Do Mental Illnesses Start With A Panic Attack? Please Read?
Thank you for reading my post in Advance. My Mental illness started with a really bad Panic Attack earlier this year, I just felt really feverish, shaky, sweaty, and losing control out of no where for no apparent reason. I kept running to the bathroom every 4 minutes to either pee , throw up, or shit because my adrenaline was red lining. The feeling lasted all through the night until a week later of non stop anxiety. I couldn’t sleep nor eat for 3 nights. I stayed up all night pacing back and forth and researching what was happening to my mind and body. Even at one point I remember I felt as if I had really bad Amnesia because I couldn’t recognize myself or anyone else around me, I had no idea who the hell of what the hell anything or anybody was. This was a terrifying experience and soon after crippling depression followed. Not sleeping , eating , and feeling like I was losing my mind drove me to the point of wanting to commit suicide, I couldn’t stop thinking of ways to do it… hanging.. shooting myself.. driving off a cliff.. driving onto incoming traffic.. dropping an electrical appliance into the bathtub while bathing.. and on and on it went through my mind. Finally I went to a mental health "professional" and got on medication, the medication helped me eat and sleep but didn’t make me feel normal again, I still didn’t know who I was and what has happened to me, all i could think about was that less than a week ago i was perfectly normal, in college working on my future. After about 4 weeks of medication i decided that I was stable enough to get off of them and have been off for 8 months. My panic attacks are non existent but the depression is still there.. in full force. I have also begun experiencing an arsenal of physical and mental symptoms, chronic fatigue, constant low grade head pressure, cognitive decline, severe long term and short term memory loss (I can’t remember certain events in my life that all my friends can), violent thoughts of hurting loved ones, sometimes I lose touch with reality and feel like nothing is real, feel like everyone dislikes me, and etc. The list goes on and on.. Some weeks when the symptoms aren’t as bad I feel good.. closer to feeling "normal" again but they always return and make me feel like I am trapped in a vicious cycle that I can never get out of. Right now I am down in the dumps again, and suicide is plaguing my mind. I am confident that I won’t do it but I am starting to give up the battle. It would be nice to hear someones experience similar to mine. I don’t know if it just me but in my case my Mental Illness was brought upon by a very strange Panic Attack type experience and to make matters worse it came for no reason at the peak of my life. I am 19 years old and has dropped out of college to work and deal with my mental issues. I would like to hear other people’s experiences and see if they are similar to mine. I want to hear how it happened, how did you treat it / manage it, and where are you today? Please share and thank you for reading my post!
P.S I used to have a very strong Psyche when i was young and was never verbally or physically abused, was very bright growing up and had a loving caring family. I did experiment with drugs when I was younger… Weed for 6 years on and off… meth for 1 year.. and shrooms .. Ecstasy.. coke.. and acid here and there through out the years.
im happy to tell you that your far from alone. 3 months ago i suffered a panic attack which made me feel like i was literally going to go insane. i was freaking out and it felt like it would never end. Ever since the initial attack i have been stuck in this anxious state. i worry about everything. i feel very depersonalized and my emotions are dull to the point where i forget i have them. im always either numb, scared or just depressed.
i get hit by these waves of sheer dread that send me into crying fits, which are seeming to become more and more frequent. i feel like my life is so restricted by this, but im not going to give up. im only 17 and i too experimented with pills and weed for a good 4 years (but i am very sober now). They say that drugs do affect your brain chemistry over time leading to imbalances that cause these problems. my advice to you is to is to be optimistic. when you are in this depressed state negative thinking only prolongs and worsens it. even though it may not seem like it now, you WILL get better, so think that. i m still battling this too. on a daily basis i deal with the fear of going mentally insane, having some deadly cancer, and having forever lost the person i used to be. these negative thoughts are illusions created by depression. i would recommend trying the silva method and the sedona method. They help alot. Also if you have a decent amount of money try the linden method. Make sure you eat healthy and consider taking supplements such as fish oil, amoryn, or GABA.
I hope i helped. Im struggling with anxiety and depression and it has affected my way of living in devastating ways, but im learning to overcome it. Youll be able to do the same. its nice to know im not alone =]
if you have any questions or just need someone to talk to email me
Comments
Comment from Nadine
Time January 7, 2010 at 1:44 pm
You sound in a terrible place. I can identify, through experience, with some of what you’re going through. My depression didn’t start with panic attacks but I know people for whom it did. You should really go back on medication. Perhaps you were on the wrong one? Perhaps it’s actually bipolar depression you have, which doesn’t respond to anti-depressants very well? To come off your medication having felt suicidal is not in your best interests. I really feel you need to go back to your doctor for an alternative medication. Remember please that suicide is a permanent solution to a non-permanant problem! Please don’t do it. Next time you feel consumed with suicidal thoughts write them down and bring them to your doctor the next day and demand the appropriate treatment.
