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Posted 1/13/2011 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
i chose blue font because the color represents freedom and this is what i desperately search for! freedom from the panic that consumes my life..panic i am goin to have a panic attack. my first panic attack was terrifing i ended up in an ambulance and my nose began to bleed. my symptoms are horrifing i get the heart pals, the feeling of being disoriented, chest pains and this uncontrollable fear that im having a heart attack or dying. it's debilitating ..i dont drive..im 22 by the way. i wont leave the city i live in for the fear that ill have an attack on the highway and that EMT's will not get there fast enough..this means the relationships  i have with my family members have dwindled..my military relationship crumbled at my feet because i felt unable to move to be there for him..ive been suffering for 3 years and with the new year i want to heal..be the old me that wasnt afraid of well living ..and i merely feel like i am existing..with this condition!
Posted 1/13/2011 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kendra, I was about your age when my anxiety first started I just turned 30. It lasted a few months and then I didn't get bad anxiety again for 5 or 6 years.. There is a light at the end of the anxiety tunnel.. You will get through this and someday you will look back and say to yourself..."What made me think like that," You are so young still... Remember anxiety is just a feeling, don't let it get the best of you and over obsess about it (I know it's easy to do) I have def felt the same way you do right now.. I am getting anxiety again for the 3rd time.. I have recently been scared to leave the house etc.. But i'm telling you, you have to push yourself a little. I got in my car today and drove around the neighborhood jamming to some of my fav music and I actually loved it and felt happy.. Once you can get out you can try to push yourself more and more each time. Remember who's boss YOU!! If you get uncomfortable you can turn around... Anxiety attacks are as scary as you make them. Anxiety attacks will not hurt you, venture out there and make the best of your life. If you need to talk to someone, I am here. My email address is [email protected] I try to check it often. If you have any feelings or thoughts I can talk to you.
Wish you well, hugs
Posted 1/13/2011 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
kendra88,

I am so sorry to hear of your 3 year history of anxiety. Coming here and talking with the members was a very wise thing to do as the members know where your coming from and what you are going through.

In the 3 years you have been battling anxiety have you ever been to your physicians or in any kind of therapy to help with the anxiety ?

Anxiety is part of our bodies, a natural response, which alerts us to potential danger. Just like physical pain it is uncomfortable, but really necessary to guide us in life. It is OK and natural to feel anxious some of the time.

Anxiety is clinically significant when it causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. In other words, anxiety is problematic when it impacts your functioning at work or your activities of daily living.  It feels to me like this is where you are at.

Breathing exercises are a wonderful way to learn how to control anxiety, reduce stress, and promote relaxation. Studies have shown that anxiety sufferers tend to breath shallowly and from their chest. Learning to breathe deeply and from the belly can bring great relief and control to anxious individuals.

Here are some resources for you to explore and see if any of them appeal to you.

Relaxation thread

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=759232 

ZEN for Everyday Living

https://www.healingwell.com/library/anxiety/article.asp?author=hoang&id=1 

Free CBT Online/MoodGYM 

http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

E-couch Online, free

http://ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome

Kindly,

Kitt


Posted 1/14/2011 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
I never realized how much some of us have in common...I was 20 or 21 when my anxiety started and Im 32 now. I dont drive either because Im scared that I will have a PA behind the wheel even though recently I made the step to attend driving school. I have had alot of relationships dwindle also because I dont feel comfortable in public places so I dont hang out much with my friends. I had a panic attack one day and ended up in an ambulance also with the EMT looking at me like I was crazy. This anxiety thing is one crazy ride but I refuse to let it continue to consume my life. By the way, welcome to the forum!!!

Nelle
Posted 1/14/2011 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
i am absolutely astonished by the quickness of responce and was enthralled! i feel like i may finally have a voice that is understood! my friends and family have grasps my fears and the limitations i have created to keep myself in a comfort zone but they do not understand what i live with. sometimes i feel alone in my struggle to beat PA because i dont have people to talk to who understand!

I hate that so many of us suffer from this but as a team maybe we can beat this together! I want so much to just have a normal life again and enjoy my youth without all my fears and what if's the circulate through my head with every passing moment!

I was tickled to read that you got in your car and just drove listening to music! thats my relief sometime is music just to sing my heart out! to wear i cant hear my mind =)

i have went to doctors also and they just want to push pills on me and i want a drug free solution so when i conquer this ill feel victorious!

mine basically occur when traveling..and sometimes at random. 

please keep in touch and i encourage anyone else to also comment please!

Posted 1/14/2011 5:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kendra and welcome! I am glad that you found us, and are feeling that it helps already:) This is a very special community, full of the greatest people, info and support!

I am sorry that you felt your doctors were pushing you to do something that you didn't want. I am neither for or against medication. I think that every person has to make the right choice for themselves. I chose not to try meds, but therapy first. I was clear with my doctor, when she tried to prescribe, that I would like to try to recover without medication and asked for a therapy referral. She was fine with it, as I presented a plan to her. I would try CBT, and then go from there.

It worked for me, and I feel fortunate and grateful that I had options. I would suggest going back to your dr. for a referral, or just find a therapist on your own if that's possible (depends on your insurance plan)

I would recommend CBT, as it is very effective in treating anxiety, and panic attacks. I used to have the attacks everyday, and after going through therapy, I no longer suffer them.

