Panic attacks and dissociative symptoms

siberiantarragon

People who get panic attacks and/or dissociative symptoms: what works for you? I've been trying to get a protocol going that can get rid of these issues for good. I haven't had a full panic attack since November but I do have depersonalization and derealization on a pretty much daily basis. I started having both of these issues in July (although I have dealt with DP/DR on and off in the past). I would like to get over it and move on with my life.

Current protocol I am trying out:
Morning:
1300mg inositol, a natural supplement that helps with anxiety and dissociation. I think this has helped me a lot because it seems like a couple of weeks after I started taking it my panic attacks went away.
1200mg fish oil. In the past this seems to have helped me with brain fog, not sure if it does now.
2000 IU vitamin D3. I only take this every other day, unless I'm sick and then I take it every day -- this is mostly for my immune system but it's also supposed to help mental health if you are deficient, which I was.

Evening:
5mg Lexapro. I tried to go up to 10mg last week but that just made me depressed. I recently switched taking this from morning to evening on the advice of my psychiatrist. However it seems like it's not really doing anything. I might switch to Buspar in a few weeks.
650mg inositol
1.5mg melatonin. I have to cut the 3mg pills in half because the 3mg ones make me exhausted the whole next day. This is supposed to be to regulate my sleep cycle because it's really messed up right now. My psychiatrist says that's probably making things worse.
250mg magnesium. This is only before/during that time of the month for PCOS related symptoms, but might take it every day if it helps sleep.

As needed:
0.5 to 1mg Ativan for panic attacks which works for those about 80% of the time.
Hydroxyzine for anxiety -- still figuring out the dosing on this one. I took 5mg last night but I'm not sure it did anything besides make me drowsy, but I also wasn't particularly anxious.

Other habits I'm doing:
Trauma therapy weekly
Limiting caffeine (I only drink decaf coffee, mostly drink decaf tea, and limit full-caffeine tea, chocolate, etc.)
Limiting alcohol
Going out to parties, meeting new people, going out to clubs, etc. (for some reason this really helps)
Learning new skills such as languages
Exploring spirituality for my fear of death because when I have panic attacks or DP/DR I feel like death is coming for me.
I was trying to run and lift weights every day. However, it weakened my lungs and I got some respiratory illnesses so now I'm scared to try it again. I actually really miss working out though. I still walk every day for about an hour. I might go back to just the weightlifting part of it and avoid the cardio.

So what works for you guys? Any advice?

clairrob

I suffer from CPTSD, I found that EMDR therapy worked best for my trauma symptoms.

siberiantarragon

clairrob wrote: »

I suffer from CPTSD, I found that EMDR therapy worked best for my trauma symptoms.

I'm reading a book by the doctor who created EMDR but the book makes it sound kind of BS to be honest. It sounds more like some magical faith healing thing than an actual therapy. And if you're already aware of what your traumas are and discussed and processed them a million times I don't see what extra benefit doing some eye movements is going to do. I also don't understand how it would work if the trauma someone experienced is pervasive, ie. growing up in an abusive environment where it not only caused trauma but also affected your entire development so that you didn't learn certain skills. So far I am not convinced enough to spend thousands of dollars on it. (EDIT: I looked it up and it says the doctor who created it does not recommend using it on patients with pervasive developmental trauma because it could make things worse. Also 30% of people who try it get new or worse dissociative symptoms.)

TBH it annoys me because people keep suggesting EMDR and it just makes me want to bash my head into a wall because I wish they would suggest something, ANYTHING else. I've never even come across a therapist in real life who even does it so where are people even finding these magical therapists.

COGypsy

My issues aren't trauma based, I have bipolar II and have similar issues with sleep and what I describe as agitation instead of anxiety. I have the same reaction to melatonin that you do. I hate it. I hate, hate, hate it. I've had tequila hangovers that were better than a melatonin hangover.

I do two things to regulate my sleep. I use a lightbox every morning for 15-20 minutes and it makes my days so much better. I have a more regular sleep schedule when I'm using it too. One of the things they think light therapy does is regulate your body's natural production of melatonin. Who knows? It just helps. Then I take a CBD/CBN gummy most nights, about an hour or so before I want to go to sleep. Not the kind that get you high, CBN is a variant of CBD that seems to work especially well for sleep.

