my first panic attack

[me]

dear kate and lucky thankyou for being there x oh im back on the computer again. well i tried everything today the house work kept me busy but i still kept getting a nervous tummy and it winds me up and i get so frightened that im going to have a moment, the feelings kept coming and going i made sure i had some lunch but the phone rang and it totally freaked me out, it was a lady who i work with, she must of thought i was mad or extremely rude cause i told her i couldnt talk she said she wanted to come and see me but i had to just get off the phone i was getting the pins and needles so i said goodbye and put the phone down, how awful of me, i felt i was being awful to her but i just couldnt talk. so i got myself on the sofa and did the breathing which calmed me down ...why did i go like that? then i made myself eat my soup which was really hard ,which is odd for me because i love my food!!! i am finding it hard to eat at the moment but iam making myself...hey you never know i may lose some weight..after lunch i began to tidy the house which was really hard and thats also weird for me cause i love cleaning!!then 1/2 hour before i had to go and get our foster boy a record came onto the radio and it made me have horrible thoughts and i felt a big panic coming on so i went and called my mum who tried to calm me she is being a star i then thought i couldnt collect our foster child from school as i wasnt safe to drive so i called my lovely friend but it went straight onto answer phone which meant more panic so i called my mum back who again tried to calm me then my friend called me and came to my rescue i spoke to my husband in between and he told me to take one of my tablets which im trying not to do because im scared i will come to rely on them, but im so much calmer now. i am going to see a hypnothreapist(hope ive spelt that right not to good on spelling sorry) on monday she called me alittle while ago and sounded really nice and said she could help...fingers crossed.lucky i have no problem telling you about why i fostering its nice for someone to be interested but im abit wacked at the moment so ill tell you later thankyou both for being so wonderful its so nice to know your there bye for now love from mary xx

[nomorepanic]

Mary

Glad you are feeling calmer now - what a hectic day for you?

I am sure the hypnotherapy will help you a lot - very relaxing for you.

If you get all panicky, try reading the coping page on the web site - that may help calm things down ok?

Hope you are feeling better this evening?

Nicola

[me]

nicola i cant stop panicing im so frightened i dont know what to do i dont understand how to calm down im so scared and feeling alone i feel so silly for feeling like this im sorry i keep coming to all of you but i feel lost x

[nomorepanic]

Mary

come in chat if you can ok?

Nicola

[me]

quote:Originally posted by Lucky

I know Kate at least I know we are on the same wavelength and hopefully we are helping!!

mary - if you are happier sitting posting you know Kate and i are both here and will try and reply asap - others will probably post some time today as well if we are not managing to get on!!

Can I ask you why you decided to get into fostering? It is just i was fostered when I was younger (off and on) (family issues not because I was unruly)

lucky

lucky are you there its me mary im sorry to touble you again but i am havin more panic s ive had such a good morning i dont know why im feeling like this now cause im now off to see my counsellor i should be feeling safe i dont know how to send anyone messages i keep typing away but i dont if they are getting to anyone sorry

[bluebird1]

hi mary,
I hope you are feeling a bit better after your counselling.
panic attacks are always a bit scary when you first get them you feel like you are in some kind of waking nightmare, but it will get better, we have all been there and there is a light at the end of the tunnel . dont worry about your messages there is always someone here to read them and we will all be here for as long as you need us
take care for now
lyn xxx

[sarah]

Hi Mary

Im sorry you are feeling so bad at the moment. Please believe me when I tell you, they wont hurt you. Easy said I know, but its true.

Try breathing in for the count of 3 and out for the count of 4, this will regulate your breathing.

Do a few little stretching exercises, shrug your shoulders, stretch your arms out, stretch your legs etc, this will get rid of some adrenaline and relax you a bit.

Most of all, keep telling yourself that you will be ok, it will pass and it wont hurt you.

love Sarah
xx

[nomorepanic]

Mary

Hope you are feeling better now cos you emailed me to say that you felt better this morning.

I know it is hard to cope at the moment but what you need is to try and calm yourself and practice that breathing.

May see you in chat later if you are up to it ok?

Nicola

[me]

hi everyone mary here thankyou for replying to me i was scared to come back on just incase no one was there but you are thankyou x well by dinner time i was in a mess i went to see the counsellor i dint want to leave the house..but my lovely husband got me there, when i was with her i felt weird i told here all sorts and she was wonderful but then i went funny i felt distant she said she could feel i had disconected from her which i also felt infact i keep feeling it with everyone. but she sat and talked to me for two hours and i felt alittle better and the evening has gone well until now and i m starting to worry so im now going to try and go on to chat thingy bob i havent a clue what im doing but ill give it my best shot THANKYOU ALL iam so grateful for kindness x

[Lottie32]

Dear Mary

Please try and calm down. I know thats easier said than done, and virtually impossible, particularly when you are at the "height" of your panic sensation, BUT YOU ARE GOING TO BE OK.

That may be impossible for you to believe at the moment - believe me, there were times when i really thought that I had totally lost the plot and would wake up in a padded room. BUT THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

Please have a look around this site and in particular find the messages from Stimpy (Liz). Only a few (and I really do mean a few) months ago, she was so frightened, she didn't dare even use her computer. Her lovely husband Steve had to message for her!

Now Liz is feeling much much better, and as you will see, the nature, content and tone of her posts has changed totally.

The first thing that you need to do is to accept that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder. I know this sounds really scarey, and it's the last thing you want to think about right now. But, until you accept that you are having a "blip" in your life right now, then you can't do anything to fight it.

Check out the breathing exercises on the site. Practice them, particularly when you are feeling ok. That way, they become second nature when you aren't feeling ok - which is when you need them!!!1

Make sure that you eat properly. I suffer from a nervous tummy when I'm anxious, and I appreciate that the last thing you want to do is to eat. However, as I have learnt to my cost - not eating makes you 100% worse. If you are feeling "dodgy" then try sticking to things like rice, fish, chicken, fruit, soup etc. A drop in blood sugars can trigger or exacerbate an anxiety attack (I know - I've been there!!!)

One thing that worked for me when I felt dreadful was to clean, sort and tidy. My mum came back from holiday once to find about three tins in the dry food cupboard - I'd gone through all the things in there, and binned everything that was out of date, or that we were never likely to eat. (Tinned asparagus tips? We must have won them in a raffle). I am also quite bad for sorting my books into topics, author, and dates written!!! And I have lots of books.

Think about how you are leading your life at the minute. Reducing tea/coffee, ciggies and beer can all help, as can taking time out for you each day to "chill". I appreciate that is probably the last thing you feel you can do at the moment, but try to put half an hour aside each day for you - even if you just have a great big steamy bubble bath.

I hope that your councellor has helped you to "square up" what is happening to you.

Please remember that we are all here to help you - we have all "been there got the t-shirt". It makes us feel so much better to help anybody who is a "novice" sufferer!! As Meg will tell you, the quicker you are able to take action, the quicker and easier it is to overcome your problems. I let mine go on for years before I took action, and have spent the last year "battling" onwards!

Please remember Mary we are all behind you, use the site, check out the home page for remedies and supplement suggestions (I am a believer in Vit B complex - but be warned, when your body has absorbed what it needs, it expels the rest, which has the result of turning your wee fluroescent yellow! Very disturbing if you are not expecting it.)

Take good care of yourself, and I hope you manage to have a good weekend.

Love



Charlie

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.