Jenn
Please don't take the Ativan. Valium which is of the same class is safer because it is easier to withdraw from besides the fact Ativan is not supposed to be used for more than a month. Ativan is the worst for building dependence. ( I know I'm not allowed to say that and it is only my opinion but having been an addict I thought it was worth the chance. It will probably be deleted)
GAD generalized anxiety disorder is a condition where anxiety comes out of the blue for no reason. There are a lot of therapists that don't accept this anymore. With a new understanding of the mind and how it works some of these Therapist believe there is a subconscious trigger. In really bad cases of PTSD the mind will not allow access to the memories yet they still affect the thinking. I believe GAD is like this. That there is a trigger hidden in the memory. I believe this because GAD is often consistent. Happening at the same time or during the same activity. The reason Ativan works is because it blocks the trigger but leaves it in place. If you have a traumatic period in your life that you can not remember and by that I mean a blank spot like a black room that would be where the trigger is to my thinking.
In this case you would appear to be thinking of nothing. When in fact you would be looking for something that your mind won't let you find. So you get the symptoms but not the answer. But the two have to be related because if it was a panic attack you would get symptoms but no pain. A panic attack is fight or flight. The racing heart is preparation for this as it would do in a real situation. All the symptoms that go with it are related.
By relaxing you take the focus off the search that is causing the anxiety.
One night during one of these so called GAD attacks I said quite out loud, enough go away. And surprised me when it did.
Do you have a monitor, do you know for sure if your pulse is racing or your blood pressure is up. I have one and used to use it to see how low I could think it by concentration. Just another distraction technique that works.
I know some one else who has to stop in the middle of work and lie down till the chest pains go away. As far as I know she has accepted it as a fact of life and I don't know if she ever figured out what causes it. ( might have been me lol.) A pity she is not on here, she might have been able to help you.
Davit