I also took hydroxyzine PRN for sleep, now I take it nightly to try and help with long COVID symptoms. Which is good because my psych wants to move away from benzos. My sister takes it for anxiety though. It's an old-school antihistamine, so good for getting drowsy. 10mg is my sweet spot, but it's different for everyone. I take 10mg at night and it helps go to sleep, my sister takes twice that in the morning and goes on with her day (but she's a freak. Don't tell her I said so ). In my opinion, that's a med worth fiddling with because it's been a great help to me and my sister both.

I'm not too sure what other commonalities there might be between us, but thought I'd jump in since I've spent literally decades proactively managing my sleep in order to minimize my daytime symptoms.

siberiantarragon

COGypsy wrote: »

My issues aren't trauma based, I have bipolar II and have similar issues with sleep and what I describe as agitation instead of anxiety. I have the same reaction to melatonin that you do. I hate it. I hate, hate, hate it. I've had tequila hangovers that were better than a melatonin hangover.

Not me this morning ambitiously hoping that I would wake up to my alarm after a nice healthy 8 hour sleep buoyed on a nice reasonable 1.5 mg melatonin and 5mg hydroxyzine...and instead waking up after over 9.5 hours and I still wanted to sleep more

I do two things to regulate my sleep. I use a lightbox every morning for 15-20 minutes and it makes my days so much better.

I would do this except I sleep with the lights on (yay PTSD making me afraid of the dark at the age of 31). I'm trying to switch to nightlights but historically every time I try I end up spiraling into an existential crisis or being afraid a murderer is going to break into my apartment. Or both. I might get one of those multicolored vaporwave kind of nightlights though, that might help.

Then I take a CBD/CBN gummy most nights, about an hour or so before I want to go to sleep. Not the kind that get you high, CBN is a variant of CBD that seems to work especially well for sleep.

After a very bad experience with delta-8 that I think might have kicked off this whole dissociation thing in the first place (it started a few months after but I still feel like it's related), I'm staying far away from all cannibanoid derivatives. The shop who sold it to me lied and said delta-8 is just like a slightly stronger CBD too...I'm still pissed about that.

I also took hydroxyzine PRN for sleep, now I take it nightly to try and help with long COVID symptoms. Which is good because my psych wants to move away from benzos. My sister takes it for anxiety though. It's an old-school antihistamine, so good for getting drowsy. 10mg is my sweet spot, but it's different for everyone. I take 10mg at night and it helps go to sleep, my sister takes twice that in the morning and goes on with her day (but she's a freak. Don't tell her I said so ). In my opinion, that's a med worth fiddling with because it's been a great help to me and my sister both.

Yeah my psychiatrist wants it to replace my Ativan but I've taken it twice and all it seems to do is knock me out. It does get rid of my anxiety but only because I'm too tired to care anymore after I take it. However, it seems to be an excellent sleep aid, much better than Benadryl. So maybe if I just take that and not the melatonin it will help to regulate my sleep cycle.

How does hydroxyzine help with long COVID? I'm interested because I had COVID a few weeks ago and it's only been the past couple of days I've been feeling back to "normal" (or at least back to my baseline)...coincident with me starting to take hydroxyzine...hmm....

I'm not too sure what other commonalities there might be between us, but thought I'd jump in since I've spent literally decades proactively managing my sleep in order to minimize my daytime symptoms.

I agree with you that sleep is a huge part of it. I've had really bad sleep problems for years and my anxiety got much worse right after my sleep got bad. My psychiatrist told me that unless I regulate my sleep cycle I probably won't be able to regulate my anxiety. COVID and the other respiratory illnesses I had this winter also really messed up my sleep cycle so I'm still getting that back on track.

COGypsy

I’m really sorry you’re going through all of this. I remember the years I spent feeling broken by all my mental health “stuff”— piling diagnoses, constantly fiddling with meds to find a cocktail to manage my mental health and meds to deal with all the inevitable side effects. I can’t imagine adding trauma into that mix. It feels like “the only way out is through” and I hope that journey gets easier for you.

I’m on my phone waiting for an appointment, so please forgive my formatting!

If you’re sleeping with lights on, I’d still probably give the light box a try to get the right spectrum of light that gets the sleep/wake hormones in balance. But I also know it’s a pricey experiment. Light boxes I’ve seen run around $50, so it can be a bit pricey for an experiment.

