Help...anxiety attack!

[GettingFree]

I don't know what's happened between last night and this morning. It was a struggle making it into work, I kept getting faint while getting ready, hyperventilating, and trembling. Had to lie down several times. I had to reassure my daughter this is just temporary. Now I'm at work, and I can't get this under control. I just feel this sense of foreboding, I keep needing to take deep breaths as if I can't get enough air in and my legs keep wanting to shake.


I didn't get much sleep, and I've not been eating much. I forced myself to eat and egg and a piece of bread this morning. I tend towards anemia so perhaps that's playing a part.

How do I get centred and calm down?!!!!

[51anna]

Hi GF,

Well, I think you're on the right track, physical health has to be taken care of and you're going through a rough patch where you might have been neglecting that. Also, it has been a very emotional period for you and your anxiety attack could be because of that. Yoga, meditation and exercise could also help in keeping you centered and calm. Try to relax and accept that your healing period may not go in a straight line. I know for me, things like that never go in a straight line and it can be frustrating.

Hang in there.

Love, Anna

[GettingFree]

Thanks Anna,

You're right. I know these things don't go in a straight line. I'm just not used to this type of physical repsonse (without anything in my system!). Yoga and exercise is still down the road till I'm further along with my disc problem. I should definitely try and make meditation mandatory.

I've now made a cup of tea and thank goodness a meeting was cancelled which required a deliverable from me I planned to do this morning.

Trying to slow down my breathing.

thanks for your support!
(())

[indigo]

Hi
i understand what an horrendous place you are in here is a tip from my therapist....when you are in a full blown atteack try to breathe your way through and telling yourself that although the feeling are real you can face them and float through..not that easy but it does work if you practice. The next step was to try and bring on a panic attack when you are with someone you trust i have never yet been able to bring one on !!!! another was to see myself as a spectator and take myself through the panic to the point of droppind dead and going to my own funeral...it really did take my thoughts off things. Anxiety especially free floating is so exhausting. You are in my thoughts. These tactics of course may not help everyone, yet i am much better at spotting the onset of an attack and averting it.

[ButterflyChaser]

I hope u start to feel better, man I know what it's like to have panic attacks, but it's been a looong time. My doc put me on anti-anxiety pills, and they help!
Hope u feel better

[Northwoods Lady]

Hi GF -
Oh boy - sounds like the major panic attacks I used to have - and they are not fun. You add not sleeping and not eating on top and you've got quite a cocktail of jangled nerves and emotions.
I used to pace like a madwoman - which helped as long as no one is around.
Listen to Anna about the meditation that might help.
A friend taught me a pressure point trick which helps me (no guarentees for anyone else). Grab the fleshy area between your thumb and forefinger of your left hand (not sure if it makes a difference if you are a lefty or a righty - I'm a righty. Any way pinch that between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand and press as hard as you can. Hold it for as long as you can stand the pressure and then slowly release....
Sounds crazy I know - but it worked for me.Better when he did it cuz his hands were stronger than mine. Also works on nasty little headaches too.
Other than that my heart goes out to you - I know what the feeling is like - and how helpless you feel in the middle of those attacks.
There are anti - anxiety drugs - but we are all addictive personalities and a number of them are highly addictive. If you seek medical advice - be sure to be honest with the Dr. Have seen some people trade one problem for another.
The good news for me. As my sobriety gets longer and longer - the attacks get less and less.
Good luck!!!!

Northwoods Lady

[GettingFree]

Thank you all for your support. I am home now and I feel more comfortable. I'm not sure how to characterize what I was experiencing. When I had to be squarely focused with others, I was able to override the anxiety. I was a full participant at a meeting I was central to. However, as soon as I was alone at my desk again, the anxiety returned full force. The drive home was terrible. White knucklels on the steering wheel, not getting enough breath, tears. And now, I'm feeling settled down again.

again, thanks all
gf

[MNGirlyGirl]

Hi GF,

I know what you are going through, I started getting anxiety attacks everyday. I found that I would get them especially when I was driving. Scary!! I went to my doctor and she pretty much determined that I was drinking way too much and the anxiety were part of withdrawls. Wow, what big awakening. The emotional exhaustion from it all was the reason why I quit drinking. I only have 4 days, but I have not had one attack in 2 days! Hang in there. Try exercise as well as the meditation.
Kathy

[liveweyerd]

There is a big difference between anxiety attacks and panic attacks. As with Indigo, I have learned how to identify and talk to myself objectively about panic attacks and no longer have them. Tho' certain external events could provoke one, I am sure.
Generalized anxiety is a different ballgame. And our reactions to them often tend to make them worse. I do take medications. But I still have to WORK at eating properly. My BIG achievement today is that I have ordered a healthy breakfast with a glass of milk. Coffee is not a substitute for the four food groups, I have to say this to myself!
Also I found that cutting way back on caffeine did a world of good!!!! Caffeine free coke, etc. because I want a coca-cola a day. But sugar and caffeine are likely to aggravate anxiety. And I do get damned tired of having to monitor all this all the damned time. Like, I would like to go out to dinner and enjoy iced tea. And sometimes, I forget and do drink it. But it is like shooting myself in the foot with the anxiety. The excercise is a good idea. Sometimes long strolls, sometimes going to the gym and working out that energy gone wrong can make a world of difference. I do the breathing meditation everynight going to sleep but when anxiety overtakes me I lose the ability to settle down that much.
If I have said too much, I am sorry. I just want to convey that I understand. And I understand the struggles that accompany it.
Going to bed and getting lost in a whodunnit is one of my diversions that sometimes works for awhile.
I find this is not the time to be reading recovery or other serious stuff as it intensifies the anxiety.
And sometimes, anxiety is the other side of the coin of depression.

[GettingFree]

Live and Cathy,

Thanks for your advice and wisdom. Yes, I know coffee and sugar are killers. I don't drink much coffee, and have really cut down on sweets (although I do love them and can binge every once in a while!)

Gratefully, I'm not experiencing regular attacks -- it seemed to be part of my hitting bottom a month ago when I was going through such an emotional upheaval. I'm in better spirits all round, although still riding the emotional roller coaster as I am processing so much stuff from my childhood in therapy, in group, and on my own. I'm finding while I'm not suffering from anxiety, I do have a lot of manic stuff going on in my head. Hard to stop the think,think,think.

So meditation is still really necessary -- it's sometimes the only way I can slow my brain enough to drift into sleep.

best
gf

[Evanna]

Sending hugs to you GF.

[GettingFree]

Hey Evanna girl friend,

The universe works in mysterious ways. The relationship front is actually stronger and better than before this crisis. I'm stronger and better than before this crisis. I'm on a plane first thing tomorrow morning for a 5-day visit and on the agenda is a cleansing ritual for us. I've thought about this for the past year, and had kept planning it in my head -- for me. Now it's turned into something for both of us, and my therapist even sent me off today with a special and beautiful shell and two beautiful glass beads, one for me and one for K. It was like my wonderful wise mother spirit sending me out into the world with special healing energy. I broke down and bawled as she gave them to me -- getting the kind of love you never had can hurt.

Hope you're well!
gf

[Evanna]

Have a great time GF.