Anxiety..

I'm sorry that your going through this, it's no fun I have anxiety also and have been seeing a Behavioral Health lady for a few weeks now. Some things I have learned are to place your palms one on top of the other under your chest (diaphragm) and take 3 deep breaths in and out and to come up with coping statements for you to repeat to yourself when having anxiety. "Anxiety is a part of me, it doesn't mean it has to be me" "I control when my anxiety comes and when my anxiety goes"...

Have you tried yoga? It may sound silly, but learning to focus on the breath, to be mindful and present has DRAMATICALLY improved my day-to-day anxiety, even when I don't regularly practice yoga. When I start to feel an attack coming on, I take a few super deep breaths through my nose and try to only focus *only* on breathing in and out, until my heartbeat gets back to a normal pace. It's not the end-all cure for anxiety, but it can help get your mind off all that worrying.

Yep, chronic anxiety sufferer here. I've noticed that I seem to have some sort of social anxiety now too, seeing as I rarely go out with friends anymore. When i'm around people I don't know too well I get incredibly anxious and paranoid.
I feel for you. Anxiety is crippling!

I've also been going through this lately (on and off for the last 10 years). After a bad stint on Fluoxetine I vowed never to go on antidepressants again. I understand they work for many people but they did not help me, you have to find what works for you.

I find avoiding the news (unless there is an event that directly affects me e.g. a storm in the area) helps. This means staying away from morning/evening TV, internet news sites, newspapers, even some magazines. I have an over active imagination and was picturing every event happening to me, not good! Also when I eat something I don't read or watch anything whilst I am eating, or even drinking a cuppa. This is because when you eat your brain pattern slows and you absorb whatever you are reading/watching differently. It's better to enjoy the moment of having a meal anyway!

Also check your thyroid activity, vitamin d and b levels. Too many of us in today's world have low vitamin d, ever wonder why so many of us are suffering from depression/have digestion issues/allergies etc? My theory is that we don't do enough these days. 80-90% of the day is spend indoors/in the car. We need to get out in the open and breath more often!

I wish you all the best and hope that you can come through this a stronger person :-)

Hope you're doing well. I started getting major panick attacks that actually put me in the hospital, the summer after my dad died. I was already suffering from depression on and off prior to that, as well as minor OCD, which seems to be a pattern with 95% of the people who suffer from panick attacks. When I started getting them, the doc put me back on Effexor, which i was previously using for depression. Well, if you've ever been on it, you know it's hell to come off, so I was looking for a natural alternative. I was doing some research of what NOT to take with Effexor, and found you shouldn't take 5-HTP because it causes a seratonin overdose basically. So I figured with that info, 5-HTP did exactly what Effexor does, so I quit taking Effexor, and the next day started 5-HTP. I was totally fine, no break downs, no brain shivers, no tiredness, I felt perfectly normal. Also, during seceral panick attacks, I called 911, thinking it was a heart attack. The ambulance driver told me, EXERCISE. A panick attack is a release of addrenalin and exercise actually makes your body use up that addrenalin. Also, when you feel one coming on, DEEP BREATHING, start thinking this mantra, STOP STOP STOP STOP, over and over. The deep breathing will help slow your heart rate back to normal and the mantra will put your mind on something beside the attack, because we all know when you worry about the attack it takes longer. SO, 1. Take 5-HTP. It's actually produced in your body, and those with anxiety or depression aren't getting enough. 2. Exercise. 3. Deep Breathing, Repeating to yourself STOP

Bookmarking my place in this thread...good advice here. I'm currently on meds and in therapy for panic and anxiety disorders.

The thought record sounds good, but I don't know how it can help me with these random panic attacks and non-focused anxiety. I do get very anxious about anything worth worrying about, but this is more unsettling ..

I've been having panic attacks for a year and a half now and have been in therapy for 10 months, I guarantee you no panic attack is random! There is a lot of comfort in that, actually, as you can always identify and talk yourself down from your triggers. At first it all seemed random to me until I got into therapy and started finding patterns and specific triggers. Then it all made sense.

*hugs* sweetie. I know how bad it can be. I've been the ER for panic attacks. BUT, having said that, it IS treatable and you CAN get better. Feel free to add me on here, I'd love to have some friends from this specific thread, not many people truly understand what panic attacks and general anxiety are really like.

GABA is supposed to help. Or Calm. You can get stuff like that from any local health store. I have tried L-tyrosine. That helps anxiety too. Good luck.

In for advice on this. I suffer from all kinds of anxiety. I'd talk to a doctor......if I was so damned scared what they may say. The thought of admitting it out in the open like that makes me feel physically ill.

A good doctor will tell you there are no stupid concerns or embarrassing concerns. He or she is a healthcare professional. I was nervous too but I did it, and amazingly the world didn't end. I know what you mean but talking to a healthcare pro is the best thing you cando to help yourself long term.

Wow, some of the posts in this thread are exactly how I would describe my own panic attacks and anxiety. I have several anxiety disorders, mostly related to social situations or when something happens that I did not plan and I have no control over the outcome. I am on 2 daily meds and have a "go to" on hand that can really stomp out a panic attack pretty quickly should it get too bad. I'm so sorry that so many of us deal with these disorders, they are upsetting to life in general.

My advice is pretty much the same as what's already posted. As long as you don't feel like you're going to hurt yourself and need immediate help, make an appt with a doc. Tell them what you've told us and hopefully they will listen and do something more than just the fluxotine (sp?). My Ativan has literally saved my life, so to speak, on more occasions that I care to shake a stick at. Try yoga or take some really long walks with soft music so you don't have to listen to the outside world while you try to cope and calm down. Good luck hun and many many hugs to you.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like to. Support is a wonderful thing!

In for advice on this. I suffer from all kinds of anxiety. I'd talk to a doctor......if I was so damned scared what they may say. The thought of admitting it out in the open like that makes me feel physically ill.

Actually talking about it will make you feel better...at least that was my experience...sharing that fear with someone I absolutely KNEW wasn't going to go blab to anyone else was a relief. Also, not one time did my doc ever say I was 'weird' 'abnormal' 'stupid' or anything negative, matter o' fact I got a lot of positive encouragement, and not just 'cause "that's his job" either.

Oh, I feel for you.
I used to get back to back panic attacks all day, for well over a year.
It was exhausting and frightening, so much so that I ended up going to hospital a few times initially as I thought I was dying.
I couldn't breathe, my arms would go numb and I would be crawling around the floor not even able to cry, just panicking and desperate.
They mostly disappeared after I moved away from my ex, and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on thyroxine.
I do believe that hypothyroidism can sometimes cause panic attacks so do get that checked into if you haven't already. I also found that even though you feel you cannot breathe, making yourself walk about can help as walking sort of forces you to breathe differently. And basically, distraction, get writing or try and sing or somesuch.
Feel free to add me and message me anytime you are panicking and I will respond if I am around.
I have issues with depression and anxiety, alongside on and off battles with bulimia/binge eating.