Help, I'm freaking out!

motherearth,

Deep breaths. You are not dying, I promise. What you're likely experiencing is a panic attack. These happen for no apparent reason and happens to me. When I started my SSRI I would wake up panicking. My arms were on fire, my chest was painful, my heart was racing. I would wake up and vomit.

You are healthy. This will pass. If you're able to go to a place alone like the bathroom where it's cooler that may help. Try focusing on deep slow breaths.

Hi

Sorry to hear you are feeling this way anxiety can cause all sorts of symptoms and includes the ones you mentioned hopefully the xanax will kick in and you will start to feel more at ease. If things don't improve I would suggest you make an appointment with your doctor in the meantime try and stay in the moment the best you can and use any coping skills you have learned.

Keep us posted we are here to support you.

Hibee

Hi ME,

Checking in...it's a little later now, so I hope that you were able to get back to sleep and wake up feeling better?

I know you mentioned in yesterday's post that you had hurt your arm more when trying to pick up/move your son...so that is surely why you had the increased arm pain...

The stomach issues are common with anxiety, and you listed several worries that you are currently dealing with...so it adds up that you would be symptomatic now.

One more day! Tommorrow you get to return home, so hang in there.:) I hope that your last day can be one of enjoyment for you.

Best wishes for feeling better and staying as calm as possible!

S.C.

The xanax thankfully kicked in pretty quickly. I could feel my physical symptoms lessen and I was able to go back to sleep. I woke once again, but fell back asleep quickly, and slept until 9. I feel so wiped out and so sore this morning. My whole upper body feels achy and tense.

dear motherearth3, Your posting brought back memories of a cruise I was on last year with my husband, sister and her husband. Woke up with racing heart and waves of panic and thought the same thing as you...why can't I relax on vacation for gosh sake?! My husband kept me from losing it and I finally took a klonopin (my therapist says the same thing as yours After an hour I crawled out of bed and went to the casino with my sister and had a ball. WHY must we always be dealing with this? I keep thinking that there is a reason...perhaps it is just to help others get through it. My mother dealt with "nerve" issues as we were growing up and believe it or not, at 86 she still helps me sometimes by telling me "I've lived this long...it didn't kill me, and it won't kill you either!"
It is disconcerting that we cannot enjoy our vacations though - it is supposed to help! I have learned a lot of new ways to deal with it though, and haven't had a harsh panic attack in months but live with anxiety daily. Listening to Claire Weekes cd and reading her book has helped immensely - you might want to look into it.

Hugs, Reepin

I am so happy that I could be of help. Guess we will be dealing with anxiety issues for some time...it at least makes it more bearable to have someone to share it with. Please keep me in mind if you need support. I know I am always in need (lol). Hope today is better for you! Debby

When you're in a situation and you're out of your element, it's totally normal to be more anxious. And please, do not feel guilty to take a xanax! Diabetics aren't sitting there feeling guilty taking insulin, so we shouldn't feel bad taking our xanax. As long as you don't abuse it, be happy you have such a strong took to turn to when you need it. If not for xanax, I may still be housebound and in a really bad situation right now. Im glad you're feeling better!

Motherearth your situation mirrored mine back in October! I was visiting family and in the middle of the night woke up to those exact symptoms I thought I was dying as this was my first panic attack. I took a Xanax immediately and kept telling myself I was ok. Like you I didn't want to ruin my trip so didn't mention it but was so tired and drained the rest of the trip. I went to the Dr when I got home and confirmed it was a panic attack not a heart attack or brain tumor. I am taking Zoloft and have Xanax "in case". This forum has been so helpful in understanding what's going on!❤️ Hope you feel better and have a good vacation with your children.

Thank you all for sharing your similar situations. No one I know IRL understands me except for my best friend who also deals with anxiety and of course my therapist. I'm pretty sure my family just thinks I'm crazy so they don't provide much comfort.

AJG25, that's a really interesting theory. And it makes a lot of sense.

I'm back home now. I actually slept through the night last night. I was up early, but it was good to sleep without waking until the morning. I can still feel my physical anxiety quite a bit, but my heart rate is back to normal for me so I feel like now it's more my normal hormonal anxiety, plus the added stress of knowing now I have to prepare for the holidays. I'm trying to make that easier on mysef this year though. I have a feeing I may be checking in a lot in the next month. Truly you're the only people who get me.

Thank you, SC :)

Yes, I think I will still schedule an appointment to have my shoulder/arm looked at. It's better for sure, but still a little tender if I move it a certain way. And since I've hurt it in the past, I want to try to avoid it happening all the time.

I miss the warm weather, but I'm happy to be home! It's good sleeping next to my husband at night!