How do PAs affect your job?

[wallace_and_vomit]

Hi all,

I finally got around to doing an Internet search about panic attacks and found this forum. It's really great, and I think the most important thing is knowing that you are NOT alone.

My situation is that I am now in my 30's. I never had any type of panic attack in my life before, and have been quite confident and happy, globetrotting around the world working as an English teacher doing all sorts of brave things, with no real disasters afflicting my life. However, all of a sudden, as soon as I decided to give my notice in my last job and decide to return to the UK, possibly for good, I starting getting the vomiting type of panic attack emerging completely out of the blue. No other symptoms except for sudden diahhorea (sorry, spell?) prior to the vomiting. They gradually increased in frequency and I had my worst bout in the 2 week run up to my return. I was constantly vomiting and could barely take in any food for over a week, which was the really worrying part for me. I could start to see my ribs showing through.

Now that I'm back in the UK, I've had my first vomiting attack today. Basically, I've isolated the cause down to the fear that I cannot hold down a job and will thus have no income or ability to pay for a roof over my head. Even for me, this all seems quite irrational, but nevertheless, it's happening to me. At the moment, I'm still job hunting with no entitlement to benefits because I've never paid NI contributions in the UK. I also don't have any family members alive, so there is absolutely no fall back. I've already been through a couple of thousand pounds in rent. Therefore, I absolutely have to get a job.

I just wonder that a lot of people on this forum who I've been reading about, sound like they are not going to work, as they are spending time at home trying to get through their panic attack or avoiding going out. What about people who are working and suffer from panic attacks? Does this affect your ability to go to work? How does your employer respond to you having the attacks? Has anyone literally vomited on the job?

My worries about my panic attacks affecting my ability to undertake any employment are only exacerbating the root cause of the panic of not being able to hold down a job in the first instance.

I also wonder if anyone has any recommendations for self-help books specifically addressing the vomiting type of panic?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I'd really appreciate any thoughtful feedback to the issue of PAs and work.


Additional info: I decided to get a complete medical check once I came back to the UK, and nothing irregular has shown up.

I also agree that trying to eat small things such as grapes or taking in some juice to compensate for reduced intake of food is really advisable. Also taking multivitamin tablet supplements is sensible.

I have found that I can alleviate the attack by turning my attention to other tasks - surfing the net is a great one! However, as soon as I think about work again, it all starts to escalate once again.

I now have full sympathy for anyone who is afflicted with panic attacks. They are very real and can feel really debilitating.

[seeker]

Well, I have not vomitted I am afraid, but at least you have managed to find the root casue of your panics, which is good! being an English teacher, you should have people beating your door down for a job, but I suppose it depends on which type of job you are after (try www.tes.co.uk and www.eteach.com). I would go to your local GP (which you are entitled to) and ask for a beta blocker - this stops anxiety in its tracks, as it prevents adrenaline acting on the vital organs like your heart and stomach - might stop the vomiting! Failing that, they might be able to help you in some other way. re my job - I found with teaching I didn't have panic attacks at work, becasue there was so much else to think about and distract me - if one started, a pupil would threaten to blow the lab up or something, whcih pretty effectively stopped the panic attack!! Personally, I think panic attacks can be overcome with time, if you train your brain and body and find out about the physical causes of your symptoms - I have been panic attack free for some time now. Hope this helps a bit - feel free to personal message me if you want.
Seeker

[clickaway]

Just want to welcome you to the site, although I can't answer your specifics very well.

Are you doing a temporary job at the moment, before you find something in the teaching line? I hope that one way or another you are able to get a structure going in your day.

Take Care,


Ray


http://www.anxietyrelease.org.uk/

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers

[Phill2]

My job stops me having panics.
Being idle is my worst enemy.
Phill

Don't believe everything you think.

[wallace_and_vomit]

Thank you to those who replied to my message.

Well, as an update, I couldn't find any job at all in the UK during January. Perhaps it just wasn't a good time of year, but also a lot of employers looked at my overseas teaching history and said it just wasn't compatible. (I'm ESL qualified, not a certified teacher for UK schools, hence why I can't get a job as a teacher in the UK).

So...I decided to take the plunge and just go back overseas and continue teaching there... Big mistake to try and run from panic attacks without getting them resolved, which never happened while I was in the UK, 'cus my doctor just sets 5 minute limits on each patient - hardly enough to get a sentence finished, so my hope for a medical cure seemed futile... As soon as I got on the plane, a huge panic attack overcame me. I really wished to just turn around, but pretty difficult when you and your luggage are on a 20 hour plane journey.

I arrived in Korea last night, but this morning my panic attacks still continued, and I'm starting to get all sorts of frightening thoughts now, which make me wonder if I'm having a nervous breakdown. How can I identify a nervious breakdown as opposed to a panic attack?

I so wish I hadn't got on that plane because today I've had to book another ticket back to the UK already for this weekend. I just can't handle being overseas anymore. I don't have any home to go to and don't know if I can get a job, so it's not exactly a great time. I just am so bewildered how I can feel so crippled by this condition of panic in such a relatively short space of time when everything 6 months ago was so perfect in my life.

I also wonder if I ever get a diagnosis of a nervous breakdown whether it's possible to claim any type of benefit such as incapacity benefit? I can't claim unemployment benefit, as I haven't paid any NI contributions, but if I can't get any work for a long time, I will have to go and live on the street. It's such a shame because underneath I have so much to offer, but am mentally being pulled down by this panic.

[wallace_and_vomit]

I also have a query about Seeker's recommendation for beta blockers. What exactly are the main chemical components of beta blockers? How many/How long should you be taking them for? Are there any side effects?