General Anxiety and Panic Disorder

reply to post by jcutler12888


Very brave of you to share your personal story like that.

reply to post by 1/2 Nephilim


I'm not necessarily afraid of death, but I am more so attached to this reality. I like the material. I can't help it. I really enjoy playing guitar, eating food, drawing, walking, observing. I just enjoy being alive so much that letting it all go stresses me out. I personally am not very religious. I do not believe in Christianity in any facet because I have studied the bible now for quite some time and none of it makes any sense to me. I was baptized a catholic when I was younger and it was all kind of forced on me. This made me want to rebel in a way. I have been atheist now for 2 or 3 years, but more recently I have been studying into Buddhism because of some of the experiences I have encountered throughout my life. I always felt like, if I was just religious and believed in something like that, just to keep a peace of mind about the "Afterlife" I would have quite a bit of stress relief.

reply to post by teetime


I have gone to the dentists a few times due to jaw pain that I assumed was my wisdom teeth coming in, but it turns out I only have one wisdom tooth, and it's coming in on the opposite side of where the pain is at. The dentist said that I might have TMJ. Which would make sense, because back when I was younger I got hit in the jaw by a steel baseball bat. Ever since then I have had clicking in my jaws when I extend them and random sharp pains in both sides. Other than my wisdom tooth, I don't have any cavities or cracked teeth. I have like, 7 fillings. I researched into the whole filling thing, because I thought maybe that's what could be causing my anxiety, was the mercury leaking out of my fillings into my blood stream. But I don't have those type of fillings, I have different kind, I can't remember what it is called. Plaster or something.

Gotta ask...

Do you drink diet anything? Like, with aspartame in it? Aspartame is a neuroexcitatory neurotoxin. Aspatame is in lots of other foods too like yogurt.

If you have any artifiacial sweeteners in your diet, get rid of them.

reply to post by davjan4


I do not eat anything with artificial sweeteners in it, I hate diet products and know about aspartame and the effects it has on the body. I always prefer sugar from the cane.

reply to post by Erich94


WOW!

I have a few questions first....

What drugs have you taken in the past?

Do you frequently get acid reflux?

Have you ever experienced anyone close to you dying?

Also.... what Zodiac sign are you?

Studying physics has given me more of a spiritual sense in an after life... funny how for some it doesn't.

reply to post by Erich94


My wife, daughter and niece all get anxiety attacks. They are all on Adivan. My wife started to get her first anxiety attack when she went on a short weekend trip to Niagara Falls with my niece and nephew. She was in the hotel room when she got the attack. She got so nervous, she left the room and started running down the hallway with my nephew running after her. She eventually calmed down once my nephew got her back into the room.

She feels it was triggered by all the shrimp she ate earlier that night. She's never been allergic to shell fish so I doubted that was it. She no longer dares to eat shrimp, but she still gets anxiety attacks. Not as bad as the original one.

My daughter and Niece also have bouts with anxiety. I think its more common than you think. The cause is a mystery and doctors and psychologists don't have answers for it.

reply to post by MamaJ


In the past I have used marijuana, alcohol, shrooms, dxm, many perscription narcotics and that's all. I never did anything a whole lot for a long period of time. It was mostly just here and there.

I do get acid reflux a lot, I get a burning feeling toward the bottom of my esophagus a sometimes it makes me have anxiety and panic.

Over the past 3 years I have had 4 or 5 people close to me die. A close friend, my step father, my Grand mother, my great aunt and another great aunt.

I am a Taurus.

reply to post by Erich94


Yeah, you can't trust tap water. From the chemicals they put into to the integrity of the pipes of the public water system (and their potential for contaminating the water with anything from heavy metals to other poisons in the ground), it's generally a good idea to avoid water from the tap. Not that I'm saying you should go guzzle a bunch of sodas or fruit juices...just please watch what you're putting in your bodies, everybody.

Its the Weed buddy, makes some people paranoid after a while. Some people can handle it, some cannot. Believe it or not its genetic. Black people are actually more susceptible to Cannabis than white people. Dont know what colour you are, don't care either way but dont smoke so much and hopefully things will settle down.

If im way off base and you dont smoke weed then your first port of call is your GP, they will be able to refer you to a psychiatric nurse who will probably recommend a course of cognitive therapy. Teach you how to calm youself using breathing exercises and how to modify your thought process. Essentially only think good thoughts.

Remember it all comes down to fight or flight in the end.

