Describe your anxiety/panic attack ?

How does your anxiety/panic attack happen? Would love to hear from people on what they are feeling, can you feel it coming on? Does it just happen out of the blue?

Do you have symptoms that continue ?

Hi

My anxiety comes on very quickly like the flick of a light switch one moment I will be fine and then the next my negative thoughts will be running and my anxiety will be high. I have had anxiety for a long time but in recent years have become a lot more aware of my triggers so do my best to manage my symptoms.

Hibee

For myself, I can always feel the low level of anxiety just lurking underneath the surface.  I feel afraid that the anxiety will bust lose and when it does I so badly wanted to feel safe and I become  angry that this is my life.  I almost always cry when I am in high anxiety. 

I am not afraid to do things but I am afraid of how my mind will handle the stress so I end up avoiding things I used to love to do.

I am a work in progress and will be all of my life.

Kitt

 

Stress,

I could be sitting down watching a show or going for a drive to the grocery store, all of a sudden It will start, out of the blue, I don't normally feel it coming on really, it just happens, then the symptoms can be any one or two or a combination. My main symptoms were palpitations, hard to breath or catch my breath, numbness, tingling in face, arms and hands, doom feeling, headache, heart racing and hyperventilation. Those symptoms I have been able to control through diet, I had a sensitivity to MSG, Soy, artificial sweeteners and I think some to gluten, which I've found out just recently I had this as a baby but my mother didn't put two and two together as I got older and say something about it. lol

Now, the only anxiety feelings I DO get are the sudden doom feeling or just fear of having cancer or something really bad, usually only happens when I feel sick.

Cheers,

-Jessie

I can feel it coming on , I find there is a few triggers that start me on my path of impending doom .

I find my arm goes sore and then my heart rate picks up and stays constant while I keep adding to my anxiety and I get the feeling my breathing has stalled, then I get worried and I strt getting dizzy/lightheaded and find myself running for the nearest air con port, for some reason cold air tends to help me a lot, I think it slows my heart rate when I am cold

The final climax of my impending doom is when it literally brings me to my knees with large pressure in my head and a rapid heart rate which fatigue drains me completely, feeling off balanced

At this point I am holding my head from a constant pressure forcing myself to relax which usually doesn't happen, cold air eventually calms me down after 20 mins but while it's happening scares the crap out of me

Yeah if I can feel it coming on I just under some cool air and pick something relaxing to do

Mine comes out of the blue as well. I do get racing heart, cold hands and feet( no longer have anemia), lightheaded, dizzy, hyperventilation, burning sensation in my back. Cold air helps me alot. Oh this thing call anxiety, I tell you.

Listen guys, if any of you have had your gallbladder removed, here is my story!!!!
For people who have palpitations after your gallbladder removal:
#1, I am not a doctor; I am just someone who had these issues for years. I saw cardiologists, had panic attacks was diagnosed with anxiety disorder treated with Xanax.
#2 How I would feel: I would almost pass out, my heart would race or skip beats. I thought I would die when I was grocery shopping, driving etc. After I would eat, I would really feel bad, almost passing out. My best friend told me that I should try a digestive enzyme because it might be my gallbladder. Plus I read in the Wall Street Journal that our gut was VERY much in charge of our entire body.
#3 So I went to Walgreens (because it was right next to Starbucks ) to see if I could find a digestive enzyme. The first thing I saw was gas pills that were a food enzyme supplement. The main ingredient was Alpha-Galactosidase enzyme 600GALU. Yeah, don’t try to pronounce it. I took one of these pills prior to every meal and it made a HUGE difference!!! My palpitations are completely gone. No longer feeling sick.
#4 Once again, I am not a doctor, only someone who has been through this. I made a promise to God, that if it cured me I would post it everywhere. Ask your doctor about that enzyme prior to using. As you can see, I don’t work for any company trying to sell something because you can get that enzyme in a plethora of different medications or vitamins. I truly just chose the cheapest generic version I found and it works wonderful!!!!!!
#5 Your not crazy!!!! Your not having panic attacks!!!! (most likely) Your not weak!!!!!! You just need help in your gut!
I hope this helps you!!

This is a good question for people to respond to.  Maybe we can identify with others by reading their responses.

My panic attacks:  They started years ago and came out of the blue, with no warning.  I called them "puke attacks" since that's all I felt, like I was going to throw up and would immediately retreat to a bathroom if I could.  The attacks might have stemmed from a paticular situation that happened.

Now they come out of the blue AND with building anxiety.  For instance, I have become very sensitive to smells(anyone else sensitive to them???).  So sometimes a certain strong smell(food or something) will make me feel nauseated then panic.  I can't really tell the difference between real nausea and panic. 

Then there's the panic that comes from anxiety about a situation that has been building up.  Like leaving the house and already feeling anxiety and already "what-ifing" before you head out.  By the time I'm in a panic attack, it's so hard to think, every little thought seems to make it worse and I can't for the life of me "think" myself out of one.  My main symptom is nausea or I guess what I could be experiencing is globus hystericus-tightening in the throat that I take for nausea.  I also start to panic after eating sometimes, thinking that I might be sick.  I also panic just talking about panicking. 

What helped me in the past was being put on xanax(which relieved the globus sensation) and taking time off work and going for walks at the couple parks where I live.  It took a year and a half to overcome that first real bad bout with anxiety.  Now the xanax doesn't have the same effect but I need to try exercising and going to the parks again.  It's cold here right now though so I guess I'd have to bundle up if I want to do that.

As I was reading through all of these, I could identify with everyone's experience.  It's hard to put into words exactly what you're feeling. 

Well, I hope one day soon I can post on here how I overcame my anxiety and panic attacks this time around.  We'll see. 

Thanks for all your posts!