I don’t know what to do about my panic disorder anymore?
Hi, I’m a 19 yr old female. About a year ago, I got my first panic attack. It was so physical that I went to the E.R, and nothing was wrong with me. That was the beginning of hell for me, I had panic attacks frequently for about three months and then they went away unless something major triggered them( i.e, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, actual dangerous situation). Now they’re back and even worse. I’ve been reading books off the wall about panic disorder, and I know they stem from your way of thinking and coping with things. But no matter how informed I am, I can’t seem to help myself. Once they come, they come. I feel like I’m about to faint and I cry from the ‘pain’. Recently, I’ve just been getting them right after directly thinking about something and scaring myself, or when someone talks about something that would potentially scare me…I seriously can’t believe it’s come to that point. & now that I feel happy and my life is in order, they’ve come back and i have no idea why. I wake up nervous, shaky, numb from my hands and I don’t know what to do. I feel like running, pacing, screaming, scratching myself to distract myself…anything to make the feeling go away. It’s horrible, and everyone around me tells me to calm down and get over it cause they say nothing is wrong with me and it’s all in my head. Sometimes I think I’m going crazy…then I get another horrible panic attack…which seems to prove my point 
Despite the fact that so many people are unhappy with their choices, they remain in their way without making any
changes. For some, a dim or pessimistic view of life leaves them with the notion that nothing better can be expected in
their lives. Then, too, there are people who do nothing regardless of how unhappy they are with their circumstances.
These are people whose will to live decreases over the years. Dayly problems are acceptable for the sake of safety and
God knows what else. Their approach to unhappiness is to count the days until each holiday, to each vacation, and to
their day of retirement. Of course, there are people who chose their present state regardless of how unhappy they may
be. These are people with families to show them that way, and explanations to give . Many people seem unaware that
they could have choices and make choices and changes in their paths. Believing they have no options, they just continue,
in a dogged and stubborn way, to go the same way over and over again, never understanding that their lives could be
better.
There is another type of person who is unhappy with what he does and who is aware that change is possible and
desirable. Yet, people like him have no idea of what they would do to make it possible. I fact, these are individuals who
never knew what they wanted to do. When asked what their dreams were when they were children, they draw a blank
and report that they never had any dreams. When asked how they selected their present way of life, they provide
explanations about how they were lead to it or how the the circumstances ocurred in their lives. However, these people
make it clear that there was no motivating force that drove them toward what they are now doing. Perhaps the fact that it
seems easy that way was as a sole motivator as anything else. For this individual, as for many others, there was a time,
years ago, when their thinking was different and people were guaranteed a style of life for the rest of their lives. Today,
with a fast changing world deeply affected by the many situations including new ways of dealing with things and more,
there is no longer any steady pattern about what to expect for the remainder of a person’s life.
Individuals who back into teis lives without any type of vision or ambition often find themselves in a crisis whether the
world in which they are living either can change itself or people altogether. At that point, the individual is left feeling
confused and uncertain about what to do. That is when they may seek psychotherapy. If their hope is that therapy will
somehow help them find a way, they are sorely disappointed. In the therapeutic, they have no better idea of what they
want to do about it than before they lost their direction. All they know is that they are unhappy with their situation and
want to to do something about it, but make little effort towards it because there is nothing they want to do.
You can make the difference.
You are just needing the right personto talk to.
Comments
Comment from Leslie
Time January 15, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I have had panic attacks since the age of 32 and I believe they are the worst form of torture, beyond horrible earaches, toothaches, and possibly beyond the pain of a broken bones or childbirth. I really do feel sorry for you. I know that they are very horrible and it’s not all in your head like people think. When I got them, people just told me that I needed to calm down, that nothing was wrong. I would run too, run so hard and so fast because I couldn’t deal any other way with the rush of adrenaline that you get with them. My heart rate would be at around 120. I have had trips to the ER too. I thought I was losing my mind. I went to a lot of doctors and got put on a lot of meds. Most of them would put me on xanax for a while till they thought their ‘therapy’ kicked in, and then take me off of it, which made me crazier. I finally found a doctor willing to keep me on klonopin for a while, and it really helped me a lot. I was on it for about 12 years and when I felt ready earlier this year, I weaned myself off of it. One book that I think would probably help you to some extent is Edmund Bourne’s "Anxiety and Panic Workbook" Some of his more simpler suggestions worked for me in times of feeling panicked – just repeating "I am fine" ‘I am fine" over and over really helped, if I could clear everything else out of my head. I consider panic attacks both a mental and physical problem. Distraction is a good thing, if you can do it. My prayers are with you. Never feel bad about asking for help from people near you if it gets really out of control.
