Hi all, 

my name is Dan and i am 17 years old. i thought I'd just say hi to every one. I have just completed the first session and i would like to say i am feeling a little bit better about it all. its nice to know that im not the only one on the planet who suffers from this. its 2:07am here in England and i started to have an attack at about 12:00am. i finally decided i was sick of all this and decided to search the internet for some answers and i luckily found this website. can i just say that i am so so so so so so thankful for what these people are doing for me and others like me. the attack has stopped now thankfully and i can now sleep =]

 

i am sure you will all make me feel welcome here and i appreciate that.

 

Thanks

Dan

 

 

 

 

Thank you ALL for your support & suggestions. I am SO grateful to y'all, leading by example (in a matter of speaking)...

 

SIM, I wish I could take a nap. But I had to come to work this morning at 9AM sharp. I might take a nap when I get off... Davit, thank you for all you said. I actually did write down exactly how I was feeling & what happened. I've actually gotten a spiral to journal in when I have an attack... Samantha, I tried to use the lesson in Sec 3 to try to get myself to calm down, but I was so frazzled & irritated that it didn't work. So I jus got up & let it happen. They do seem to last for shorter periods of time now & my heart isn't pounding out of my chest like it did in the beginning. There was some heart fluttering and a li'l discomfort tho. I plan on telling my therapist all about tomorrow morning

 

The road to recovery is definitely a bumpy one. But I am still very determined to get back to myself

You made me want to cry this morning. (afternoon for you, I'm 4 or more time zones away.) It brought back memories. I used to have this same thing so bad I wanted to die and get it over with. I know you want answers, but all I can say right now is that I and others are proof that you can make it go away. For some reason I always felt better after an attack untill the next one. and then wham there would be another. and for me the worst were always in the night. You will notice I said were. I still get some anxiety attacks but they never, absolutely never turn to panic attacks. Some times I feel like I'm on one side of a tall fence and there is a large barking dog that I can't see on the other side. But I know it can't get me. Here are a few things that worked for me and why!! Write it down. on paper on computer, no matter write it down! If you stare it in the face it becomes smaller. If you think you know what is getting you write it down, even if it temporarilly increases the panic. Oh and don't throw it away. you want to read it again in the morning so you can see that there really was no reason to panic rather than dwell on the fact that that you paniced and probably will again. The thing to do is make each one smaller till they fade away. Right here your saying easy for him to say. Remember I and others have been there. Box breathing! One of the things that can happen during a panic attack is that you slow down or stop breathing, or you breath so fast that you get dizzy. Box breathing will regulate the oxigen going to your brain. (hospitals put anxious patients on oxigen because it calms them. Personal experience). Count or better yet say on the intake, I'm Ok. and on the outtake I'm really Ok. Use your hands like the instructions say. The more things you have to concentrate on the less chance of thinking about panic. If you do this in bed then you are already there and you won't have to fear getting back in. Scalded milk. You can use the micro wave. scalding milk realeases Tryptophan, a mild tranquilizer. And as a last resort you can try going outside and getting cold. Freezing your buns off is good incentive to get back in bed and curl up. No thats not the last resort. The last is take medication if you have to, always with the thought in mind that it is temporary and you can reduce or quit it. 

Now for every one else out there, suggestions are needed here. What works for you?

And off the subject, I have found a product that makes me very happy again but I want to research it first before I talk about it. I want to be sure it's safe.  Wishing you all happiness, especially at this time of the year.

Davit.

Texanfemme76,

 

Sorry to hear you had a terrible night of sleep. Hopefully you managed to make up for the lack of sleep by taking a nap or something. I find that making sure I'm relaxed before going to bed is key. If anything bothered me at all throughout the day I will write it down and write about it. Getting everything off my chest allows me to sleep soundly. 

 

Let us know how things go. We are here for you!

 

SIM

Texanfemme76,

 

It sounds like these late night experiences are causing you great frustration and is disturbing your quality of sleep.

 

So it's 3:45AM - and here I am, having an attack. I tried to calm myself down before it got full blown but it's too late now. I got out of bed & came to the computer bcuz the hot flashes were starting to kick in, which make me toss & turn. I am flippin EXHAUSTED!! I wanna go to sleep SO bad

 

I had actually been feeling like myself for the past 3-4 days and then this happened. Making me feel like I take 2 steps forward only to take like 6 back. This is VERY frustrating...

Glad your first appointment went well! And wahooo on gettting on the exercising bandwagon! It will do wonders for you!

 

Have you ever tried pilates? It's a good workout and relaxing too!

 

SIM

So I had my 1st appointment with my therapist y'day. She thinks that the anxiety attacks are my body's way of letting me know it cannot handle the amount of stress I take in and not let out. Made perfect sense. She also doesn't think that my case is "severe enough" to require medication. So I decided to start doing some exercising at home (can't afford the gym these days). It was a 30 min workout (mostly cardio). I was excited to do it and felt really good when I got done... Until I got to my gf's house. There was jus this feeling of utter dread that I could not shake. When I got in bed, my mind was running 90 to nothing. SO ANNOYING! It took me like 2 hours to fall asleep.

 

The only upside to all this is that the panic attack symptoms don't have the heart pounding & racing feeling anymore 

TexanFemme76,

 

It could be stress that is causing pain in your back and shoulder blades. Try maintaining good posture when sitting for long periods of time and performing stretches. You can also roll your shoulders back and forth to relieve some of the tension. Furthermore, you can try relaxation or meditation to relieve stress.