As far as long COVID, I’m dealing with symptoms from the COVID I had in October ‘21. I came across a write up (not even a study) about promising results from low-dose antihistamines. For me, that’s 10mg hydroxyzine or 25 mg Benadryl in a pinch. It was about n=6 in the article, but I think I’ve gotten decent results from it. The idea is that inflammation is potentially part of what keeps the symptoms recurring and antihistamines help reduce inflammation. If nothing else, I have terrible hay fever, so a little extra allergy medicine never hurts!

siberiantarragon

COGypsy wrote: »

I’m really sorry you’re going through all of this. I remember the years I spent feeling broken by all my mental health “stuff”— piling diagnoses, constantly fiddling with meds to find a cocktail to manage my mental health and meds to deal with all the inevitable side effects. I can’t imagine adding trauma into that mix. It feels like “the only way out is through” and I hope that journey gets easier for you.

I hope so. My psychiatrist told me she thinks I will be better within a year based on what she's seen with other patients. I really hope so because I've been dealing with mental health stuff since childhood and it's just tiring at this point. It's also stolen my future and potential from me. And now with dissociation it feels like it's stolen my entire humanity and identity.

If you’re sleeping with lights on, I’d still probably give the light box a try to get the right spectrum of light that gets the sleep/wake hormones in balance. But I also know it’s a pricey experiment. Light boxes I’ve seen run around $50, so it can be a bit pricey for an experiment.

Yeah they do seem pretty expensive. I'll ask my psychiatrist what she thinks I should do about my whole sleeping with the lights on thing when I see her. I kind of want to see a sleep specialist too. I've seen two in the past, one was nice and considered to be one of the best in the area but then I switched insurance and couldn't see him again (yay America). The other one was a complete dbag who baselessly accused me of being bipolar and in a manic episode just because I questioned his recommendation to go on antidepressants (For the record none of the actual mental health professionals I've seen have ever diagnosed me with bipolar or said I had mania or hypomania. My psychiatrist told me recently that mania is misunderstood by the general public. Just being in a good mood or being irritable or talking a lot isn't mania, you have to have delusions of grandeur and recklessness and all that to qualify as mania. She said all of my symptoms are textbook anxiety disorder which was probably caused or worsened by trauma. Like questioning a doctor's recommendation for example comes from anxiety.) Anyway that put me off trying to find another sleep specialist.

As far as long COVID, I’m dealing with symptoms from the COVID I had in October ‘21. I came across a write up (not even a study) about promising results from low-dose antihistamines. For me, that’s 10mg hydroxyzine or 25 mg Benadryl in a pinch. It was about n=6 in the article, but I think I’ve gotten decent results from it. The idea is that inflammation is potentially part of what keeps the symptoms recurring and antihistamines help reduce inflammation. If nothing else, I have terrible hay fever, so a little extra allergy medicine never hurts!

That makes sense since long COVID has to do with inflammation. Hopefully it continues to work for you. I do find it odd that a study with n=6 was even published though. COVID has caused an erosion of scientific standards where preprints are considered gospel and all that, in my humble opinion.

I do like how well hydroxyzine works as a sleep aid -- I take one and within 15 minutes I'm so tired I can barely even move my computer back to my desk before going to sleep -- but I'm kind of annoyed it is too soporific to work as an anxiety drug for me. I might try 1/4 of a pill but it's hard enough to cut it in half evenly so not sure if it would just crumble into dust if I cut it into quarters.

clairrob

I was just saying what worked for me, sounds like pseudoscience but it helped me process a lot. It forces your brain to process these events, I even had a repressed memory come back (obviously needed confirmation that it was true, and it did happen). I'm actually seeking out receiving EMDR again as I've since undergone a new very traumatic event that I cannot seem to process correctly where I'm still experiencing night terrors & sweats, dissociation, flashbacks and anxiety attacks.

If you don't want to, that's fine. But you don't have to undermine my experience

siberiantarragon

clairrob wrote: »

I was just saying what worked for me, sounds like pseudoscience but it helped me process a lot. It forces your brain to process these events, I even had a repressed memory come back (obviously needed confirmation that it was true, and it did happen). I'm actually seeking out receiving EMDR again as I've since undergone a new very traumatic event that I cannot seem to process correctly where I'm still experiencing night terrors & sweats, dissociation, flashbacks and anxiety attacks.

