Anxiety/Panic attacks

[The Third Rider]

OK it seems like I have developed a anxiety/panic attack disoder over the last two months and now I have panic attacks daily. I want to know if anyone here is familiar with them and what I can do. I have already setup an appointment with my doctor and I am sure she will send me to a psychologist or psychiatrists for treatment.

[CzeCze]

Remember to breathe.

The professionals should be able to give you better advice

One word of caution -- when you have that much anxiety/panic running through you, it's easy to develop OCD-ish habits as a way to compensate. Example: focus your excess negative energy into counting numbers or repeating a mantra to yourself to calm yourself. I'm not sure these things would be considered 'healthy' either.

Hopefully your doctors can give you better coping mechanisms, 'cures', medication.

[LostInNerSpace]

I have them. I used to have quite severe panic attacks. Now they are fairly mild.

My theory is that it's about Fe. The fact that I have an incredible amount of control when the emotion is about me supports the idea that I may be low on Fi.

It is a result of thinking too much about what other people may or may not be thinking. This might explain why it seems to be fairly common for INTPs.

This is my line of reasoning with myself: I'm not doing anything wrong. If this person is misinterpreting my behavior, there's really not a whole lot I can do about it, so there is no reason to worry about it. This person does not know me. I can't read his or her mind.

Basically you have to allow yourself to be cool with unintentionally emotionally hurting other people with your behavior. At least that's the way it works for me. I'm working on a completely different approach which is much more interesting. I'll post if it works.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by The Third Rider

OK it seems like I have developed a anxiety/panic attack disoder over the last two months and now I have panic attacks daily. I want to know if anyone here is familiar with them and what I can do. I have already setup an appointment with my doctor and I am sure she will send me to a psychologist or psychiatrists for treatment.

I found a book by Ainslie Mears to be helpful. It is called - "Relief Without Drugs".

[Tallulah]

I used to have panic attacks. I found this book to be immensely helpful:

Amazon.com: The Panic Attack Recovery Book: Step-by-Step Techniques to Reduce Anxiety and Change Your Life-Natural, Drug-Free, Fast Results: Shirley Swede, Seymour Jaffe: Books

It's very practical, and really gives you the tools you need to deal with anxiety. You definitely need to figure out what's triggering yours, but don't make the mistake of associating certain places where you've had the attacks with the attacks themselves--that kind of stuff causes a secondary reaction, and then you find yourself feeling like you don't have any control over them. Just remind yourself that it's just a panic attack, you won't die from it or anything, and concentrate on getting the focus outside yourself and breathing slowly. The book is a good all-around tool to help you re-direct the way you deal with stress.

Xanax helped a lot, too.

[The Third Rider]

Thanks guys I am have a REALLY hard time with my attacks. I get them daily and they are preventing me from sleeping, last night I got 1 hour of sleep. I am not sure exactly what triggers them and I am now constantly in fear of them which is extremely unhealthy. I can say that I have 20 different symptoms and its greatly affecting both my family and friends. It has taken over my life right now and I talked to the doctors, I have an appointment on monday so that I can start on medication. ALso do you guys believe that I should stay away from medication???

[Delilah]

I have had them for years but have done a fairly good job at controlling them somewhat, or at least fighting through them, without medication.
One of the things that helps, aside from reminding myself to breathe slowly and calmly, is taking some quiet time, without distractions, to try and work back to the root cause / causes. Oftentimes when I work my way back, I realize that the issues that started it are not as tragic and overwhelming as my mind has allowed them to become. Then I mentally talk myself through them.
If yours are affecting your life and family then you should at least try the medication until you feel a bit stronger. I have considered it myself, but recently mine have been improving so I am holding off for now.

Good luck to you, I really do feel your pain.

[The Third Rider]

Thanks for all the help guys I feel a little better now.I do have a question though. I have always had sleeping problems but at night when I am trying to fall asleep my heart will have one prolongled heart beat that besically makes my whole blood pressure in my body drop and that wakes me up immidiatly. Its happenning to me constantly and I can't stay asleep. I tried drinking water with sugar but it made me extremely hyper. Any suggestions? Thanks! Also I will look to see if I can get that book.


EDIT: I found this article regarding Hypoglycemia.

Alternative Mental Health

Sound quite interes, when my panic attack started saturday I had eaten 2 glaced doughnuts and had some pasta. Last night I felt like my blood pressure was low and drank some water with sugar and it made me extremely hyper real fast. Any of you guys think Hypoglycemia might be it?

[Mempy]

Originally Posted by The Third Rider

Thanks for all the help guys I feel a little better now.I do have a question though. I have always had sleeping problems but at night when I am trying to fall asleep my heart will have one prolongled heart beat that besically makes my whole blood pressure in my body drop and that wakes me up immidiatly. Its happenning to me constantly and I can't stay asleep. I tried drinking water with sugar but it made me extremely hyper. Any suggestions? Thanks! Also I will look to see if I can get that book.


EDIT: I found this article regarding Hypoglycemia.

Alternative Mental Health

Sound quite interes, when my panic attack started saturday I had eaten 2 glaced doughnuts and had some pasta. Last night I felt like my blood pressure was low and drank some water with sugar and it made me extremely hyper real fast. Any of you guys think Hypoglycemia might be it?

Hmm. I notice a glaring similarity between you and my best friend, who is very prone to panic attacks. Like you, she seems very aware of what her heart is doing, and she often claims, with a hand over her heart, that it is beating irregularly or skipping a beat or something like that.

I really feel for her, and you, and anyone with panic attacks. She saw a psychiatrist who she said "asked all the right questions" and prescribed her some medication that really helped. I'd definitely suggest that course of action, at least until you feel stronger, as Delilah said.

I don't know what triggers panic attacks; it may be different for every person, but it MAY help to avoid caffeine. My anxiety and negative thoughts are often amplified by the stuff (I don't have panic attacks, though).

Rereading some of the posts in this thread, all I can think is .

[Tallulah]

Originally Posted by The Third Rider

Thanks for all the help guys I feel a little better now.I do have a question though. I have always had sleeping problems but at night when I am trying to fall asleep my heart will have one prolongled heart beat that besically makes my whole blood pressure in my body drop and that wakes me up immidiatly. Its happenning to me constantly and I can't stay asleep. I tried drinking water with sugar but it made me extremely hyper. Any suggestions? Thanks! Also I will look to see if I can get that book.


EDIT: I found this article regarding Hypoglycemia.

Alternative Mental Health

Sound quite interes, when my panic attack started saturday I had eaten 2 glaced doughnuts and had some pasta. Last night I felt like my blood pressure was low and drank some water with sugar and it made me extremely hyper real fast. Any of you guys think Hypoglycemia might be it?

Diet can be a big factor, Third. When your body gets run down and your nerves are shot, you can be more sensitive to sugar. Controlling your blood sugar levels can help a lot. I started eating mini-meals, rather than 3 big ones, and I cut WAY back on sugar. That helped the attacks a LOT. Basically, just remember to eat complex carbs, not simple ones, and pair it with high-quality protein, every time you eat.

I would take the medication, especially at first. You need some immediate relief so you can better deal with the stuff that's likely causing the attacks. Don't feel bad about needing meds. You don't have to become dependent.