Good Luck!

reply to post by Kram09


Thank you, Kram. I believe that being open and honest about our stories is the first and best step that we can all take towards awareness of issues (whether the issue is a person's experience with abuse or their experience with anxiety or otherwise) and helping others deal with those issues if they have encountered or are encountering them in their lives.

Whenever I was a kid, if I had ever heard a lady speaking about how someone had hurt her and how it wasn't okay, maybe I would've gotten the courage from that to have told someone what was happening and ended my abuse...I wish someone would've shared their story with me back then but no one did so I lived in silence and fear, thinking there was something wrong with me for wanting to die when I was told I was supposed to enjoy what was being done to me, and my abuse continued for SO many years when it could have stopped had someone said "This happened to me. If it happened to you, there is nothing wrong with you and it is not your fault. You will be saved from being put through more and taken from that situation if you just tell someone". And when I was with my husband, if a woman shared her story and said "I know a way out that is completely safe, let me show you the way", I would've jumped at it in a heartbeat and been able to escape without almost losing my life...but nobody ever said anything like that or told their story so I again lived in fear and my abuse went on for a lot longer than it would have if someone just would've shared their story and extended a helping hand to me and any and everyone else going through that.

I think that by telling my story, someone who may have been through the same pain I went through but never told anyone or gotten help dealing with it may see me speaking about my experiences and feel emboldened to go out and break the silence and begin their healing process. Or maybe someone who's currently being abused will see my story and decide that enough is enough and get out of a bad situation. Hopefully people who have never been through situations such as mine will see my story and be enraged at the thought of anyone doing that to their children, little brothers and sisters, little nieces and nephews, friends' kids and their mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, and best friends and maybe become a bit more aware of how prevalent child and spousal abuse is in this country and hopefully it will start a fire in their hearts and they'll decide to try to help fight this terrible problem whether they donate $5 to their local shelters and crisis centers or volunteer at a shelter's consignment store or just do anything to help victims and battle this evil that is perpetrated against women and children from every age, socioeconomic class, race, neighborhood, city, state, and nation on this earth EVERY DAY. That's what I dearly hope telling my story will do, I hope it will change the lives of those who read it, if even in the littlest of ways, as long as it changes them for the better...and if it does, I will have accomplished my mission in telling my story.

Message to everyone reading this: I stayed silent for years. I was stuck in a Hell that I could've escaped had I known it were possible. I'm here to tell anyone who's going through abuse or who has been through abuse that there is nothng wrong with you, it is not your fault, and it is possible to escape, and there are so many people willing to help...break the silence...you will be glad that you did. And to those who haven't been through abuse, any of your loved ones could be subject to such atrocities...hold them close and protect them, watch out for them, and if you can find it in your heart to take the time, PLEASE give whatever you can to help victims and join in the fight against abuse.

Also, concerning my anxiety and PTSD...there is so much stigma attached to these issues and the people that have them, it simply isn't right. People need to know that those who battle anxiety and PTSD aren't crazy...many have been through things like I have that caused my anxiety disorder and PTSD and many have simple chemical imbalances that can easily be addressed if they aren't discouraged from seeking help due to fear of stigmatization. If I can tell my story and show others that people who have anxiety issues and PTSD aren't crazy, they're just normal people dealing with a difficult situation, maybe that will cut down on the discrimination and stigmatization. If someone dealing with anxiety or PTSD can read my story and see that they aren't crazy, they are just dealing with a difficult situation, and be emboldened to seek help, then I will have again accomplished my mission in telling my story.

Again, to everyone reading this: sometimes baring your soul can change the lives of others for the better. Don't be afraid to let your voice be heard and your story be told.

Originally posted by Erich94
reply to post by MamaJ

 

In the past I have used marijuana, alcohol, shrooms, dxm, many perscription narcotics and that's all. I never did anything a whole lot for a long period of time. It was mostly just here and there.

I do get acid reflux a lot, I get a burning feeling toward the bottom of my esophagus a sometimes it makes me have anxiety and panic.

Over the past 3 years I have had 4 or 5 people close to me die. A close friend, my step father, my Grand mother, my great aunt and another great aunt.

I am a Taurus.

Thank you for answering my questions.

It is a known fact that acid reflux, especially when severe can raise blood pressure and cause an impending doom feeling such as a panic attack. My boyfriend is one who will get white as a ghost, feel weird, and feels as though there is an impending doom coming for him all because of acid reflux. He cannot eat a lot he once ate and is on medication daily for the acid reflux. Blood pressure meds didn't work for him and is still high at times but the doom is gone on daily meds for the reflux disease.