If you don't want to, that's fine. But you don't have to undermine my experience

Well, unless you've read Francine Shapiro's book, you don't have to undermine my experience of reading it and deciding EMDR is a load of BS that was designed more to promote the ego of the person who created it than to actually treat anything. If you read it you'll see what I mean, there's some major narcissist vibes coming from her throughout the entire book.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect
https://quackwatch.org/related/emdr/
"Since my 1996 Skeptical Inquirer article on EMDR was published, an enormous volume of well-controlled research on this treatment has appeared in print. Although the quantity and quality of the research has improved greatly over the past 15 years, the basic conclusions of my 1996 EMDR review still stand. The controlled research is consistent in showing that EMDR is superior to no treatment and most likely, supportive counseling, for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nevertheless, this research also consistently demonstrates that EMDR is no more effective than standard behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies that rely on exposing individuals to anxiety-provoking stimuli (Lohr, Tolin, & Lilienfeld, 1998; van Etten & Taylor, 1998). In fact, at least some evidence suggests that EMDR may sometimes be less effective for PTSD than behavioral or cognitive-behavioral interventions (Devilly & Spence, 1999; Rothbaum, Astin, & Marsteller, 2005), although these findings require replication. "

clairrob

Have a nice day.
Hope you find the answers you're looking for.

H1There

Im so sorry you’re having these struggles I hope you can find peace soon!!

Personally EMDR caused more harm than good for me when I had it in my TTI program. But I guess it just works that way for some people.

For my symptoms I find that taking a multivitamin is helpful and I started drinking a probiotic tea. I don’t know if the tea helps but it tastes good anyways lol! Also trying workbooks but sometimes those can bring up bad stuff so maybe do them with a therapist. Journaling can be helpful and they make journals with combination locks on Amazon if you’re worried about someone reading them like I am. It’s still hard every day but doing little things help I guess. I don’t deal much with dissociation so I’m not sure how to help with that (sorry) but I had panic attacks every day I went to school and I have PTSD so hopefully this can be a little helpful wishing you the best.

siberiantarragon

H1There wrote: »

Personally EMDR caused more harm than good for me when I had it in my TTI program. But I guess it just works that way for some people.

I found a whole thread on a PTSD forum where dozens of people were talking about how EMDR made them worse, even to the point where they harmed themselves, and their experiences were minimized and dismissed by the practitioners who did EMDR with them. Very cult like and disturbing, IMO.

For my symptoms I find that taking a multivitamin is helpful and I started drinking a probiotic tea. I don’t know if the tea helps but it tastes good anyways lol! Also trying workbooks but sometimes those can bring up bad stuff so maybe do them with a therapist. Journaling can be helpful and they make journals with combination locks on Amazon if you’re worried about someone reading them like I am. It’s still hard every day but doing little things help I guess. I don’t deal much with dissociation so I’m not sure how to help with that (sorry) but I had panic attacks every day I went to school and I have PTSD so hopefully this can be a little helpful wishing you the best.

Hmm interesting. What kind of probiotic tea? I have been eating a lot of yogurt and kefir recently. I find that my health including mental health overall is better if I have probiotic foods, maybe because of the whole gut-brain axis. Dissociation comes from anxiety and panic attacks for me, so anything that works for panic attacks will also work for that. I do have a journal but have been forgetting to use it.

COGypsy

I'm convinced that EMDR is the psychological equivalent of keto. It gives some people amazing benefits, potentially more get good results from it, but for a good portion of the population it doesn't do anything significant and can sometimes even be harmful. And the people who've had the results REALLY LOVE IT and think everyone everywhere should be using it, with varying degrees of enthusiasm as you go down the line. I tried it years ago and it did nothing, but I can say the same thing about keto, lol. It's just a tool in the toolbox.

siberiantarragon

COGypsy wrote: »

I'm convinced that EMDR is the psychological equivalent of keto. It gives some people amazing benefits, potentially more get good results from it, but for a good portion of the population it doesn't do anything significant and can sometimes even be harmful. And the people who've had the results REALLY LOVE IT and think everyone everywhere should be using it, with varying degrees of enthusiasm as you go down the line. I tried it years ago and it did nothing, but I can say the same thing about keto, lol. It's just a tool in the toolbox.