Hang in there. There is a life post-depression 
References :
Comment from kab
Time January 7, 2010 at 2:30 pm
About 10 months ago i took a panic/anxiety attack that i believed was caused by the suicide of a friend ,but not a real close friend. I have had anxiety in the past but nothing like this. I started having thoughts of hurting family members and myself but they we’re unwanted thoughts that i hated and because of these thoughts i became very depressesd and felt like i was lying in a big black hole that i could not get out of, this was the WORST feeling i have ever had in my life, i really thought i was insane or crazy. It took along time about 6 months for my depression to get better but i still had those thoughts as i mentioned above and found out that they we’re signs that i had ocd. I have good days and bad days but i atleast know that what im going through is more normal than i thought so that makes me feel a little better. I take anti anxiety meds because anxiety feeds ocd and the more anxiety you have the more ocd thoughts you have. I am only taking my meds when i go to bed now and hope to be off them soon. I try to keep busy and get out as much as possible. If you believe what is happening to you is not normal and your not normal than you will feel less normal. You have to believe you are normal because you are , disorders that involve anxiety are nothing but tricks of your mind ,the more you realize that the better off you will be, it will be hard but it will get better be positive.
References :
Comment from Robie
Time January 7, 2010 at 2:50 pm
try to visit this site..maybe it could help you..
http://www.stoppingpanicattack.com/
References :
Comment from Catalina
Time January 7, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Hey, I understand how you feel…
The uncomfortable symptoms like sweaty palms, "jelly" legs, extreme alertness, "impending doom" feeling and the fight-or-flight response.
I’ve been there. I’m an ex-victim. Sometimes the deep breathing or distraction techniques doesn’t work – a full-blown panic or anxiety attack happens later.
Sometimes you experience panic attack out of the blue and such.
Do NOT buy Panic Away, Linden Method, EasyCalm or the Panic Puzzle. They do NOT work – I’ve tried them and their solutions are similar – it DOESN’T WORK.
Medications do NOT work – I was under many antidepressants (Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil and Zoloft) and anti-anxiety medications (Ativan, Klonopin, and Xanax) but my condition was the same – no improvement at all.
The only program that really work is The Panic Attack Solution. It’s found by an ex-victim. You can check out his old blog in his official website to read up some useful tips.
But the package is the best – it teaches 17 powerful techniques and the real solution to panic attacks. I’ve bought it and it really helped me – it’s the BEST anti-anxiety package or book I’ve read.
His theory really makes sense and it works effectively!
You will learn why your panic attacks can happen without warning sometimes; why having stimulant causes panic attacks; and many-many other useful tips!
Check out his official website:
http://www.ThePanicAttackSolution.com
References :
Comment from Chrona
Time January 7, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Hey… Victoria here, maybe my personal story can give you some solace…
a lil about me- about a year after my husband left me and my daughter died about 5 years ago.. I was at a very difficult point in my life, and was ultimately diagnosed with depression, severe anxiety, and panic disorder. I would say that i’ve always for the most part been a little depressed and had some degree of anxiety, but this just completely tipped the scale. I remember there were days on end I would just lie in bed, and whenever I would be in a social environment my anxiety would go through the roof and I would often have panic attacks. Therapy never seemed to be effective for me, and my psych put me on damn near every med out there. I’ve been on everything from wellbutrin to paxil, zoloft, prozac, lexapro, celexa, buspar, valium, klonopin, xanax.. etc. Sometimes 2-3 different ones in combo at the same time. Nothing really seemed to work for me. With the exception of some of the benzos (klono./xanax) .. these worked well for a little while, but I grew tolerance quickly, and became highly addicted.
Then one day while researching online i came across this reputable looking website http://www.anxiety.pcti-system.com .. which talked about this program to eliminate your anxiety for good, all naturally. Long story short, I wound up signing up to try it and the program worked amazing.. Not only do I no longer have panic attacks and anxiety gone, but my depression has also seemed to dissipate a little. And I’m currently starting to slowly ween off the meds I’m on. >>>>
I would personally say that possibly the biggest driving factor in all this is OCD. I think obsessing and constantly having your thoughts focused on your own condition and constantly analyzing your own thoughts/actions plays a very significant role in the persistence of our ails. Almost like the condition is a small lit fire, and OCD is the fuel that keeps it consistently burning… Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that meds are generally a unhealthy short term cure that only semi-treats the symptoms, and never the cause. Hope I was of some help!
References :
Comment from Chris
Time January 7, 2010 at 12:58 pm
im happy to tell you that your far from alone. 3 months ago i suffered a panic attack which made me feel like i was literally going to go insane. i was freaking out and it felt like it would never end. Ever since the initial attack i have been stuck in this anxious state. i worry about everything. i feel very depersonalized and my emotions are dull to the point where i forget i have them. im always either numb, scared or just depressed.
i get hit by these waves of sheer dread that send me into crying fits, which are seeming to become more and more frequent. i feel like my life is so restricted by this, but im not going to give up. im only 17 and i too experimented with pills and weed for a good 4 years (but i am very sober now). They say that drugs do affect your brain chemistry over time leading to imbalances that cause these problems. my advice to you is to is to be optimistic. when you are in this depressed state negative thinking only prolongs and worsens it. even though it may not seem like it now, you WILL get better, so think that. i m still battling this too. on a daily basis i deal with the fear of going mentally insane, having some deadly cancer, and having forever lost the person i used to be. these negative thoughts are illusions created by depression. i would recommend trying the silva method and the sedona method. They help alot. Also if you have a decent amount of money try the linden method. Make sure you eat healthy and consider taking supplements such as fish oil, amoryn, or GABA.
I hope i helped. Im struggling with anxiety and depression and it has affected my way of living in devastating ways, but im learning to overcome it. Youll be able to do the same. its nice to know im not alone =]
if you have any questions or just need someone to talk to email me
References :