Shrooms has been known to cause anxiety in the future, however I believe you to have issues with your esophagus along with PTSD because of the trauma you my have experienced from the deaths, especially if you watched any of them take their last breath and or suffer for long periods of times.

I self diagnosed myself many years ago with PTSD. I don't take meds for it because I have fought it by understanding the cause. I watched my step son die a slow and painful death for five years. I became a recluse, read ten books a week, and became scared to "live". I became terrified of storms. One day I read a book that explained what trauma does.... because like my step son, I had no control over the storms. Living in TN we get frequent tornadoes. One day, ten years later I conquered the fear by sitting outside in bad weather on my deck talking myself into being "ok". I prayed a lot while sitting outside to be "normal" again. My family and friends laughed at me for years. When it stormed they would call and ask if I was in hiding or if I was at my Grandmothers they would ask if there was a storm coming. I would go over there even if it was 2 am.... running from the storm to safety as I felt the safest there. I still have fear of the storm, but nothing at all like I once was.

Anyway... I wish you luck.... and hope... you will conquer whatever it is causing you to feel this way. I understand its a helpless feeling but you sound as determined as I was to figure out the cause.

While it is true that specific things (for example substance abuse) can trigger panic attacks, many people develop panic disorder even when there is no obvious physical root cause for triggering panic.

Having panic attacks does not in any way mean you are "crazy", or that something is "wrong" with you when you have an attack. Panic is actually a normal, healthy human emotional state - without which the human race would have never survived as a species. For example, if you were trapped in a burning building it would obviously not be "crazy" to be in a state of complete panic. In fact, the panic might save your life, as it could motivate you to leap out of a window or jump through some flames to get to safety, or use superhuman strength to lift a heavy object.

It is simply the "fight or flight" reaction that results in a variety of physical things happening in our body that help us to be in an extremely heightened state in order to take the most effective physical actions to protect ourselves from some grave danger or threat. It won't hurt you in any way to be in a state of panic, even if it feels "really bad". And it won't and can't make you "go crazy", or do something "crazy".

Panic disorder is simply when you have panic in an inappropriate situation, or when there is no physical danger. For example, until I learned ways to cope with the panic, I myself often have had panic attacks because I was so anxious about having a panic attack!!! And then, if I thought I was starting to have a panic attack, I *really* panicked because I was so afraid of having a panic attack! So, paradoxically, this resulted in a viscous cycle that I had to break.

If you are in a state of panic when there is some grave physical danger or threat that you are dealing with, you aren't going to notice the various physical and emotional sensations associated with the state of panic (most of which are unpleasant), because you are so busy and distracted dealing with the threat (imagine you are running from a giant bear!) If you are just sitting in a quiet room when you panic, then the physical sensations can feel overwhelming. However, they are completely normal and would be happening (even if you didn't notice them), if you were running from a giant bear.

For me, it is helpful to keep in mind and remind myself of this if I feel like I am starting to have a panic attack. This almost always stops the panic attack in its tracks, and I almost immediately go back to feeling normal.

reply to post by Erich94


I have been suffering from panic attacks and general anxiety disorder for 12 years now. As for my history I did have my time of messing with drugs, but once I had my first panic attack it scared me to death and haven't done drugs recreationally since then. Around the time of my first panic attack I just went through a break up that I took really bad and also had a very stressful high demanding job.

my first panic attack happened at work and i thought i was having a heart attack and dying. i felt like i couldnt breathe and my heart was racing like crazy and i was dizzy.i ran into the bathroom and looked at myself in tge mirror and i was all red and shaking, i really was scared i was going to pass out and die. I finally got outside and sat down and started feeling better. I think my first attack scared me so bad it actually brought on more.

The worst were the panic attacks in my sleep where I would wake up gasping for air. Death and not being able to breathe became my biggest fear. There were a few trips to the ER cause I thought I was having a heart attack.

My family doctor at that time sent me for all kinds of heart tests, thyroid...etc. Waiting for the heart tests results gave me more panic attacks cause I was so scared it was my heart. Luckily all those tests came back clear. My family doctor would only prescribe buspar...wich was complete garbage. He then gave me 10 xanax and said I needed a psychiatrist. The xanax gave me amazing relief....well I went thru multiple psychiatrists, they all refused me benzos and wanted to pump me up on antidepressants and other #ty drugs that did nothing. I was at my wits end. I got so mad, and this actually helped me, I said to myself....screw it! If I stop breathing and collapse an ambulance will come and whatever happens, happens. So that helped me let go of my fear of death and not being able to breathe alot. I still got panic attacks but they were less and I had more of a bring it on attitude.

