Almost a year sober and still panic attacks
 

Or something. Underarm sweats, light headed, weird feeling and that whole thing. Have to have a cool shower or cool fresh air to get right again.

So anyone else?

I have a lot of health anxiety. I have had no relief this year at all. And quit taking benzos a year back as well. They really helped my anxiety big time but I had to quit them.

I reckon it's health anxiety sleepie. Converting "real" anxiety into something more palpable. Challenge the thinking.

I always reserve the right, like Spike Milligan (I think), to have my tombstone read "I told you I was sick". :)

I don't know how old you are, but have you researched perimenopause? I went through that in my forties and I hadn't been drinking or using anything for years. It's uncomfortable: I was anxious, sweaty, irritable, couldn't deal with the heat blah blah yadda yadda.

The struggle is real, people!


(look away, those of you with Y chromosomes. Too late?)

Blood sugar changes?

My anxiety really kicked in full force about 2 years into my recovery. I've always had it and it was strong towards the end of my drinking too, and while quitting helped it never went away.

For me it's been a combination of therapy, mindfulness/meditation, excercise and acceptance. By that I mean I have had to simply accept that I'm an anxious person. That doesn't mean that there is nothing I can do about my anxiety, and it doesn't mean that I don't feel a LOT better now than I did before - but some days I'm just anxious. It's woven into the "fabric of me" just like my addiction is.

You and me both, sleepie. I recently started acupuncture. I've tried magnesium supplements and they work for some people but did not work with me. Exercise DOES help with my anxiety though.

does it happen often? or as often?

I know for me at 5+ years sober I will still have a panic attack if i'm not careful but most fo the time i can avoid it at this point.

To be honest most of the regular all day long panic attacks i had eased up within weeks of quiting. That doesnt mean didnt still have them or i was not on the verge of having one like all the time for a while tho.

now I have stupid stuff for example dont get on the teacups iwth the kids that will cause a panic attack. roller coasters are ok go figure. any other ride that straps me down tight forget it panic attack. it is what it is.

now other things in life can still trigger them too for me but lucky for me that doesnt happen often ::knock on wood::

back in my drinking days it was panic attacks all day long for no friggen reason at all or every reason at all it didnt matter.

I am with Scott on this, similar experience and strategies to handle my anxiety. Also, I've learned that to a significant extent my anxiety tends to be conditional and triggered by bad habits (surprise, yet another bad habit!). Due to a basic level of worry and fears, sometimes I am not dealing with things (often practical tasks) that I should and that can add a pretty intense extra dose of it. I am often surprised how calm I can become if I regularly stick with plans, do not procrastinate, complete things on time etc. Another good one is not allowing myself to get overly obsessed with and stuck in things because that can also get in the way of doing important things and increase my worries.

As for the panic attacks, I used to have them with varying frequency, before I started to drink heavily and of course during. Somehow I think for me awareness really helps, knowing that what I am experiencing is anxiety. I don't recall having a full blown panic attack since I've started to acknowledge the symptoms for what they are, at first it was conscious control (grounding exercises etc) but somehow it has become automatic and if I experience intense symptoms, they don't tend to last long are are less bothersome.

I think most everyone have anxiety issues from time to time. If it is an ongoing problem, you can always start meeting with a therapist.

I had them up to the end of August this year. I quit drinking in Feb 2015. I tried beta blockers and at first I thought they were doing some good, but then I found I was getting depressed and having regular heart palps and my anxiety was just awful. I ended up stopping the beta blockers in August and for the last 3 months I've been really stable. I know I am anxious person but it has finally got better. I stopped exercising because it was making anxious due to heart palps (but I didn't realize it was the beta blockers). I've not got back to exercising yet and hope to start again in the new year. When I do feel anxiety coming on, I will play my guitar and sing - it really helps. Maybe try memorizing something - or try singing (even if you're not good) - it helps to control your breathing and memorizing gets your mind off your own body.

It's probably just going to take more time. I know that might not be what you're wanting to hear. I didn't think I was making any progress either, and then suddenly I realized I had not been anxious for a long time.

Hang in there.
CF

Sleepie, I hope you didn't think that I was trivialising your post, I wasn't. I do know that the struggle is real and that's why I replied. Anxiety, health or otherwise can be frightening.

I was simply trying to impart that the *challenging* of health fears can be useful, this, with a little humour thrown in to cheer you.

All of the above posts sound useful as well and I am not a doctor, but sincerely hope you start to feel better soon.

Not at all I just haven't had anything else to say really.

I thought it was funny.

I haven't had nearly the amount or intensity of panic / stress that you described,
but I did find it correlated directly to drinking for me.

I still get some insomnia, brief panic moments at times, but it was sort of like
what Calicofish said--one day I realized I hadn't had that feeling in quite a while.

Hang in there--we are here for you

calicofish i had horrible anxiety with running for a while. each day i'd go run and i'd be super anxious the whole time till about 20 min or so into a run then i got some relief and would feel better the rest of the day. Then one day i just stopped being anxious during my run and havent really had an issue since. Now I do get anxious before i run however almost daily and it seems like i gotta force myself out the door to do it more and more.

i dunno tho for me theres anxiety. then theres the type of anxiety you get just prior to a panic attack or along with a panic attack. after i got sober while the panic did ease up i was anxious like i was gonna have a panic attack at any given moment for geeze 7 or 8 months straight and it just would not let up. I thought i was damaged goods and i had finally done it this time scrwed myself up good. I told myself too if it doesnt get better i'm gonna do myself in i coudlnt see how i could go on through life with that level of anxiety 24/7. lucky for me it did ease up but geeze it was killer.

Anxiety
 

I had the worst anxiety for months. I've been 10 months sober and it has been no picnic. I actually took lexapro for two months and that helped calm me down. When I stopped I had to start working out and meditating. The meditating, I think, has really helped me chill out. I have not had a full blown panic attack since. I have been able to catch an onset and quickly diffuse the situation. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth is my best friend. I naturally do it during an onset and it works well. It's worth a shot. Hope you can master this because I know it's horrible.

Over the years, and with a lot of therapy, I have managed to get a better understanding of extreme anxiety and panic attacks and have developed skills to deal with them. I do take a non narcotic medication to help with this, but it doesn't alleviate the problem, only helps to deal with it. I also have to put in the work to get through those tough times. A pill isn't gonna solve the problem. There are still times I run home after a day of dealing with high anxiety, so I can relax and unwind, but they are not as often as they used to be but it took me a long time and a lot of work to get there. I still have minor panic attacks at work, shopping, etc., but I get through it. Some days, I go home exhausted from dealing with this. It's very draining. But I know it's worth the fight, just as it's worth the fight to beat addiction. It all comes down to quality of life. My challenges don't define who I am or what I can become or what I can do. I try to get out of my so I can be who I am suppose to be. John