Anxiety Sufferers

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Faintgreeneyes
Faintgreeneyes Posts: 730 Member
in Motivation and Support
I happened across this article, written by a man who developed panic/anxiety attacks in his mid-twenties.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/health/anxiety-first-person-irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Being that I also suffer from an anxiety disorder, I thought it was great that this article was penned by someone who has been through it. It might help those of us who have people who aren't very supportive, or don't understand, comprehend a little better what it is that we go through.

Replies

  • jillybeanpuff
    jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
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    great article! thanks for sharing :)
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
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    Thanks for sharing, I was just sitting here earlier thinking that no one knew what I was going through.
  • joolson45
    joolson45 Posts: 80 Member
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    That was a great article.. thanks for sharing.. I suffer from a panic disorder and unless you've been there its so hard to understand. would'nt wish it on my worst enemy...:(
    :frown:
  • Bizzy44
    Bizzy44 Posts: 1 Member
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    I agree 100% joolson45! Awful!!
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Very good read. I disagree with the 'Am I completely cured? No, and I never will be' comment. It certainly is possible to live without anxiety. Cognitive therapy can help anyone to greatly improve or eliminate anxiety.
  • CheriLMT
    CheriLMT Posts: 220 Member
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    Anxiety can be managed and treated but if you have been diagnosed then you know that there not a magic cure to just zap it away...
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    If only there was a magic cure. Instead it's a struggle and a challenge worth going through to learn how to control your own thinking.
  • MissingMyOldSelf
    MissingMyOldSelf Posts: 689 Member
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    Thank you so much for this!!

    This came at a perfect time because for the past week, here at work, I've been having fluttering feelings in my chest, up to my throat, heat rashes, and just sweating. I swore it was heart related, and took Friday off to go to the Urgent Care near my house. I insisted it was blood pressure related, but after a couple of personal questions, and a test, the doctor was blunt about it: "You suffer from anxiety and panic attacks." Wow. I couldn't believe it. He wrote me a prescription to take when I started feeling flustered, the heat rash on my chest and shoulders come on, and when I feel that fluttering. I've taken it once since Friday.

    That doctor also told me to dump my family doctor (since I've been trying to get in for the past week about this same thing, and of course, they can't ever get me in), and find one that isn't so overloaded, that will have a good understanding of Anxiety.

    Thanks, OP, for posting this! :)
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    I experienced anxiety a few years ago....I have total respect for people that have that.
    I am healed. I'm a natural remedy person. I'll check it out...Thanks!
  • Faintgreeneyes
    Faintgreeneyes Posts: 730 Member
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    Very good read. I disagree with the 'Am I completely cured? No, and I never will be' comment. It certainly is possible to live without anxiety. Cognitive therapy can help anyone to greatly improve or eliminate anxiety.

    I think for someone going through it- it feels like there isn't a way to complete get rid of it. And honestly for people who have anxiety disorders (I am one of them and going through therapy currently) while you can control it and live relatively anxiety free- you still have the predisposition to have them come back. So I guess I agree that you are never going to be "completely cured" much in the way an alcoholic will never be cured. They can curb there disease by not drinking and not suffering the side effects but they will always be an alcoholic. Does that make sense?
  • mjinspired
    mjinspired Posts: 5
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    Thanks for the post.
    I experienced a crazy bout of anxiety and depression after having my first son. It was probably the scariest experience I've ever had in my life. I was at such a low place and somehow found Natural Calm, a magnesium supplement which has really helped with the symptoms of both. I have much more clarity in my mind and can deal better with stressful situations. I know there is more to anxiety than just symptoms as we still need to learn how to deal and process our thoughts when we go through stressful situations but I've found magnesium to help give me the clarity to do that. As I found myself in a mental foggy place prior to this, making it hard to think clearly about life in general. I like that it's natural and there is actually a ton of research done that has proved that it helps with so many thngs. Dr. Caroyln Dean actually wrote a book on how it's a miracle mineral. Figured I'd share with you guys, because I feel like it changed my life. I don't think I can live without it.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Very good read. I disagree with the 'Am I completely cured? No, and I never will be' comment. It certainly is possible to live without anxiety. Cognitive therapy can help anyone to greatly improve or eliminate anxiety.