I was still suffering from horrible anxiety everyday, and being unable to find a Dr. Who would Prescribe me benzos. Finally my mom talked me into switching to her family Dr as a last result. She was a patient of him for years and on benzos. It was a long shot cause I figured hed say I was too young for that,but he was very understanding, and actually listened to me and I finally got on the correct dose of ativan, 1mg 3x per day. (also on Prozac daily for depression but that's a diff topic).

Anyway...I'm doing alot better now. I started researching vitamins about a month ago. Actually found out thru ats that b3 (niacin) is amazing for depression and anxiety, but you have to get the pure niacin, the one that makes you flush, the flush free stuff is worthless. Out of all the things I've tried I must say the niacin has helped me the most. I take 3000mgs per day, 1000 with each meal. I'm feeling so much better its amazing. I don't need my anxiety pills as much and I'm currently weaning off the Prozac.

Other parts of my daily vitamin regimen include a multi vitamin, super b complex, 5000mgs of vitamin d, and at least 1000mgs of vitamin c. There's a great thread on here about liposomal vitamin c, you might want to look into that as well.

I will say if the ativan are helping you then def take them. I have a non addictive personality as well so i wasnt worried about that. i still take as needed but now its maybe once a day instead of 3 times a day. my goal is to get completly off the prescription drugs all together.

i think this is the longest reply i ever did and i hope it helps you in some way. just remember you are not alone and you can beat this.

Interesting thread...I've had panic attacks and extreme social anxiety for years and it has driven me absolutely nuts. Its also cost me years of my life as I'm always afraid to do things especially if I think they will induce an attack in front of people. I've hid this problem from nearly everybody as long as I have suffered from it and have not been able to receive any sort of therapy because it would cost me the one chance I have at the career I'm just now entering. Going to therapy is a HUGE black mark on your record in this career field and would totally disqualify me for the rest of my life. The thing is I feel as though putting myself in this career will do more then anything else ever Could as far as ridding me of this damn mental curse.
It is maddening to be stuck in such a mental prison and not being able to seek help, and a constant challenge as I tray, mostly in vein, to control my attacks. When I went through physical testing I thought my head was going to explode from trying to control my pounding heart and shaking hands. If anybody caught on I'd be disqualified forever. They had to take my pulse 3 times because they thought something was wrong with my heart. Nothing I dohas ever helped. Sigh...
Mine also started suddenly after my fiance cheated on me. I believe this is the key to my issue as well as many others...it is SELF ESTEEM

I've had the same problems for the last ten years, mine were caused by an underlying heart problem. Mine started when I was 17 and my current doctor dismissed my concerns as anxiety due to my age. He didn't even consider the fact that I just had a child(yes, I know I was young). I had post-partum cardiomyopathy, and suffered for months because I trusted my doctor. I was given the go to have more children and two more babies later, I had a new heart problem. So after about a year of ativan(it stops working after a while if you don't be careful, and the more you take the more you feel like you need it, so be careful), and anti-depressants, a mental health doctor..and all I needed was something for my heart. I feel you, but be mindful about your body and if something feels off, that you know is not a mental issue, get an MRI on your head or an electrocardigram. My second heart condition was not detectable by an EKG or an X-ray(which is usually what they will do at an ER). The problem that I had, was that a doctor instilled into my brain that I was suffering from a mental disorder, so that was what I told myself. Even when my chest hurt (that can be a symptom of a panic attack). I was labeled as a person with a panic disorder, and then even after my diagnosis, I returned to the ER where I had went after I was properly diagnosed and was not given a fair look over. Finally, a doctor listened to my heart and hooked me up to a monitor and my pulse was about 200bpms, and was diagnosed with tachycardia and needed a beta-blocker instead of the benzo. It's just important to listen to your body, because sometimes it is anxiety and that should be treated like a physical disorder because you suffer just as much as a person with any other kind of tangible(on paper) problem. Also, your body should be tested for real physical problems before settling with any kind of mental diagnosis.


Hope that helps a little. Deep breaths help. I've learned to control my own heart rate at times when I run out of my medication. There are some days when I meditate so much, that I create an ativan-like state in my own mind and fall out like I just took some pills. No medication needed, but that took years of work. You can do it too.

reply to post by Erich94

I have seen a lot of people direct their attention to the panic you feel. I was wondering how you feel about the feelings you get like with your heart (thumping or beating erratically followed by feeling dream like or distant, etc.).

I know you said you had doctors check your heart rate, but there are conditions people develop with the heart that aren't detected all the time, just during an episode.

