learning about my anxiety

Hi everyone, I have been a member on here for a couple of months now and have read lots, and commented on a few, of the posts on here. Can I just thank everyone for being so honest about what they're experiencing & feeling because its so helpful when you read something and realise that you're not alone!
I thought now I could introduce myself and say Hi. I'm a 37 year old married mum of two girls and I live in England. I have always been a 'worrier' even as a small child, and it was always worse at night. about 3 years ago I had my first proper panic attack, it came completely out of the blue and at night. basically everything went downhill after that! I didn't sleep for a week which resulted in me having an 'emotional breakdown' (my Drs diagnosis) this lasted for about a month, where I couldn't be left on my own, as I was so sure I was going to die! I have to thank my mum and my husband for helping me thro that time. Anyhoo after a really dodgy year I started to get my life together, and started coping better. However as it is with anxiety it comes and goes....and when it comes every calm thought goes out the window. It could just be a cough and then suddenly dread pools in my stomach and its like 'oh no what's wrong with me, am I going to choke?' etc etc, all through a cough lol!
A little while back I decided that just pretending nothing was wrong when I felt fine, then coping horribly when I had really bad anxiety, was quite a rubbish way to deal with all this so I took a proactive approach and started reading up on everything I could about anxiety and sleep problems.....and that is how I came across this site. I have spent many a night reading posts on here whilst trying to keep myself calm (and its worked) especially the health anxiety thread. This is me 100% although as well as my own health I also worry about my daughters and my husbands! It can be very draining lol
Anyway I realise that this is a really long post, sorry, but I guess I had a lot bottled up,
Thanks for taking the time to read this
Kala x

I am looking into cognitive therapy and yoga to help alleviate my anxiety. I'm praying it helps me cope with the debilitating thoughts and the worry. I hope soon we all get over our anxieties. Continue to feel better.

Hi Hibee

Thanks for your reply. At the moment I'm half way through doing a 'stress control' 6 week class that I applied to go on by getting in touch with the well being clinc. I'm sure you've heard of it, it's like an evening class where someone stands up the front and talks through the handouts they give you. It's quite interesting, it's by a Scottish Dr, Jim White I think (sorry I don't have them near to hand to double check the name)
Most of the CBT they offer now is done over the phone. I had to have a 20 min conversation like that to get on this course. I found it really off putting and well, uncomfortable I guess.
I would like to do some face to face CBT but I suppose I'll have to go private for that and I'm not really sure where to start looking for a good person to go to.
I will have a look for Mindfulness CBT on the web and see what it is about.
Thanks again for your reply

Kala :)