Hi all,
Just thought I would drop my initial post into this part of the forum as its panic attacks that currently blight my life.
I had my first attack two years ago, and at the time, it was mis-diagnosed as a mini-stroke. That diagnosis in itself was enough to make anyone panic (no pun intended) and it has led me into two years of situations that have resulted in rather uncomfortable and worrying panic scenarios.
The initial attack that I had has now become symptomatic of the subsequent attacks that I have suffered. I am fortunate in that my attacks are few and far between but nevertheless, no less scary or debilitating.
Although I have yet to get to the bottom of what started it all off (I suspect a rather stressfull period in my personal life) my attacks manifest themselves in moments when I find myself struggling to find a word in a conversation or if I momentarily forget what I was planning to do at any given moment in time. Most people pass these situations off (quite rightly) as brief moments of forgetfulness but for me it is the trigger to a panic attack.
My last attack (a few days ago) was triggered by such a situation.
I was trying to figure out how to do something on a new computer that I had recently purchased and I was giving it my full and dedicated attention. My wife walked into the room and started to talk to me about a problem that she was having with her mobile phone. Now, what was happening was that I was giving my complete attention to my problem and doing a typical "yes dear" type response to my wifes conversation i.e. not really listening.
As it was something that my wife was not expecting me to help her with anyway, she left the room and I carried on with my computer problem. After a couple of minutes, I had fixed my problem and my mind jumped back to the conversation that I had (or should have had) with my wife. In that split second i could not recall what my wife had said and I went into a blind panic and convinced myself that I was going mad. The reality of course was that I was just not really paying attention to my wife and I was giving the vast bulk of my attention to the problem that I had with my PC.
Anyway, after running downstairs in an ever increasing state of panic I was somewhat pacified by the fact that my wife had even forgotten what it was she had been speaking to me about ! However, it was too late. The panic attack had taken hold and I have been in a mild anxious state since then.
This kinda' summarises my panic trigger and I hope that I can eventually come to terms with it and then, over time, eradicate the irrational thoughts that initiate my attacks.
I am seeking some counselling (CBT?) and I am trying to cope without resorting to medication. The internet appears to be full of good common sense advice and I have gained more confidence in the past few hours browsing than I have with many sessions with my GP.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy off-load but I think the one thing we all should know is that it is good to talk...or rather type
I look forward to the support that I already feel I am receiving just by browsing these forums.
Good Mental Health....................yes I'm a Frasier fan
krog.
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I do have a little insight of what can happen if mis-diagnosed, WELL not so much mis-diagnosed, but if they don't know what the problem is.