Both my parents have been diagnosed and successfully treated for heart arrhythmia. This is a condition where the electric impulses that come from the brain and control the heart muscles get out of beat and there is a period of erratic heart beat (fibrillation) .

This produces symptoms like you describe.

Atrial fibrillation

Please don't panic at this. I don't know that you have it, just something you mentioned (your heart). It certainly cause anxiety when it happens because your heart is not beating correctly. When that happens your blood is not pumping correctly and that can cause the other symptoms like feeling dizzy or distant.

Its like you are breathing enough but your brain is not getting enough oxygen because the heart muscles aren't pumping right. This is not fatal. Its a condition which can get worse over time if not treated by "ablation".

First it needs to be diagnosed. That is not easy because when the heart is working fine there are no detectable irregularities on an EEG. For atrial fib, they give you a heart monitor thing that records your heart track at home and they can review the data later after an episode. Then they see what kind of problem you might be having. You have to get past the "You're just having a panic attack, thing" at the hospital by insisting that your heart starts these episodes you are having. That it "comes and goes". They should send you to a heart specialist then.

All this is expensive, do you have medical insurance?

watch out for caffeine, diet drinks and over the counter meds to include Ibuprofen ect used often over a period of time.

reply to post by Violetshy



there have been times i have meditated to a benzo-like state as well, so i def encourage anyone facing anxiety/panic to give this a try as well....do a nice meditation session right after waking up when your mind us clear.

I've been lurking on ATS for a while now and this thread is what caused me to sign up so i could reply. I had severe panic attacks for around 6 months and honestly can imagine nothing worse, it led to a host of other mental problems which i finally overcame entirely without any drugs. here's what i did to sort it out, some of the things you might think are stupid or don't apply to you but i promise each of these things play roles that are vital and you'd be amazed how much difference they make to your wellbeing.

Start with the basics

1. Look over your diet and make sure you are getting enough of everything you need, work out a sleep schedule that gives you enough sleep always. Supplement your diet with daily consumption of vitamin B1

2. Drink LOTS of water every day

3. Force yourself to take a 1 hour walk every morning, half an hour each way. doesn't matter where to, just walk.

That should set you up nicely to be in a better frame of mind to tackle what actually is causing the panic attacks and like you i've read up a lot and tried absolutely everything. First i'll tell you the story of when my panic attacks stopped.

I was lying in bed not being able to sleep despite having taken several sleeping pills and being absolutely as tired as can be, this was a regular occurence by the way and took me around 6 hours each night just to get to sleep, i would wake up with the most horrible nightmares i can imagine. sometimes i would just hear a sound in my sleep , a sound that i couldn't possibly describe, i would wake up trembling and have to leave the room and for the rest of the night would sleep on the couch. The other dream was recurring almost nightly and it would always be of me just walking around my neighbourhood, every night i'd stumble upon the same anonymous person and everything around would start to fizzle out, the best way i can describe it is like the animation in a 1st person video game when you get killed. anyway that would happen and then i'd dream that i was having a heart attack and naturally i would wake up with my heart pounding.

There were many many strange dreams like that which would send me into absolute shock, dreams where i'm having an electric knife stabbed through my heart where i would feel the pain and have the sensation of electrocution at the same time. Also another where my head was being crushed and i could actually feel my head being crushed.....

Didn't mean to ramble on but i thought you might like some background info on my experience, anyway here's what cured it.

I was lying in bed unable to sleep and had a very sudden feeling that i either have to fix this NOW or forever live in absolute misery, without any more thought i got out some paper and a pen and wrote down every bad thing i'd ever done, i wrote and wrote and wrote and then wrote some more and when i finished i experienced the biggest relief of my life. The feeling was like letting the air out of a baloon that was so full it was about to burst (imagine yourself as the balloon). honestly i felt instantly calmer, went to bed and fell straight asleep. The next day i showed a friend what i'd written as i felt for it to be fully ended someone needed to read it.

I've never had a panic attack or any kind of unusual anxiety since and am convinced that's what will cure any panic attack anywhere.


so if you want to try it, get your basics in first: food, sleep, excercise, vitamin B1, Lots of water and then sit down and write out your misdeeds (for lack of a better word) and ESPECIALLY the things you wouldn't tell anybody, ESPECIALLY what you feel are the very worst things you've done. Be as detailed as possible and get someone you trust to read it over... after that do what you like with it, burn it, bin it, shred it.

I hope that helps you out somewhat, do let me know if you try it and let me know how it works out for you.