happening again

[missy76]

hi everyone

im new to this site and thought id see if anyone is in the same position as me. 5 years ago i first suffered from anxiety, it only lasted a few months and i decided enough is enough and fought my way back in control. recently tho, its come back with a vengeance and i cant seem to control it. when im outside, i constantly feel like im going to faint then i panic about it which doesnt really help. ive become very very aware of my body and every little twinge and pulse. im finding it really difficult to get through each day which is no good to me as i have young children who need me and my attention.

any advice would be welcomed

thanks xxxx

[Jaco45er]

Hi Missy and welcome

I am having a little relapse too.

What did you do the 1st time round to overcome anxiety?

Regards,

Jaco

[missy76]

hi jaco

after spending 3 months in bed sleeping it all away, i just woke up one day feeling a little stronger and from then on i was fine.
not quite sure what brought it on but i now feel myself sitting here waiting on that moment again.

[mick_uk]

Hiya Missy,
Relapses are horrific, you seem to be doing well, then bang out of the blue you start to panic again.
It's more annoying when you can't see a reason for it happening. Did anything happen to cause it this time?
As jaco said, can you remember what you did last time to overcome it?
Everyone has different ways to 'cope' with anxiety and panic attacks. There are tips on the left hand side of this page that may help you get through this setback.
Hope you start to feel better soon.
mick

[Jaco45er]

Was it depression missy?

I find I do the opposite, I can't stay still and have a feeling that I have to "burn off" the anxiety energy.

[missy76]

my doctor told me i wasnt depressed, i definitely didnt feel depressed...more annoyed that i wasnt in control.
my son recently spent some time in hospital and this is probably what started it all again.....now im back to being more annoyed than anything that i cant be of any use to him as he heals.

[House fan]

Hi Missy

I'm sorry to hear that your anxiety has returned, and can understand the frustration that you feel right now. You have been there before, conquered it, and now it seems to be back worse than ever. It's natural to feel annoyed, especially when you feel it is now outwith your control, but I can assure you, with a little understanding, and a little patience, you can be free from this 'nightmare' once more.

You stated that you 'fought' yourself out of your anxiety 5 years ago. I would doubt that was the case, as fighting anxiety has the opposite effect, every time. Can I suggest that after fighting it for so long, you perhaps accepted that after such a long and tiring fight with your symptoms, you decided one morning that 'regardless' of how you were feeling, you made a decision that you weren't going to let it stop you living your life, and without knowing it at the time..... accepted these symptoms, and as you truly accepted them, you lost your fear of them, and of course the symptoms very quickly left.

I would suspect that this is probably what happened, even if you were unaware of it at the time.

Please understand that all your symptoms are fear related, nothing more and nothing less. While it is normal to feel 'annoyed' by what is happening to you, and I know just how inconvenient it is for you right now, the truth of the matter is that you have been brought to this 'frightening' stage of your life by nothing more than sensitized nerves, and you are now caught in the fear-adrenaline-fear cycle, which you are going to have to accept will take time to overcome.

Because you feel you conquered this once, it is only natural that you feel you can do it again, and of course you can, but I can see the very frustration, annoyance and impatience you are harboring, just from reading your few posts, and until you let these emotions go, and understand that you will have to give your body time to re-adjust, then I'm afraid to tell you that recovery will not happen!

Constant fear has taken it's toll on your body. And with fear, comes adrenaline, and where there is adrenaline, there is always symptoms..... and lots of them! Unrelented fear (although irrational) plays havoc with our bodies, and has the uncanny ability to 'con' us, it offers us a hundred lies, and we buy every single one of them, making us believe that we have something outwith our control, like a fear of fainting fo example. I don't know you at all, but I would bet that you have never fainted in your life before, but you have 'bought' these lies, because fear has made you feel so vulnerable!

Many sufferers believe they have some 'deep seated' illness, and there is no GP in the land who can convince them otherwise, such is the power of unrelented fear.

You have the power within you to overcome this, but first you must realise that you are in a sensitized state at the moment. You must accept that your nerves are simply playing tricks with you, and there is absolutely nothing organically wrong with your body. It has been instructed by you to act in this way, because of constant fear. Truly accept these facts, see them for what they are, unpleasant, but completely harmless sensations brought on by fear, they are not capable of harming you in any way.

Understand that it takes the body time to re-adjust. Just as a broken bone takes time to heal, so it is with sensitized nerves. I hope this helps a wee bit, sorry for the rant.

House.

[missy76]

that does help and makes a lot of sense. thank you.

i agreed to go out with the kids today again but yet again our journey was cut short due to the light headed feeling, weak at the knees and palpitations.

this officially sucks :(