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We are not sick

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 9

I find that this website has really helped reinforce the idea that anxious people are not "mentally ill." Part of having an anxiety disorder is that you think you are going crazy and will die of the suffering it causes and realising that this is not true is the first step i think to getting better. Since anxiety disorder is a behavioural pattern you learn to be anxious, and therefore you can learn not to be anxious. I think the "disorder" part of it gives you some reassurance at first because you want recognition of your suffering but then the disorder part is connected with being insane, crazy, a psycho, mentally ill etc. mostly because some professional forgot to tell you that you can be cured. Its the helplessness that leads to labelling yourself mentally ill. Its a bad place to be for sure, and the incompetance of professionals to truly educate people on the reality of their diagnosis is where the blame is due for this popular misconception.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 15

Im not through it totally yet but im a good ways there. in fact i had a major attack today. But thanks to the methods/tips/advice of forums like this and self belief i managed to fight it off so far. Still got physical symptons right now as i post this but lying on my bed and BELIEVING im going to beat it and all will go away in a few minutes. Self belief is truly the key for me. For years i didnt believe it was "beatable/cureable" but now i do. Since i gained this belief attacks have dramatically lessened. Todays attack was triggered by an insect bite which took me full circle to the start of my problem. I had an allergic reaction to an anti histamine injection over 20 years ago and almost died (anaphalactic shock). Every time i felt a bodily sensation since then i would have an attack the insect bite didnt bother me at all today and i didnt consciously even think about it, but PD/PA are sneaky characters and attacked me on the walk back to my home. I was 10 minutes away from my "castle" and barely managed to fight it off in the middle of a street full of strangers and almost fainted ( or thought i would). But here i am safe and well and typing here. Still full of body tingles and sensations but BELEIVING im safe and it will go away soon. Go away mr Panic - im going to kick you out forever very soon!

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 7

so what helped u get thru this???

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 15

I would say i am sick , but wouldn`t say i have a mental illness..

Overproduction of adrenaline because some chemical reaction happens in my brain when certain bodily sensations happen, even im not conciously aware of the sensations sometimes.

I think PD/PA can lead to mental illness if not acted upon quickly though and unfortunately many people understand whats happening and dont seek help until the cycle is well and truly underway.

i really feel more information should be provided to everyone via govt TV ads, posters in doctors clinics etc etc to let people know that this is very common , that help is available, and that its very beatable.

When i talk to any of my friends or coleagues about it , they seem to have no clue what im talking about and have never heard of these disorders/problems that millions suffer from.

I spread the word at every chance i get in the hope that i can help even just one person nt have to go through more than 20 years of suffering as i did.

In all those years i was never referred to a website like this or even given an info booklet about PA/PD - i think that is a very sad state of affairs. yes psychologists talked to me, but words are just that, heard and forgotten sometimes.

Thank god for sites like ths now springing up all over the place to help people understand and cope.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2606

Hi Sara,

No need to apologize for ranting. This is why we are here, feel free to share and rant all you need to! After all communicating what you are going through helps you and others, we appreciate the insight.

Anyone else have any other thoughts on this topic?

Samantha, Health Educator

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

Hey Guys

I hadn't really thought of looking at it like that. I feel like I've been trapped in this viscious cycle of feeling sick because I'm anxious and getting anxious because I feel sick. I tend to make myself a bit of a victim in that I see PD as this thing thats happened to me that I have no control over. In the past I've never had much time for CBT ... I guess because I'm naturally cynical and find the whole concept of thinking happy thoughts when I feel as though my sanity has up and left me hard to swallow. For me PD is such a physical monster. It's constantly acheing, and wanting to throw up and feeling so tense I can't sit still but can't do anything constructive either. For the longest time I've felt that there is no possible way that my thoughts are actually contributing to these sensations. I've always felt like my brain and my body are two different entities and although my brain reacts when my body does something it doesn't work the other way round.

Joining this site and reading your posts has really helped me to identify the crucial mistake in this logic. Of course my mind and my body react off each other and of course it goes both ways. The last couple of days I've been trying really hard to be positive and challenge all the negativity running around in my brain. It's certainly not making me feel any worse and my shrink assured me that with practice it will start to make me feel better.

Sorry guys that was a bit of a rant but I think what I'm trying to say is that shifting away from thinking of myself as having a mental illness that I have no control over to thinking of myself as someone who is trying to unlearn some bad habbits is really empowering.

Thanks gorgeous people. It means so much to know that others out there are struggling with and beating the little panic eyed monster. I really can't stress enough what it means to me to feel like we're all in this together.

All the luck and love in the world

Sara

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1

My Panic Attacks make me feel weak and out of control. I like being in control. It takes a lot to conquer your fears. But I'm starting to realize how amazing our bodies our, and how lucky we are to be so in tuned with them. However, I'm working on making my anxiety and panic more manageable. So I agree it is ok to have a mental illness, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. You would be ashamed if you had Diabetes.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 9

Yeah I defo agree, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a mental illness but when I realised that it was because I was so aware of my bodies sensations (and so afraid of them), I found it much easier to overcome anxiety or panic when it was happening because I realised my mental health wasnt slowly deteriorating and that it was a reaction I had sub-consciously trained myself to have...

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 823

Great insight Lovine!

Thanks for sharing this perspective.

Members, do you agree that most of what you are experiencing is due to a hypersensitivity to unpleasant experiences?

Faryal, Health Educator

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 24

I wanted to share this with everyone.

I saw my therapist last week and I was telling him that I was feeling depressed again because I'm sick. He kinda scolded me and said it was unfortunate that doctors need to label what we are currently experiencing but reassured me and stated that we are not sick! Ours is not a mental illness. What happened to us is that we became over vigilant to our bodily sensations because of our unpleasant experience of repetead PAs.

Goodness!! .. and I thought I was sick =) I thought I was going crazy and thought it was true because I thought I have a mental illness!!!

Let's all work hard to do our "exercises" (exposure, simulation and challenging thoughts)

and it does get better.... =)

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