My anxiety story.. Please I need help and support.

[Jocipher]

Hello everybody I am a 17 year old male and in need for help. So over 2 months ago I was feeling absolutely in top shape but then I wanted to do insanity. Now I didn't work out as much as the next guy but I never really had a problem with it and thought I was in good shape to be honest. But after the second day I had to quit because I was feeling short of breath and chest pain and I was worried obviously. And that Thursday I was rushed to the ER because I had my first panic attack. Scariest moment of my life I thought I was going to die!! But the docs gave me blood work, chest X-ray, and an EKG and everything checked out. So I went on my merry way but was still shooken up about it. So as the months past I started noticing more symptoms happening such as: chest tightness, short of breath, chest pains, couple headaches, palpitations and weird sensations happening in my chest like vibrating and grinding feeling in the center of my chest so to speak. And over those months I quit working out( mainly Cardio) and just kept thinking and thinking about it. Going on the Internet which freaked me out more and just straight up worried myself to death! Thinking that everyday was my last day and that I was going to die at some point during the day or night because of a heart problem.  It was extremely emotional and after many " breakdowns" and visits to the nurse and counselor I set up an appointment with my doctor and they ordered me to have an echo and holter monitor for 24 hours and after that and the constant worry it came back 100% normal just as my parents and doctor said they would. And that gave me a big relief but now a week later I started to have bad thoughts of whether they missed something and all of my symptoms came back!! I am getting strange sensations in my chest such as vibration/ wheezing type feeling that takes my breathe away almost, palpitations, occasional tight Chest, and a feeling like my heart is being squeezed as it beats. It is all very debilitating and somedays I feel that I can't leave my own room because I'm afraid something bad will happen to me. I currently am seeing a therapist and sometimes talk to my counselor at school and that gives me some relief but once I'm on my own the symptoms come back and I start to worry alot that I will die. I haven't had a panic attack as bad as the one I had at the beginning but I have come close but have learned to control at least that. Please can someone help me? I don't know what to do with myself because I just want my old life back but I am trapped in this rut. Are these symptoms I'm experiencing normal for someone with anxiety and will they go away? Cuz I had all of that testing done and they all came out fine but even to this day I'm experiencing all of these symptoms in my chest and it's debilitating and frustrating and makes me feel like there is no hope for me. So i ask for you guys for any advice for dealing with this? Will I ever feel better? how long will it take before i feel better? almost everyday i think negative thoughts about my symptoms and death and this has just been the most stressful year of my entire life and i feel like i cant get through it. Thanks for those who may help or even know what I am going through and if you can offer any help please let me know. I visit my therapist every week and we talk about what goes through my mind when i think of death and what contributes to me having these bad thoughts and just getting to the deeper meaning of my anxiety. we just started on this so we havent gotten to far. i also have a follow up with my doc on the 2nd of May. Thank you for you time.

[Jocipher]

Thanks guys for your help and support. I do have a therapist that I see every week but had to skip out on this week but we normally talk about what I feel when my anxiety gets bad and my thought process. And I hope that as we get farther along that she can help me control it. But one thing that you didn't know is that I'm a hypochondriac and am hypersensitive about my body. But I am working on that and haven't looked on the Internet too much and stopped worrying myself. But my main problem with my anxiety is all of the random symptoms that happen to me. I try to ignore them but they keep on bringing me down. And I haven't accepted that its anxiety because my symptoms are so frightening to me and too bizarre for me to even believe that anxiety can make me feel like this physically and I can't accept anxiety even though I have facts that my heart is completely fine. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. But thank you for the comments and if you have anymore please lemme know.

[OtherwiseIntact]

You are not alone and be assured that there are very 'normal', successful people on this board desperately seeking relief from similar experiences. I am one of those people and am trying to figure it all out myself. I haven't found a way to rid myself of the sensations (or to control my mind from racing toward worst case scenarios from cancer to diabetes to heart failure) but have personally had success talking with a (competent) mental health professional (I am going through significant changes in my life) and I also have a prescription for Lorezepam that I use as infrequently as possible, but as needed (when I feel like a full attack is going to hit me). Its so frustrating.

Hang in there.

For what its worth, your first post looks a lot like mine:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Anxiety/Best-Ways-to-Describe-Articulate-These-Sensations/show/1627970#post_7405030

[omhome]

Hello jocipher:  I work at a health club where at least once a week (if not more) the ambulance comes and usually takes away either a weight lifter or someone participating in something like "boot-camp". The common complaint was rapid and pounding heart---hard to catch the breath---dizzy   etc. and they were most often diagnosed with panic attack (or reaction) or acute anxiety.
      And the causative factor----the common variable---was that they were all drinking substantial amounts of some Energy Drink---caffeine times ten.
You may like to see what are all the new changes ---the new things you have been doing. It is just a thought to consider if this is all something new to you.
It would be so cool if that was found to have caused your reaction----you could perhaps avoid taking the drugs---which i advise you to try really hard not to take.  If you do end up taking them then don't feel bad about it because you did everything you could to avoid going down that road. And the Good News is that they do work and you will get relief from your pain (for me mental pain is much worse than purely physical pain).
     You are so lucky to have involved parents who can help you and i think you are gonna be just fine. Keep us updated---ok?    omhome

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Well, perhaps the Insanity was too much for you (STOP the Insanity  . . .  couldn't resist).  

Listen, your parents are very thorough and have followed up to make sure your cardiac profile is alright (which it appears to be)----  so i am guessing that they will be equally as desirous of helping you with your mental health/emotional state.  

A counselor or therapist would be excellent.  You can begin to track the panic and anxiety looking for triggers to it.  Journaling is a good way to do this and it is also a good outlet for what you are feeling.  A therapist is excellent for helping to clarify this as well.  They can recommend things to try to self soothe.  I would continue some kind of exercise but not as intense as Insanity.  And at some point, they may suggest medication for you if you end up with a clinical diagnosis of anxiety.  Don't be afraid of this as many medications in the modern treatment world are so much better/easier to take than from meds in decades past.  But that will be a discussion for you and your doctor down the road.

but I think the place to start today is to talk to your parents telling them about what is going on and asking for them to help you find a therapist.  good luck (and remember, anxiety is treatable!!)