This is such a good comparison. Another way it's like keto is that it's an example of correlation not equaling causation. The part of EMDR that studies find to potentially be effective is the exposure therapy part, which you can get with any therapy. The eye movements don't actually do anything. Whereas with keto, any diet that limits food choices is associated with weight loss, but it doesn't matter so much which foods are limited. There isn't anything special about keto over any other extremely restrictive diet. (Plus eating meat and cheese and eggs all day must get really expensive, so maybe people lose weight because they literally can't afford to eat their previous number of calories.) And just like the keto enthusiasts dismiss the cases of people getting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or colon cancer after doing keto, EMDR enthusiasts dismiss the people whose symptoms got worse.

ajampa

Check out Doc Snipes on Youtube. Her videos helped me. Realising that it’s just a phase and that it will pass soon is what helps me not give in to my anxiety and panic attacks. Also therapy and journaling. It takes time and consistency from our part.

siberiantarragon

sm7d5hqbtd wrote: »

Check out Doc Snipes on Youtube. Her videos helped me. Realising that it’s just a phase and that it will pass soon is what helps me not give in to my anxiety and panic attacks. Also therapy and journaling. It takes time and consistency from our part.

Thanks for the recommendation, will definitely check out her channel!

Lietchi

My BF has anxiety issues, quite severe a year ago (panic attacks)
What works for him:
- breathing exercises - every evening before bedtime for a few minutes (he has an app, for a few minutes it just tells him when to breathe in, hold, breathe out and hold)
- CBD oil
- he takes a supplement/medication called Sedistress (passion flower extract) that was prescribed by his doctor.

siberiantarragon

Lietchi wrote: »

- breathing exercises - every evening before bedtime for a few minutes (he has an app, for a few minutes it just tells him when to breathe in, hold, breathe out and hold)

I'm supposed to do the breathing exercises when I have a panic attack. But unfortunately, 90% of the time when I have a panic attack, I completely forget that I'm even supposed to do them because I'm freaking out so much. I didn't know that doing them every evening is beneficial though. Maybe that would help to make it more of a habit so I can remember to do them when I have anxiety.

- he takes a supplement/medication called Sedistress (passion flower extract) that was prescribed by his doctor.

Interesting, I have never heard of that, it seems like it isn't sold in the US unfortunately. Inositol has worked really well for me. Now I only get brief episodes of panic and mild DP/DR and for the most part I'm back to my pre-July levels of anxiety (which is still way higher than the average person but at least manageable). If I'm not regular about taking it I notice my symptoms coming back. Before I started taking it I would have periods of 2 to 3 weeks at a time where I would be having constant panic attacks one after the other and 24/7 DP/DR.

****

Also general update: today I started on Buspar in addition to Lexapro (I can only be on the lowest dose of Lexapro, because higher doses make me extremely depressed and irritable, so this is supposed to either augment or eventually replace SSRIs). So far not much to report. The most common initial side effects are dizziness, lightheadedness, and fatigue. I definitely had all of those and also my hands are less coordinated so I've been dropping stuff all day. I was in a good mood and felt calm after I took it, but if that was caused by the medication then it wore off after about four hours and I think I even got some rebound anxiety after that. It takes a few weeks to fully work so will keep this thread posted.

Hydroxyzine has also been a total game changer for my sleep cycle. I've had really bad insomnia since 2016 and had little control over when I would go to sleep or wake up. As you can imagine this was very limiting in many ways, like only being able to work freelance part-time. Now I actually have control over my sleep cycle again! I just take it about 20 minutes before I want to go to bed and it knocks me out and I get really good sleep too (albeit with bizarre vivid dreams but, you win some, you lose some). My sleep cycle was even more messed up than usual after I had COVID in January because I had so much trouble getting to bed when I was sick. I was literally going to bed at 6:30 AM and getting up at 2 PM even after I recovered from COVID, and nothing seemed to be able to fix it -- even if I tried getting up earlier I would unintentionally fall asleep during the day, or if I tried to go to bed earlier I would just lie there for hours awake. Now I've been able to push my sleep cycle back slowly over time and I'm currently getting up around 10 AM and going to bed around 2 (which I haven't been able to do consistently since 2016), and plan to push it back to a normal sleep cycle in the next few weeks. What annoys me is that no doctors, not even the multiple sleep specialists I went to, ever told me about the existence of hydroxyzine until my current psychiatrist. This problem could have been solved YEARS ago! Having a regular sleep schedule has changed everything. I'm more productive, motivated, able to do a lot more, and just feeling way better overall.