And it is true that stimulants like caffeine aggravate it. I had to give up coffee and a lot of other things I liked to do. But if it saves your mind, isn’t it worth it?
References :
Comment from billgroves
Time January 15, 2010 at 3:10 pm
I’m a licensed alcohol and drug counselor who has a panic disorder myself (which I inherited from my mother). Most important thing…xanax (any benzodiazapine) is only good for very temporary relief. After using them even as prescribed for 6 or 7 days you develop a tolerance to them, and when you come off them it can be HELL, and your anxiety is worse than before. The best solution is to get on an SSRI (like Lexipro or Zoloft), but realize that they take three or for weeks to really kick in fully and you will likely have some side effects in the first two weeks (jittery, butterflies in your stomach). You could take some Xanax while waiting for the SSRI to kick in, but be careful, and taper off it as soon as you can when the SSRI starts working.
What you’re describing sounds like a clinical problem, chemical imbalance, not a coping disorder or something you’re doing wrong. SSRI’s won’t hurt you, they aren’t addictive. A doctor has to help you find the right one and the right dosage. You can manage your anxiety disorder… there really is help out there and lots of hope.
References :
Comment from Jody
Time January 15, 2010 at 3:42 pm
They came back precisely because your life is in order and you’re happy – it means you feel safe enough for what is happening to you.
I will bet you have post traumatic stress disorder – try reading up on that.
The panic is triggered unconsciously at first, and gets progressively worse in intensity, gets more frequent, your body may contort, tremble or go into full body shakes, or limbs may paralyze temporarily. You may have night terrors and have full blown panic attacks in crowds or closed rooms or parking lots.
With ptsd, it’s the past that is haunting you and that is what you need to make peace with. In time you will know your triggers from all of the 5 senses. It is a most frightening journey of healing and discovery.
References :
Comment from Clovis
Time January 15, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Despite the fact that so many people are unhappy with their choices, they remain in their way without making any
changes. For some, a dim or pessimistic view of life leaves them with the notion that nothing better can be expected in
their lives. Then, too, there are people who do nothing regardless of how unhappy they are with their circumstances.
These are people whose will to live decreases over the years. Dayly problems are acceptable for the sake of safety and
God knows what else. Their approach to unhappiness is to count the days until each holiday, to each vacation, and to
their day of retirement. Of course, there are people who chose their present state regardless of how unhappy they may
be. These are people with families to show them that way, and explanations to give . Many people seem unaware that
they could have choices and make choices and changes in their paths. Believing they have no options, they just continue,
in a dogged and stubborn way, to go the same way over and over again, never understanding that their lives could be
better.
There is another type of person who is unhappy with what he does and who is aware that change is possible and
desirable. Yet, people like him have no idea of what they would do to make it possible. I fact, these are individuals who
never knew what they wanted to do. When asked what their dreams were when they were children, they draw a blank
and report that they never had any dreams. When asked how they selected their present way of life, they provide
explanations about how they were lead to it or how the the circumstances ocurred in their lives. However, these people
make it clear that there was no motivating force that drove them toward what they are now doing. Perhaps the fact that it
seems easy that way was as a sole motivator as anything else. For this individual, as for many others, there was a time,
years ago, when their thinking was different and people were guaranteed a style of life for the rest of their lives. Today,
with a fast changing world deeply affected by the many situations including new ways of dealing with things and more,
there is no longer any steady pattern about what to expect for the remainder of a person’s life.
Individuals who back into teis lives without any type of vision or ambition often find themselves in a crisis whether the
world in which they are living either can change itself or people altogether. At that point, the individual is left feeling
confused and uncertain about what to do. That is when they may seek psychotherapy. If their hope is that therapy will
somehow help them find a way, they are sorely disappointed. In the therapeutic, they have no better idea of what they
want to do about it than before they lost their direction. All they know is that they are unhappy with their situation and
want to to do something about it, but make little effort towards it because there is nothing they want to do.
You can make the difference.
You are just needing the right personto talk to.
References :
Comment from Chrona
Time January 15, 2010 at 5:00 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 Dani
Time January 15, 2010 at 2:28 pm
My mother was getting panic attacks for awhile and still has mild ones. She visits a womans naturopath that has helped her by giving her a mixture of herbs to take everyday and recommendations on her diet, blood sugar etc. She also visits a psychologist who she talks to but this can be costly so maybe look to see if there are any social groups you can join where people with the same disorder get together and talk. She also gets acupressure which she says calms her down and relaxes her, and has tried hypnosis but this did not work for her. With the instructions of her naturopath she has also cut caffeine out of her diet.
References :