Never thought I'd be a sufferer

[CharlieD]

Hi there - my name is Charlie and I'm 46yrs old. I've always been considered a strong person, have dealt with some pretty horrible things in my life but have always come out stronger and more determined. Then.... 4 months ago I suffered what has since been diagnosed as a panic attack. It's taken me 4 months of MRIs, ENT, heart checks to convince me that is what I experience and am suffering from.

I was sat at home on a Saturday afternoon enjoying relaxing and reading a book when.. *wallop*.. I was being dragged unconscious, all I could do was try and unlock my door whilst I was on the phone to 999 as I was convinced they'd find me unconscious on the floor... my heart started pounding and I could hardly breathe. There was no reason for me to be anxious or panic. I was completely relaxed and in a happy place. It was because the symptoms were so severe and so physical that I dismissed PAs or AAs. I'm not a nervous person, I'm outgoing, confident and have a great career (I'm a Director in the media). I have no idea why this has started happening but the more I read into it and the more I talk to people, the more common it seems to be.

I joined this forum today because I've been episode free for 6 weeks and then had a large AA at work this afternoon. As with all of them. No reason, I'm not anxious or stressed today. Just sat at my desk when the familiar symptoms started and it went full blown. I'm devastated. I feel as though I've gone backwards not forwards. I had the results of my MRI last week and all was fine. I'm in the process of finding a CBT to travel this horrendous journey with me. Only very few people know what is going on but I don't feel as though I know me anymore. I won't tell work because my career is very important to me and I'm still ambitious. I would hate to be treated differently or to be held back from promotions for fear I'm 'too fragile' and 'can't cope'.

I'm hoping this forum and hearing other people's stories and support will continue to help me face what my body has decided to do to me and get the treatment and remedy I so desperately want so I can go back to being me again.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya CharlieD and welcome to NMP

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way

[ladyhawke77]

hello and welcome charlie, theres lots of info on here so check it out and hopefully you find the answers you need

[lavender123]

Hello charlie. I hope you get some good support on here,it must have been so frightening for you , I hope things improve.

[MrAndy]

Hello anxiety can effect all walks of life but remember you can recover 100%
Your seeking help and that's the start of your recovery

[spellplague]

Welcome to the forums. I never thought that I'd get anything anxiety related either, but it was only when my mother had a considerably more severe episode that I realised that it seems to be somewhat inherited (my grandmother also has/had anxiety). Thus I am determined to fight it. I will not let it control me.

[courierdude]

they are like vampires charlie, they come and get you whenever they feel like it sometime and dont need an excuse to pounce on you either. absolutely draining your life for the duration and leaving feeling completely wasted once they have left.

i think just being here and being able to relate your experience of incidences is a therapy in itself and should benefit you if you join in the discussion.

talking to others on here is definitely keeping my demons at bay just by reasserting my own ways of combating or coping with the dreaded demon!

symptom of the modern world it seems-welcome to the nightmare!

like all nightmares, its does come to an end eventually! : )

[Theuns]

Hi, well I just started today as well and I truely hope this will be the place for my answers. It gives me a lot of hope to see so many people here and to see new people comming in as that is not someting that happens a lot in my life. Hopefully we will get to know each other and become friends in future.