I hope that you can find the solution for you. Kitt gave you some great on-line resources! We are so lucky to have these at our fingertips:)

Keep posting, it does help to talk to those who understand and care what you are going through.

Take care,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 1/14/2011 6:35 AM (GMT 0)
Scardey cat-

I have tried Paxil and Lexapro when i first went to a doctor for help. I had a horrible reaction to Lexapro and the Paxil was mild and just didn't really seem to help or hinder the attacks. i have xanax..yet don't take it.

here goes..well i don't like to take pills that remotely make me feel for lack of a better term 'Loopy' because it induces me to freak out. this includes pain medicines. not to mention part of this came from the first PA since i had taken a cold n sinus PM medicine that the EMT drivers insisted could have caused my ailments...yet from then i kept having them spells.

I am eager to work through this! my grandmother is getting old and she is the love of my life and i have to be able to do the thirty minute car ride to see her because id feel and unbelievable amount of guilt if anything happened to her..

i thank you all for the inspirational content and resources and more than anything having an open heart! this is very debilitating to me.

therapy would be a god send to me but unfortunately i do not have insurance. so my options are limited..to medical help.

again and i cant say it enough thank you so very much!

Posted 1/14/2011 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kendra

Welcome to the forum and nice to meet you this really is a good place to come and speak to people who can relate to what you are going through I personally have found it to be off great help and have made some good friends.

You have had some great support and advise already but I would just like to second S.C suggestion of CBT as it really dose work for people who have anxiety related mental health and I know a lot of members here including myself who have done CBT. Kitt gave a link to moodgym which is free and you can go through the process and see what you think.

Take Care

Ben
Posted 1/14/2011 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
thank you ben! yes so far i feel like this has been a positive move on my part! I know that i needed a support system and my friends and family are wonderful don't get me wrong but they just don't understand.

CBT? i don't know what this term mean? if someone could explain it to me i would be eaager to try!

I am willing to try anything to work past my fears!
Posted 1/14/2011 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Kendra,

At my worst I was afraid to leave home and would panic wanting my husband to turn around and drive me right back home.  I can say I  occasionally still have these feelings but out of necessity I had to get past this fear.  My sister was hospitalized with cancer uptown which was a 35 minute drive on the busy freeways.  I had to talk myself into going as she spent 10 months in the hosptial needing me.  Many days I would cry for a half hour out of anxiety and anger that I felt so weak and useless.  I would beat myself up for not being the confident person I used to be.

Here are some tips that helped me deal with the anxiety of driving and having an anxiety attack.

1. Take small steps and you will eventually get to your destination -- A lot of people who have a fear of driving simply give up using their car altogether. This is the way to perpetuate your condition, not to heal yourself. If you feel that you're unable to drive, simply use the car for short periods. Either drive around the block, or to the grocery store, or take frequent pit stops to make sure your fear doesn't build up. By doing so, you're conditioning your mind to gradually overcome your fears.

2. Listen to soothing music while you're driving -- Music has great effect on our mood. Find some music that you can relax to and play it while you're driving. It will lower your overall stress levels and your will enjoy your ride more. I have had to sing along at the top of my lungs and had some strange looks from people who passed me .  smhair

3. Take deep breaths -- If you're ever driving and start to experience one of the many symptoms of your phobia (sweating, stomach aches, nausea), take a few deep breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly. Deep breaths steady the heart beat and help you to relax

Think positive thoughts, leaving no room for failure that you “just can’t do this.” This fall I decided to take a drive up north by myself.  It was a 5 hour drive and I was so anxious just leaving home that I almost backed out.  I did make it to my destination but was on the phone with my husband when I got to the hotel as I was in a full blown panic attack by then.  He offered to drive up and bring me home but I would still have had to drive my own car so I told him I would tough it out and head home the next day.

The one thing I kept repeating over and over was "I am OK!" Every time I felt the tears building I would repeat over and over in a loud voice "I am OK !"

Kendra, I do know exactly what you are going through.

Gentle Hugs,

Kitt

 

Posted 1/14/2011 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
Kitt!

I do hope to hear that your sister's health has improved and that she is doing well! and i can't imagine what you had to be going threw emotionally and physically! that would be a massive amount of anxiety and guilt im sure but the wonderful thing of it all is that for her you still went for it! veryyyy honorable!

I hope to be able to accomplish all that you have in good time! it gives me hope and the motivation to want to just put the best foot forward and just peel away at this layers that are masking who i really am!

I miss that i used to love car rides! i was like a puppy! head out the window and all! =) and then after the breakup our favorite past time became what with holds me from the now!

and i may have not wrote out properly my "driving conditions" i have never had my lisence. to this day i hold a driver's permit. this wasn't from anxiety at that time it was my mother. I had a blood clot and they had put me on blood thinners and she didn't want me to drive! then by the time i got off the thinners..i came down with anxiety! =(

so my problems with travel would be others driving and me being the passenger!

thank you kitt i loved your message it was very uplifting!
Posted 1/14/2011 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavior Therapy which is a talking therapy which gives you techniques to help you deal with your anxiety so that it is at a more manageable level.

Ben
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