    I think for someone going through it- it feels like there isn't a way to complete get rid of it. And honestly for people who have anxiety disorders (I am one of them and going through therapy currently) while you can control it and live relatively anxiety free- you still have the predisposition to have them come back. So I guess I agree that you are never going to be "completely cured" much in the way an alcoholic will never be cured. They can curb there disease by not drinking and not suffering the side effects but they will always be an alcoholic. Does that make sense?

    Yes, it does make sense. However, in my personal experience, once I understood that anxiety attacks are physical feelings caused by my own thoughts, I realized that I had control over all of it. If it's my own mind that's doing it, I can stop it. I do occasionally have a slight fluttering of anxiety here and there but I learned how to stop it there before it becomes a full blown attack. It wasn't easy. It involved quite a few panic attacks where I was forced to pinpoint the thoughts that triggered it and try to identify which ones were true and which ones weren't. Which worries I had control over and which ones I didn't. I had to learn to stop living out the irrational 'what if' thoughts in my head. So I'm not speaking from the position of an observer who hasn't been through it.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    Very good read. I disagree with the 'Am I completely cured? No, and I never will be' comment. It certainly is possible to live without anxiety. Cognitive therapy can help anyone to greatly improve or eliminate anxiety.

    I think for someone going through it- it feels like there isn't a way to complete get rid of it. And honestly for people who have anxiety disorders (I am one of them and going through therapy currently) while you can control it and live relatively anxiety free- you still have the predisposition to have them come back. So I guess I agree that you are never going to be "completely cured" much in the way an alcoholic will never be cured. They can curb there disease by not drinking and not suffering the side effects but they will always be an alcoholic. Does that make sense?

    Yes, it does make sense. However, in my personal experience, once I understood that anxiety attacks are physical feelings caused by my own thoughts, I realized that I had control over all of it. If it's my own mind that's doing it, I can stop it. I do occasionally have a slight fluttering of anxiety here and there but I learned how to stop it there before it becomes a full blown attack. It wasn't easy. It involved quite a few panic attacks where I was forced to pinpoint the thoughts that triggered it and try to identify which ones were true and which ones weren't. Which worries I had control over and which ones I didn't. I had to learn to stop living out the irrational 'what if' thoughts in my head. So I'm not speaking from the position of an observer who hasn't been through it.

    ^^This^^

    After suffering thru anxiety and panic attacks for years, I spoke to my pastor and he recommended an excellent book "Telling Yourself The Truth" by William D. Backus and Marie Chapian.
    It was a big turning point in my life.
    I faced my fears. Intentionally allowing myself to be in the situations that caused me the greatest anxiety instead of avoiding or self-medicating with alcohol.
    It really is a battle of the mind that causes the fight or flight response by the release of adrenalin and that is what causes all the uncomfortable physical symptoms.
    So, if you can face the fears and control your thoughts, the physical symptoms will be greatly decreased.
    I also believe that you can be cured of alcoholism. I'm living proof of that.
    I quit for 6 years and overcame the addiction part of it.
    Now, I can choose to have a drink or not. I'm in control. It's my choice.
    I don't give the alcohol the power by being afraid of it and not being able to drink it.
    I have no desire to get drunk and so I don't.
    Sometimes, I'll just have a few sips of a beer for the taste.
    I can set it down and walk away, every time.
    Just my two cents...:smile:
  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
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    I have "suffered" from panic disorder for more than 25 years. In the beginning, it was almost debilitating but these days things are much, much better.

    Meds helped to keep it in check. Most episodes are minor, a bit of a flutter, a bit of light-headedness that do not escalate into an "attack". I have taught myself to breathe slowly, shallowly, deliberatelly, taking control of my own body.

    I can go months and months without a single episode. Then without warning,I'll have several back to back minor episodes. I notice these happen mostly when I'm going through some sort of stressful situation in my life. Oddly enough, the panic attacks don't happen during the stress, but usually after I've been removed from it for awhile. (ie: stress at work, panic attack at home)

    Now and then I get one of those attacks that I can't deal with on my own. During those times, it greatly helps to have someone nearby who understands. My son is great at saying, "I'm here if you need me" or if he's gone for the day, we'll chat a few minutes on the phone until I feel calm. Then he calls back 10, 15 or 20 minutes later to check on me. Just knowing that he's checking up is usually enough to keep things in check.

