Panic/Anxiety Attacks

NakedZergling

Does anyone in here have a panic/anxiety disorder? I do, and i have been bounced on meds for years. Sometimes they work, but after a while they just don't. I try to relax with hobbies that i enjoy (art, video games) but that can sometimes trigger a way worse reaction.
I'm just curious if anyone has had any success with coping with such an issue and what worked for you. I know not everything will work for the same people, but i'm interested. As it is right now, i'm freaking out, and can't sleep. As stupid as it sounds, i'm freaking out ABOUT freaking out. I alos freak out about things like "what if my son gets this". I used to have a really bad temper with varied outbursts, and at about the age of 19 i basically internalized it, and i don't get mad nearly as easily or as often (like RARELY) but now i get anxiety attacks and panic attacks that can be crippling where i need to basically seclude myself.

I don't know how to cope with it at times.

Any thoughts?

SatanIsMyMotor

Do you exercise? Exercise is the single thing that has helped me. Playing video games definitely doesn't help.

ihmmy

Have you seen a therapist/counselor at all? I managed to find one who was really good for me (after trying several) who helped teach some strategies around how to bring myself down from panic/anxiety attacks when I'm in the midst of one. I'm also on a set of meds that seem to work really well for me, so I got pretty lucky there, but the therapist really helped me figure out how to manage an attack when it comes on (which it does on rare occasion, despite the meds)

NakedZergling

I actually Just started working with a personal trainer last week, so we'll see how that goes.
I had talked with a professional years ago, but not recently. I just moved across country and the thought of trying to find someone seems daunting, but i suppose thats just a stupid excuse.

Ive found my triggers seem to really come at night, and i never want to wake my wife, who always seems to calm me down. I'm trying to figure out how to do it myself. Thatnks for the advise guys.

Djeet

NakedZergling wrote:

As it is right now, i'm freaking out, and can't sleep. As stupid as it sounds, i'm freaking out ABOUT freaking out. I alos freak out about things like "what if my son gets this".

I've only gotten them a couple of times, but I always ended in this self-perpetuating loop of anxiety and negative thinking. When I'm in it the only thing that helps is vocalizing (to my wife) that I'm having a problem. She then reminds me that I need to breathe slowly and deeply, which helps considerably. Regular exercise helps as it seems to make me more capable of handling stress, and these episodes only manifest for me when I'm under considerable stress.

If your son gets panic attacks then he gets panic attacks and he'll have to cope. It's not something worth worrying about, but that doesn't really help if you happen to be experiencing a bout of it. I don't think they've found any genetic link to panic/anxiety disorders, but if he views you unable to cope with them, well I'm not sure how that would inform his own ability to cope with stress.

Dakata

Have you tried breathing exercises? Cognitive Behavior Therapy? Talking your way out and making yourself realize that any sort of thought provoking this behavior will pass? Try breaking a routine. (By doing something productive, not sitting around.)

I've been getting it recently too and I'm 20. I've been going to counseling and trying to spot when I have the panic attacks. The most important thing to do is just breath or hum a song. It goes on in my family, but it might be that I listen too much. I picked up a lot of stress from listening to my parents argue about money and I internalized it by playing video games and drawing.

Do you feel like you need a definite answer all the time to your questions? You have to just let that feeling go and press onward.

I might not help much, but I know to a degree where you're at. It sucks, but you just got to keep pressing forward and not think about the past.

Hope you get this all sorted out.

Edit: Hmm... Internalize. That's a keyword in your description.

clearsimpleplain

I saw a counselor because I occasionally go through phases where anxiety will dominate my life; it comes and goes. I was looking for "tricks" that could help me shove away the panicky thoughts. The one that works the best for me is to take your five senses and start with five things you hear, four things you see, three things you physically feel, two things you smell, one thing you touch. Mix up the order if you haven't moved on by the time you're done. Linger on each answer; take time to do it. Usually by 3 I feel a lot better.

Spaffy

I get them, in fact I feel I am on the verge of having one right now... two best things to do are exercise, and vocalising how you are feeling... attacks can make you feel very alone, and I find going to my roommate and explaining how I am feeling has a very soothing effect.