COGypsy

Hydroxyzine is a miracle drug....I swear it's good for everything!

csplatt

Vigorous / exhausting exercise 2-3 x a week

xxzenabxx

siberiantarragon wrote: »

People who get panic attacks and/or dissociative symptoms: what works for you? I've been trying to get a protocol going that can get rid of these issues for good. I haven't had a full panic attack since November but I do have depersonalization and derealization on a pretty much daily basis. I started having both of these issues in July (although I have dealt with DP/DR on and off in the past). I would like to get over it and move on with my life.

Current protocol I am trying out:
Morning:
1300mg inositol, a natural supplement that helps with anxiety and dissociation. I think this has helped me a lot because it seems like a couple of weeks after I started taking it my panic attacks went away.
1200mg fish oil. In the past this seems to have helped me with brain fog, not sure if it does now.
2000 IU vitamin D3. I only take this every other day, unless I'm sick and then I take it every day -- this is mostly for my immune system but it's also supposed to help mental health if you are deficient, which I was.

Evening:
5mg Lexapro. I tried to go up to 10mg last week but that just made me depressed. I recently switched taking this from morning to evening on the advice of my psychiatrist. However it seems like it's not really doing anything. I might switch to Buspar in a few weeks.
650mg inositol
1.5mg melatonin. I have to cut the 3mg pills in half because the 3mg ones make me exhausted the whole next day. This is supposed to be to regulate my sleep cycle because it's really messed up right now. My psychiatrist says that's probably making things worse.
250mg magnesium. This is only before/during that time of the month for PCOS related symptoms, but might take it every day if it helps sleep.

As needed:
0.5 to 1mg Ativan for panic attacks which works for those about 80% of the time.
Hydroxyzine for anxiety -- still figuring out the dosing on this one. I took 5mg last night but I'm not sure it did anything besides make me drowsy, but I also wasn't particularly anxious.

Other habits I'm doing:
Trauma therapy weekly
Limiting caffeine (I only drink decaf coffee, mostly drink decaf tea, and limit full-caffeine tea, chocolate, etc.)
Limiting alcohol
Going out to parties, meeting new people, going out to clubs, etc. (for some reason this really helps)
Learning new skills such as languages
Exploring spirituality for my fear of death because when I have panic attacks or DP/DR I feel like death is coming for me.
I was trying to run and lift weights every day. However, it weakened my lungs and I got some respiratory illnesses so now I'm scared to try it again. I actually really miss working out though. I still walk every day for about an hour. I might go back to just the weightlifting part of it and avoid the cardio.

So what works for you guys? Any advice?

Wow everything you just wrote is exactly what I’m going through! I have long Covid too and I found that Pilates has really helped me and it doesn’t make me panicked and anxious. Move with Nicole beginner Pilates has saved my life and sanity. Also I have pcos too and balancing my blood sugar has also helped me. So eating 4-5 meals a day of 400-500 calories. Eating enough! So don’t skip meals that can cause anxiety and panic in the body due to unstable blood sugars causing a roller coaster which effects your mood. Recovery isn’t linear so some days I’m better and near my period I’m worse but the overall trend is better! I’m much better now than I was in December 2022! Also glad you are taking magnesium because it has also helped me a lot! Sending hugs.

zebasschick

i used to have horrendous panic attacks. i would wake up in the night repeatedly, dry mouth and heart pounding and overwhelmed with fear. i developed fear when walking up stairs, which i was unable to do for some time, and at one point, i was unable to drive due to an overwhelming dread.

i tried supplements, which didn't help for a while, i used valium or xanax to take the edge of, tiny doses. they did work to some degree, but what really helped was treating myself better. i dumped the job that was burning me out past human endurance - they needed 3 people to replace me! - and dumped my drama ex-BF. but what improved for me was taking more time to relax, listening to relaxation recordings - after finding ones that worked for me. learning to be very kind and very gentle with myself, avoiding high-stress situations that weren't actually needed. spending time reading for the joy of it. watching non-dramatic shows, particularly i couldn't handle suspense during those years. just nurtured myself till i was happier and have done my best to keep doing so.

everyone is different, but a friend recommended me these books, and the one that really helped me was "Facing Codependence" by pia mellody although "Codependent No More" by melody beattie was also helpful. i cried when i started "facing codependence" - i had never heard of codependence (which wasn't a thing back then), and so much of it hit home for me. it was - for me - a life changer, and i mean that literally. it helped me find a path that has changed my life.

good luck to you, and i hope you find relief.