    While I have gone months, even years between episodes, I do not believe that I will ever be "cured." Most likely, I will always have to take medication and practice breathing exercises to keep the episodes from escalating.
  • Faintgreeneyes
    Faintgreeneyes Posts: 730 Member
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    Very good read. I disagree with the 'Am I completely cured? No, and I never will be' comment. It certainly is possible to live without anxiety. Cognitive therapy can help anyone to greatly improve or eliminate anxiety.

    I think for someone going through it- it feels like there isn't a way to complete get rid of it. And honestly for people who have anxiety disorders (I am one of them and going through therapy currently) while you can control it and live relatively anxiety free- you still have the predisposition to have them come back. So I guess I agree that you are never going to be "completely cured" much in the way an alcoholic will never be cured. They can curb there disease by not drinking and not suffering the side effects but they will always be an alcoholic. Does that make sense?

    Yes, it does make sense. However, in my personal experience, once I understood that anxiety attacks are physical feelings caused by my own thoughts, I realized that I had control over all of it. If it's my own mind that's doing it, I can stop it. I do occasionally have a slight fluttering of anxiety here and there but I learned how to stop it there before it becomes a full blown attack. It wasn't easy. It involved quite a few panic attacks where I was forced to pinpoint the thoughts that triggered it and try to identify which ones were true and which ones weren't. Which worries I had control over and which ones I didn't. I had to learn to stop living out the irrational 'what if' thoughts in my head. So I'm not speaking from the position of an observer who hasn't been through it.

    I wasn't stating that you were an observer- I was more trying to give a perspective from other people who unfortunately may not be able to get to a point where they are "cured". Everyone's experiences are different, that is all I was trying to get at.

    I think it's great that you have been able to get to a point where you can control it that much, I too was like that at one point but now they have been coming back and not associated with any worries at all- those just plain suck.
  • EvetteM41
    EvetteM41 Posts: 76 Member
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    My husband and I both have axiety issues, Different reasons though. I can take xanax and it helps me right away. He needs more meds. but he is in therapy for that and other issues. One of things they have him doing now,it sounds silly but coloring. Not like cartoon pages. But complicated kalidescope looking things. It actually takes his focus away a little about whatever is bugging him at that moment. ANother thing is when he gets tense he tends to ball up his fists. Which is making more stress really. They tell him to open his hands and stretch them out.Exercise is great for anxiety. For me anyway. THe harder or sillier the better. I have been doing kids yoga with my 4 year old daughter.. It's actually not that easy.lol Of course that won't work for everyone. Just thought maybe it would help someone.My anxiety is never gonna leave. But I am trying to find ways to manage it. :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I have PTSD and after therapy, the thing that's helped me the most is very strenuous exercise. I didn't have the option of taking any medication and had to do the therapy via skype with a therapist in another country. Long story. The PTSD has not gone away completely but it does not dominate my life any more.

    keep on working towards getting well, find a therapist who knows what he or she is doing and stick with what works for you and what really helps, that's not the same for everyone. But I do recommend heavy exercise and healthy eating, as I can't be the only person in the world who's helped by that.
  • Tina2Cats
    Tina2Cats Posts: 493 Member
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    Wow, excellent article. I can really relate to this young man's plight with anxiety, but it's not crippling him. Having a good support system is important.
  • wolfelements
    wolfelements Posts: 117 Member
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    Great article!

    I have anxiety as co-morbidity to other mental problems (Bipolar, DID, PTSD). Most days I'm afraid to leave the house, which sucks cause walking is one of the few exercises I can do. I'm on meds (Zoloft), but we can't raise my dose high enough due to my Bipolar meds. Sadly, my therapy (which I'm thankfully able to get to despite my fear of leaving the house) is focused on my DID, which is the biggest priority.

    Anxiety can be hard to deal with, but I feel there is hope for myself and other people.

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