Question:
thanks. i had all the test i can for now and there no evidence of any cardiac or pulmonary disease. so i assume they are just symtoms.it went way and i was comfortable falling asleep. my partner is understanding but he doesnt know what he can do. thanks
Response:
How do you(pl) cope when you are having an attack? I have to sit very calm and take deep breaths. and tell myself that I’m not going to die. I have chest pains right now but I am under some relationship stress. Just looking for input. Maybe some one out there has a better way of handing. As i wait for my supplements to kick in.
ugh…… nobody ever asked that, i don’t think… since i’ve been here. me? i lay down and concentrate on relaxing and i focus on every part of my body, singularly, from my toes up, and knowing, inherently, that i will die. it just won’t be today. ~tanya
Response:
How do you(pl) cope when you are having an attack? I have to sit very calm and take deep breaths. and tell myself that I’m not going to die. I have chest pains right now but I am under some relationship stress. Just looking for input. Maybe some one out there has a better way of handing. As i wait for my supplements to kick in.
I’m not sure what type of attacks you are describing here, are they anxiety attacks due to stress? Well how I handle those situations depends how badly I’m feeling. If it’s anticipatory type of anxiety I try to find ways to relax my body and distract my mind. Meditation can work well for these situations as I’m still in control. But if the panic starts to rise sharply I have often gotten through by calling a friend to think about normal life events and so the focus isn’t on my symptoms and it’s amazing how often i feel better physically once I’ve gotten over the mental anguish. Vanessa
Response:
i also try to think of my life as normal and maybe haveto speak outloud of simple things to keep me grounded and i find it does help. ignoring my attack has helped until i say " hey its gone" then it sneaks back upon me.when i iniatially went to the dr. she said sometimes the attacks only last for a few weeks or months. that was hopefull, i don’t know how some can go thru it for years. it is such i vicious cycle, i cant imagine doing this for that long. i’m still young and i have a family. they have been affected by this too, i feel guilty like i’m robbing them of a normal life. surely somebody is attack free. quickly… my hope is fading. thanks for the input. rox
Response:
i also try to think of my life as normal and maybe haveto speak outloud of simple things to keep me grounded and i find it does help.
i hear ya. i used to do many things to make me feel "normal", as if it was a regular "slice of time"… i’ve gone as far as to make myself throw up to feel… human. i’ve watched my tat shop commercials on VHS tape, even told myself old jokes. that was in the beginning. my panic has been at an all-time high the past few days and i’m now starting to put my finger on things, and one is…. this time of year march, april, may (all coming up) everyone i’ve ever known that died by their own hand did so during this time. i spoke with my Mom about it today, she said "i think it much be allergies". i thought i was gonna DIE laughing. i drink more booze during the month prior to these 3 months and i’ve found myself taking adderal which i’d totally put down a few months back due to a friend’s insistence. i put myself in "high risk" situations during these months, i just went back and looked, yesterday, at my tat shop records for the last 7 years, and it is a trend. i even stopped taking xanax 2 days ago because i wanted my life back and was going to just "fire" my panic attacks. i know you’re not on medication (or i don’t think you are, and if you are, very little, and please talk to Gary or Elliott about meds. they WILL, if you’re capable of saying "i’m ok with this" give you your life. it took me 3 times being hospitalized after cold turkeyin’ my benzo to realize i’m as dependent on xanax as as diabetic is on insulin and the difference is only in the "point of view". i do hope you can get there… THEN figure it out. ya can’t figger out the unfiggeroutable until you’re in a place to do so. and in my book, only medication can give you that space. and then do a taper if you absolutely hat e it, don’t just BAM it. even the most experienced and best of engineers can’t stop their moving train on a dime, it takes time to come to that screeching halt. and i can assure you medication will give you a comfort zone, as it seems you might be in the "panic disorder" arena, as you fear them. ignoring my attack has helped until i say " hey its gone" then it sneaks back upon me.when i iniatially went to the dr. she said sometimes the attacks only last for a few weeks or months. that was hopefull, i don’t know how some can go thru it for years.
8 for me, i think 36 for Philip, Elliott, he ain’t no slouch in that arena, nor is Gary and MINO and several others. and has it slowed me down? nad’ah bit. with meds i can do anything. this month has been an exception, but there don’t have to be exceptions for you. it is such i vicious cycle, i cant imagine doing this for that long. i’m still young and i have a family. they have been affected by this too,
they’re as effected, but differently. my trick? TELL EVERYONE ! "i have good intentions but never count on me" and then give them stuff ta read. i feel guilty like i’m robbing them of a normal life. surely somebody is attack free.
