years ago I had to cancel a holiday to Canada purely because the panic was to much, it's frightening travelling away from your safe zone and it's also scary going into the unknown, for some people it can be really easy to travel far and into the unknown but for people like us it can be a living nightmare, I really hope you can overcome it.

[Rubicon]

Hi, i can't really offer much help but i suffer the same thing. If i'm in the country (England) i'm fine, but the thought of going somewhere far away does scare me. I went to the carribbean in October though, which was the best holiday of my life, and even though i was anxious for some of it, lots of the time i was free from anxiety because i was having so much fun.

However uncomfortable it may make us feel, it is so so important to still *try* to do these big scary things. Often i find myself thinking 'oh, i'll go there when i'm better..' but actually, it's the act of doing the thing, and going to the place, that makes us better. We have the ability to cure ourselves whether we can only make it to the end of the street or only make it half way across the world/stay in the same continent.. everyone can have that freedom, it just takes some work.

I hope that makes sense - i just think for me, personally, if i get to an age where i don't have the time, money, or energy to travel and do exciting things i would hate to look back on my younger years and wish i'd gone places and explored some of the world - or even just explored my own country. :-)