DecryingShame

siberiantarragon wrote: »

clairrob wrote: »

I suffer from CPTSD, I found that EMDR therapy worked best for my trauma symptoms.

I'm reading a book by the doctor who created EMDR but the book makes it sound kind of BS to be honest. It sounds more like some magical faith healing thing than an actual therapy. And if you're already aware of what your traumas are and discussed and processed them a million times I don't see what extra benefit doing some eye movements is going to do. I also don't understand how it would work if the trauma someone experienced is pervasive, ie. growing up in an abusive environment where it not only caused trauma but also affected your entire development so that you didn't learn certain skills. So far I am not convinced enough to spend thousands of dollars on it. (EDIT: I looked it up and it says the doctor who created it does not recommend using it on patients with pervasive developmental trauma because it could make things worse. Also 30% of people who try it get new or worse dissociative symptoms.)

TBH it annoys me because people keep suggesting EMDR and it just makes me want to bash my head into a wall because I wish they would suggest something, ANYTHING else. I've never even come across a therapist in real life who even does it so where are people even finding these magical therapists.

I've been doing EMDR for the past 4ish years and it has greatly helped. I have CPTSD from pervasive developmental trauma as well as a handful of acute traumas.

I had been in therapy for a while doing talk therapy and felt like I hit a wall. I couldn't move forward anymore using the executive function in my brain. EMDR seems to be able to access deeper parts of my brain that don't process speech as well.

Before I began EMDR, I did at least a year of DBT (Dialectic Behavioral Therapy) which taught me a lot of coping skills. I believe this was vital in my success using EMDR so that I was able to cope effectively when it brought up distressing emotions.

My therapist also goes extremely slow. We do maybe 10-15 minutes of EMDR each week, which from what I understand is far less than the norm. I've heard that 90 minute sessions are recommended which may be why many people with CPTSD get overwhelmed. EMDR does dig up traumas and can lead to overwhelm if you aren't careful. My therapist is very sensitive to this and makes sure we don't push too hard, which is why we end up doing so little each time.

As for other recommendations, I highly recommend DBT. It teaches an extensive set of skills to help you work through emotional distress and develop skills to help you lessen triggering situations. It was very helpful for learning to manage my emotions.

I have also found a little relief from herbal supplements. They aren't as powerful as pharmaceutical drugs but each provided a noticeable amount of positive change. The ones that have helped me are blueberries (1 cup each day), holy basil, and of course cannabis. Magnesium also helped, as did eliminating wheat from my diet.

EricExtreme

I used to deal with anxiety, depression, DP, and DR years ago. I didn't overcome it with medication, supplements, or therapy. I overcame it by learning to treat the anxiety and DP/DR as a best friend instead of an enemy or attempting to fight it, as I realized I was just fighting myself. I began to invite it in like a close friend who I was looking forward to spending time with. This taught me to not react to it negatively and once I stopped fearing it or pushing it away it went away on its own. Also some of the medication that you are on can cause DP/DR symptoms.

hoarc1987

siberiantarragon wrote: »

People who get panic attacks and/or dissociative symptoms: what works for you? I've been trying to get a protocol going that can get rid of these issues for good. I haven't had a full panic attack since November but I do have depersonalization and derealization on a pretty much daily basis. I started having both of these issues in July (although I have dealt with DP/DR on and off in the past). I would like to get over it and move on with my life.

Current protocol I am trying out:
Morning:
1300mg inositol, a natural supplement that helps with anxiety and dissociation. I think this has helped me a lot because it seems like a couple of weeks after I started taking it my panic attacks went away.
1200mg fish oil. In the past this seems to have helped me with brain fog, not sure if it does now.
2000 IU vitamin D3. I only take this every other day, unless I'm sick and then I take it every day -- this is mostly for my immune system but it's also supposed to help mental health if you are deficient, which I was.