Elliott is, and med free. talk ta him, but take yer shoes off. LOL you’ll be just fine when ya find yer way without guilt and by being forthcoming, i’m thinkin’
quickly… my hope is fading.
ACK ! don’t let that happen… there’s medication out there for that very thing, take advantage of it ! ~t
Response:
my panic has been at an all-time high the past few days and i’m now starting to put my finger on things, and one is…. this time of year march, april, may (all coming up) everyone i’ve ever known that died by their own hand did so during this time. i spoke with my Mom about it today, she said "i think it much be allergies". i thought i was gonna DIE laughing.
ROFL! So you’re a chip off the old block humourwise? I am sorry you had to lose so many people who were close to you. i drink more booze during the month prior to these 3 months and i’ve found myself taking adderal which i’d totally put down a few months back due to a friend’s insistence.
I must admit that I can’t imagine that a stimulant would do you much good. i put myself in "high risk" situations during these months, i just went back and looked, yesterday, at my tat shop records for the last 7 years, and it is a trend.
It shis the first time you realize that? Unless you want to be in high risk situations you might be able to avoid them when you realize you have a tendency to this at this time of the year. i even stopped taking xanax 2 days ago because i wanted my life back and was going to just "fire" my panic attacks.
LOL. I tried that a few times too many moons ago. No way. I said to myself: "And from now on I will have no more PA’s and no more anxiety" and really believed that I could *will* myself to have no anxiety anymore and somewhere deep down I still believe it. surely somebody is attack free. Elliott is, and med free.
Young Master Elliott is on Celexa and Xanax (and CBT). I have no PA’s in the house anymore but can have one when outside my comfort zone/ Xanax (and imipramine) helps a lot. If I have to do something outside my safety zone I take an extra mg of Xanax and usually have no problems. If I were to practice exposure more often and consistently I will be able to skip the extra Xanax and maybe more.But I’m old and lazy and don’t feel like confronting panic again and again. After 37 years I think I did enough and it is this very thought that is a *cognitive distortion* (it’s totally irrational thinking that can be reduced to what Beck calls negative *core beliefs*) that I have to fight which ius more difficult than fighting the actual panic IMO. quickly… my hope is fading. ACK ! don’t let that happen…
When I was in a really deep, dark pit my then pdoc said: "There is always *something* that will help. Having *status panicus* < shuddering at the thought even so many years later around the clock I of course didn’t believe him but a few months later he was proved right. There will be *something* for *rox* as well. Philip
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It might be of interest for some to know a little more about Judith Beck, particularly our lady members.
Why so? Because she happens to be a woman herself? Me no understando. Anyway, Judith Beck is Aaron ("Tim") Beck’s daughter. Aaron Beck is one of the fathers of cognitive (behaviour) therapy, the other one being Albert Ellis. With Aaron Beck being elderly (but still working) Judith is now running the Beck Institute in Philadelphia. Like Anna Freud in earlier days she isn’t just her father’s daughter who happened to inherit a therapeutic empire, but a prominent therapist in her own right who has published extensively on CBT building on her father’s legacy and extending it. Her best known book is "Cognitive Therapy. Basics and Beyond" which is for sale at Amazon. It’s not cheap, but it’s very good. Philip
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Assuming you’ve had a medical work-up for your chest pain, and nothing organic was found, I think it’s always helpful to remind yourself (out-loud if need be) that they are "JUST SYMPTOMS". Without a medical work-up though, you can’t be sure that they’re just symptoms of anxiety, in that they could be symptoms of cardiac or pulmonary problems. Observe how your relationship partner assists you during these periods. If you’re going to be saddled with anxiety problems/symptoms, you’d very likely want a partner who was at least understanding, if not actually helpful. G
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How do you(pl) cope when you are having an attack? I have to sit very calm and take deep breaths. and tell myself that I’m not going to die. I have chest pains right now but I am under some relationship stress. Just looking for input. Maybe some one out there has a better way of handing. As i wait for my supplements to kick in.
Response:
How do you(pl) cope when you are having an attack? I have to sit very calm and take deep breaths. and tell myself that I’m not going to die. I have chest pains right now but I am under some relationship stress. Just looking for input. Maybe some one out there has a better way of handing. As i wait for my supplements to kick in.