Also, rather strangely, I find eating helps to calm me down.

GotrM15

I may have GAD (I've never been to a shrink), and my mother absolutely does (and won't share her Zanax, muh-muh-muh).

I know this is going to sound crazy and/or unhelpful, but the two most basic things I've learned about anxiety are this:
A) Sometimes you will worry about nothing, and you just have to ride the wave of terrible chemicals, shaking, etc.
Sometimes you will worry about something, and you just have to not. I know it sounds impossible, and sometimes it is (if so, see A), but sometimes saying to yourself, "It will be the way it will be, I'm not going to change anything right now," makes all the difference -- even if you have to say it to yourself curled up in a ball on your bed for half an hour.

That said though, I've discovered a few basic strategies:
*Do what makes you unwind. I love comedy myself; YouTube, NetFlix, and whoselineonline.org are some of my biggest stress relievers. I also play video games, listen to music (and sing along loudly), go lift weights (endorphins are great -- though sometimes the anxiety makes you too tense to safely exercise without pulling something, which will just induce a TON of anxiety, haha). Whatever you like to do, don't feel bad about doing it.

*As I said above, endorphins are great. I noticed not long after my last relationship ended that if I'm not having my sexual needs met, that lack of endorphins and testosterone can seriously increase my stress level. If you're married and you're not getting enough action, well I don't know. I know my girlfriend and I continued to look at porn up til the day we broke up. I can't speak for your wife, obviously.

*I'm an introvert -- which doesn't mean I'm antisocial or bad at talking to people or making friends, or that I don't like the spotlight on me (I love being the center of attention) or that I hate being in front of a bunch of people. All it means is that when I'm worn out and low on energy, I need to go be by myself somewhere, or maybe (depending on the day) with one of my very closest friends. If you need alone time, get it. This is something that is non-negotiable for me: I need alone time. While I can understand your wife not wanting you to look at porn, if you need to be by yourself, that's something she has to let you do. On the flip-side, some (crazy) people unwind by going and being around tons and tons of people. If that's your thing, you need to do that too. All the same rules apply.

Good luck! Being an easily anxious person isn't easy, especially when you have a full-blown disorder. It doesn't mean you're lesser, or that you're somehow weak; rather, you have a weakness, and that's okay. Never be afraid to say so, and to deal with it directly. Every single one of my friends and family knows I get rather stressed out rather easily, and so they understand if I say things like, "We need to talk about something else," or, "I need to be by myself today, guys."

Heisenberg

I get panic and anxiety attacks of some sort every day, and I exercise 5 days a week and eat well. It's more to do with worries regarding my future and mistakes I've made in my past that seem impossible for me to reconcile.

SwashbucklerXX

I definitely recommend going to a counsellor and looking at a strategy that involves more than just meds, which in my experience help with the physical stuff but not with getting rid of the negative thought patterns from anxiety. I totally know what you mean about freaking out about freaking out... I had a year or so as a teen in which I was consistently awake until 4am or so (and I had to get up at 6) because I was constantly getting anxious about not getting enough sleep.

A few people have mentioned cognitive behavioural therapy and that works great for me... it teaches you good, practical skills for interrupting those awful circling negative thought patterns. There are books out there that teach it, but I was bad with them. I found it a lot easier to learn from group therapy led by a psychiatrist who could answer questions, but I'm in Canada, so I know that isn't financially viable for everyone. Either way I'd say go to a counsellor if you can afford it, because it really helps to have a professional who can help you oversee your progress.

Bethryn

CBT is a decent basic tool to keep functioning while you're having anxiety attacks. I had it when I had constant anxiety attacks while at uni. The good thing about it is that it keeps attacks from getting so out of hand you can't perform basic everyday activities. That said, it won't magically get rid of your anxiety; it's a tool to deal with it, not a preventative.

Honestly, it took me several years to get out of having anxiety attacks, and even now I still have performance anxiety that I never, ever, ever had before I went to uni. The only good thing about that is that it's so short term you can usually predict and counter it with short term medication.