Evening:
5mg Lexapro. I tried to go up to 10mg last week but that just made me depressed. I recently switched taking this from morning to evening on the advice of my psychiatrist. However it seems like it's not really doing anything. I might switch to Buspar in a few weeks.
650mg inositol
1.5mg melatonin. I have to cut the 3mg pills in half because the 3mg ones make me exhausted the whole next day. This is supposed to be to regulate my sleep cycle because it's really messed up right now. My psychiatrist says that's probably making things worse.
250mg magnesium. This is only before/during that time of the month for PCOS related symptoms, but might take it every day if it helps sleep.

As needed:
0.5 to 1mg Ativan for panic attacks which works for those about 80% of the time.
Hydroxyzine for anxiety -- still figuring out the dosing on this one. I took 5mg last night but I'm not sure it did anything besides make me drowsy, but I also wasn't particularly anxious.

Other habits I'm doing:
Trauma therapy weekly
Limiting caffeine (I only drink decaf coffee, mostly drink decaf tea, and limit full-caffeine tea, chocolate, etc.)
Limiting alcohol
Going out to parties, meeting new people, going out to clubs, etc. (for some reason this really helps)
Learning new skills such as languages
Exploring spirituality for my fear of death because when I have panic attacks or DP/DR I feel like death is coming for me.
I was trying to run and lift weights every day. However, it weakened my lungs and I got some respiratory illnesses so now I'm scared to try it again. I actually really miss working out though. I still walk every day for about an hour. I might go back to just the weightlifting part of it and avoid the cardio.

So what works for you guys? Any advice?

You can try a swing or salsa dance if there is one in your area too instead of going to nightclubs. Nightclubs are fun but you can’t do them forever as you get older. You can social dance until you are in your 90s.

I tried Lexapro while being addicted to coffee and not eating.. it did some weird stuff for me. One thing I hear online is to taper off very very slowly for months and even a year or more to avoid damaging your body somehow with Lexapro. Me briefly taking Lexapro really changed me, but I wasn’t taking it consistently either.

Depersonalisation might just be your natural state. Fear of death is something that will go away when your biology and lifestyle is better. Weightlifting does wonders too.

westrich20940

I have experienced a handful of panic attacks in my life (luckily not for a while, and it was never a daily thing - I'm so sorry you are going through that, it must be so hard) -- one where I experienced dissociative amnesia (only for a few minutes, but I was driving and I didn't remember like, where I'd turned and whatnot and it was extremely uncomfortable). I have also experienced derealization as well. I also get serious physiological symptoms (which are normal for many people, but I had never known others to talk about them) -- like extremity and face numbness during high acute stress/panic.

During one example of that I was at work and numerous co-workers would see me and ask how things were going and I remember distinctly - looking at them and saying very deadpan "I'm having an anxiety attack"...and their response was more-so like, "Oh, haha, yeah everything is crazy!"...so I felt really invalidated with my experience (I know they were not trying to do this)...so I texted a friend who lived in a different city. I knew he couldn't help me but I simply said to him "Long story short... I'm having a full on panic attack and I don't feel like I'm in my body. I know you can't do anything and I don't need you to call or anything, but I just wanted to tell you". And he did great. Responded to me by saying something like, "That really *kitten* sucks and I'm sorry you're going through that. I believe you, please let me know what you need or what I can do..keep texting if you need". That was extremely good for me in that moment. I also do tend to try the whole...name one thing you can see, name one thing you can smell, name one thing you can touch (and then do those things). That seems to help me be able to stay in my body a bit more. Another tip I can give is - immediately when you notice you are having/going to have a panic attack...repeat and remind yourself that it will not last forever. They are short. It'll pass.

As far as Rx, therapy stuff --- I don't know that I have any advice. Somatic therapies are evidence based - but obviously new. I see a discussion here re: EMDR...but you'll have to look into stuff like that with your doctors/mental health providers. Good luck and I truly hope you find a way to get some relief.

Edit: practicing breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation - can be helpful too. Not in the moment of a panic attack but as a general practice daily. Basically - your nervous system is always ON and there are definitely somatic/physiological ways to try to calm that down.

davert123

I've just posted on another thread but simple carbs / sugar can trigger my anxiety. If I keep away from sugar then I tend to have less symptoms for sure. My panic attacks are not caused by eating sugar but sugar affects my beta-endorphin system which acts as a natural damper for panic and anxiety symptoms.