Thanks so much! I am very happy I found this forum, well I can't take all the credit for it. My sister found the site when I was going through the first week of a downward spiral. I had another one this morning but was able to manage it much better after reading a few tips here yesterday.
You guys are an inspiration to me and I am quite sure to all who suffer from anxiety/panic attacks.
Thinking of you all : )
Hiya Carla! Welcome to our community!
You propose awesome questions and are really tackling this head on, which I give you all the credit in the world for! I'm glad you found us!
Without an official Dx, I couldn't tell you for sure, but it REALLY sounds like you are havin g panic attacks, and understandably so! You've been through a lot and the loss you suffered could have triggered all of this.
The very best thing you could do is get yourself to a psychiatrist, who can properly diagnose you after a thorough evaluation. The doc can then discuss what options are out there for treatment. My best advice is...be open minded during this process. There are so many treatments out there, don't be afraid to try any of them! Your anxiety is affecting your daily life...it may be worth considering medication to help control your symptoms while you seek help from a therapist who can help you lean how to cope with anxiety.
You've taken the most important step, hon...by admitting, even to yourself that you need help with this...and that's OK! SO many people suffer from debilitating anxiety, and so many people find relief with various treatments.
As for your question..is this is a lifelong thing? For many of us, unfortunately, yes, it is. Although, most of us experience more times where our anxiety is controlled than when it isn't. Sometimes our anixety sneaks up on us and we need to address it, and if we have sought the right help, we learn how to cope and we manage to get through those rough times.
We're here for you and know how you're feeling...it's so hard, but you WILL absolutely have better days ahead.
Please keep in touch with us! We care!
Oh wow guys, Thanks so much for the comments! You both made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside and lately that's been pretty hard to do.
It's funny, as I was reading both comments I felt the little surges of energy but this time they weren't bad ones, they were good ones and they are only going down my arms. That felt really good.
I just read some really cool tips on here to help control them. I laughed about the comment on caffeine. I used to be a Pepsi junkie but stopped because I wanted to go on a diet, drank one for the first time yesterday. FELT FABULOUS!! Drank again today, FELT FABULOUS AGAIN, hours late, not so Fab.....
Now I feel much better. I almost became a home body due to me being absolutely afraid that I would have one in the presence of my friends and family. I taught myself that that was just not an option. I have a teen and a pre-teen and a 2 year old. Ever tried to be a soccer mom while almost crawling out of your skin with a car full of teenagers and pre-teens????? Not a nice feeling.
So I had to just tell myself that that type of anxiety would just not be possible for our lifestyle.
Still working on it but I can honestly say that within the past week my anxieties about leaving the house just to get in the car, to go grocery shopping, and drive for long periods are almost gone completely.
Thanks so much again guys!!!
Can't wait to get to the Doct. appt so we can do a few more test.
By the way,
I did want to add one more thing that I thought was really weird.
Sometimes I will have a drop in mood when I turn my head to fast or bend down. Does anyone else have that symptom?
Thanks a bunch!
Carla
My overall anxiety level has been out of hand for about 2 years, but I wasn't diagnosed and treated by my doc until about 8 months ago. Anxiety is something that everyone has- we're all here because for one reason or another, it's a stumbling block for us sufficient enough that we look outside ourselves for solutions- overall, anxiety is a highly-variable issue- treatment and resolution is completely tailored and dependent on you.
1). The idea is to get you to a point where you can use your own techniques and methods for dealing with it before it becomes a distraction or debilitating.
2). Again, it varies with the individual- I don't get panic attacks frequently at all, myself- I've had 3 in my whole life. That being said, I sought help because anxiety interfered with my enjoyment of life and how I interacted with people at work and at home.
3). My God, yes. I'm in a similar position- the nature of my employment requires that I not take anything stronger than tylenol. I use a combination of relaxation techniques and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a way to examine and analyze how I think about issues that make me anxious- a gut check that, with practice,helps people to rationalize their issues and face their fears. It's worked well for me.
If you haven't yet, talk to your doctor about what's going on, and get a referral to a behavioral therapist or psychiatrist- diagnosing your problems, and figuring out if you've got purely mental or an interactive mental/physical condition is the first step to finding out where to start in improving things.
4. Nothing, for me. People who have depression with anxiety often do benefit from medical treatment.
5. Caffeine unleashes a whole host of chemical processes in your body- mood swings caused be declining caffeine levels (along with declining endorphins, ATP and other chemical goodies that get produced while you've got a caffeine buzz) can absolutely play holy hell with your mood. I'm a caffeine junkie, myself.
6. Anxiety manifests in different ways for different people. About the only thing you can be sure of is that symptoms will appear in a manner guaranteed to eventually get your attention! I used to get chest pains (my dad was dying of heart failure when my anxiety finally got completely out of hand) as my prime symptom.
Congratulations on finally seeking help- you're in an absolutely sh*tty spot right now, but hopefully treatment will help. I might suggest going to a bookstore and getting an anxiety workbook- these are softcover books that you can use to identify and track your therapy as you learn about what's going on.
The best advice I can give you right now is to learn everything you can, don't self-diagnose, and don't let your medical doctor yes you to death- dealing with anxiety requires individual treatment- if you don't make progress with your therapist after you meet a few times, get a new one- your treatment will have to be tailored to your individual needs in order for it to work properly.
Anyhow, I'm able to keep my anxiety issues under control now, and my quality of life has improved consistently since I started treatment- without medication, luckily. There's a lot of good stuff to learn here.
There are many maintenance drugs that can keep your panic attacks/anxiety at bay. I take Celexa and a small dose of Klonopin and I work every day. Meds tend to give you back a better life, not make it worse. Starting SSRIs can be a little difficult and some people take a week off of work to adjust. Glad you are seeing the doc in two weeks so that youu can figure out the best therapy for YOU. We are all different. BTW, I almost had to give up caffeine when my anxiety was at it's worst. Since being on meds, I allow myself two cups of coffee before noon. I drink no caffeine later in the day.