hello, crafts question!

[loli1982]

hello, this is going to seem like a odd question, but since i started having panic attacks 4 weeks ago, i cant do anything, im a jeweller/silversmith, and every time i even think about it, i just go into another panic, i had anxiety for years, and working away always helped, am really starting to worry about this, i have orders etc due, and im supposed to go back to college soon. so my question is.. does this pass, is this a normal sort of thing for people having panic attacks? i cant even draw at the moment, an its really stressing me out. thanks for taking the time to read this xx
louise

[i love tea]

Hi Louise, I don't think this is an odd question at all...

I'm quite a creative person (design degree and currently doing an illustration course) but I find that when I'm going through a really anxious period (I mainly have health anxieties) I cannot draw - I don't even try, I just can't face it. It's as though my creativity is paralysed

For me, I think it's also a fear of failure - when I'm relaxed I'm happy just to doodle and explore ideas, but when I'm feeling anxious, I stress about every line I draw, afraid that it's going to go wrong...

Sorry for rambling, I don't think I've been very helpful, I just wanted to let you know I understand

[loli1982]

you have helped! thanks for replying! i got a bit of heath anxiety aswell, one of my worries is i have to use chemicals etc, worried about poisning myself! (went as far as googling silver poisning few weeks ago, just to check it wasnt causing my symptoms!) its really weird though, just the sight of any of my tools etc, sets me off, ive had to hide them in the spare room! i used to use drawing and metalwork to calm down, now its making me worse! saying that, the last two necklaces i made were titled hell in a handbasket, and the last straw, so i should mabey have guessed i was heading for something! art therapists would have a field day!!

[loli1982]

my shiny things, if anyone interested, yup, they not amazing, but im a student, just learning. i removed the link, cant do this no more, this makin me sad, thank you to every1 for their nice comments.

[PoppyC]

Hi Loli
Did you make all of those??? If so you are very talented! I love the rings especially.

[loli1982]

i did! thank you, am pining for doing something today, bt cant bring myself to do it. been stuck to the ceiling since yesterday. have brought my silver box downstairs, an im just sitting here looking at it! mibby if i look at it long enough, itl do itself? ha ha

[PoppyC]

Just read your first post. I hope you manage to get over how you are feeling as you obviously have a real talent.
I used to get panic attacks very badly several times a day at their worst, but now since being on medication, I don't get them, thankfully. I do know how awful and disabling they can be.
Are you having any therapy for your anxiety? or taking any medication?

[loli1982]

gp gave me propranolol 40mg twice daily, and ive asked for a referal to the community mental heath team, cause i really need to see someone about this.
medical wise, ive had 4 ecgs, all clear, chest xray, and a 24 hour heart moniter, (waiting on results) i dont think the beta blockers are really helping, my heart slowed down a fair bit, but im still obsessed with my heath, and that im about to pop my clogs, dvts, heart attacks, stroke, you name it, ive thought about it!! i struggle to go outside, im barely eating, cant concentrate on anything, and the most random things seem to be making me panic. i dont think the fact i worked in heathcare for ten years is really helping, cause ive got a huge list of horrible ways to die stuck in my head, and i cant stop thinking about it. (sorry, im having a bit of a pity party today!)

[gypsywomen]

hello i now go to art class at coege i have found it helped me so much

[loli1982]

hi, yeah, i know a few people who found art really helped them, and ive seen the effects art therapy can have on people as well. i dunno if its cause its backwards with me, i started was on a art based course before this started, but its just making me worse, its upsetting me though because so much of who i am is tied up in what i do, i used it as a coping thing for years, things went wrong, i went to my workshop, made something, and generally felt better, working on something seemed to help me work through my problems. i dunno what im going to do if i cant do this anymore. my mum did this as well, she lived off selling her paintings for years, but when my gran and grampa died last year, she shut up her studio, and has refused to paint ever since.