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living with panic attacks
Girl-From-Mars
Posts: 2,822 Boards Guru
i was reading the You magazine that comes with the mail on sunday and i came across this and thought it might be of interest to some people suffering from the same thing.
for further information contact Triumph Over Phobia on 01225 330353.
and the daily mail, please dont sue me!! <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/eek.gif"> <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/biggrin.gif">
It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees
One in three people is likely to suffer a panic attack at some time in their lives. For julia arnold, 36, a mother of three from bromley, the problem slowly took over her life, until she was too fearful even to step outside the front door. eventually she managed to overcome her fears with therapy.
Q. how did the problem start?
A. im the last person youd expect to have a panic attack. ive always been very calm and coped well in a crisis. the first hint of a problem was about 15 years ago when i took a crowded train. it made me feel really giddy and ick. i develped palpitations and had to get off before my stop to calm down. in teh end i couldnt face the train and had to drive everywhere.
Q. where you ok after that?
A. i was for about 6 years, but when my little boy started nursery school i couldnt bear to stand in the playground to wait for him. eventually i told the teacher that i had a problem with crowds, so she agreed to bring him out to me. but every time i found a solution, another fear would present itself, until i couldnt physically bring myself to collect my son on my own.
Q. what were you frightened of?
A. being in a crowd. panic would well up inside, i would feel hot and terrified that i was going to pass out in front of people. i became frightened of going to public places; i hated that feeling of being trapped and felt an enormous compulsion to run. eventually my husband had to give up his job, because by then, goingout was impossible for me.
Q. Did you seek help?
A. i thought i was goign mad, so i went to see my GP. he said i was agoraphobic and prescribed antidepressents. but teh side effects were similar to having a panic attack. i also tried hypnotherapy and was referred to a psychologist, but neither helped.
Q. did anything else help you?
A. yes. i was referred for cognitive behavioural therapy at a hospital, which lasted a year. i also joined the support group Triumph Over Phobia. both helped me to cope with the fear and find solutions to the problem. every week i had homework, which involved doing something that made me feel scared. at first i would set myself a simple goal, such as walking to the end of my road. and so it went on until i found it easier to achieve each new goal.
how do you feel now?
A. great. it took me a long time to recover an dsome weeks i seemed to relapse. but then i suddenly made huge improvements. talking to other suffers encouraged me, when they achieved things that i was struggling to do. the psychologist also taught me coping strategies, such as sorting out my glove compartment whem in stck in the car at a redlight, to distract me from rising panic. she helped to showme that im actually not trapped at all.
for further information contact Triumph Over Phobia on 01225 330353.
and the daily mail, please dont sue me!! <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/eek.gif"> <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/biggrin.gif">
It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees
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Comments
i sometimes get a bit like that, but it isn't a panic attack, its not that bad (thank goodness).
If the sky that we look upon
should tumble and fall
or the mountains should crumble in the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry,
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me
as well as a 1st person story
http://www.thesite.org/health/headstate/panic_stations.html
just thought id add that to your vast array of fantastic articles! <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/biggrin.gif">
It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees
There are people who in their lives who will experience an anxiety disorder, where these small problems get themselves blown way out of proportion, and end up taking control of their lives. At this stage Phobias, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and Panic Attacks start to creep in. Such illnesses not only ruin the quality of life of the sufferer and the friends and family of the sufferer but also can seriously debilitate.
Panic Attacks may be associated with Phobias or OCD or as in my case with depressive illnesses. Having said that Panic Attacks can be an illness in their own right, and often happens at random and when least expected. When panic occurs as an illness in isolation it is terrifying for the sufferer, as at moment of attack a rational or logical reason cannot be found for why it is happening. It is common to feel at ease one minute then next minute to be struck by sheer terror. Because panic can happen at any time without warning it is impossible to devise a specific recovery programme. This does not mean a Panic Attack cannot be controlled, prevented or reduced, with the aid of medication, muscle & breathing relaxation techniques this disorder can be overcome.
Most of you will know that I am a depressive. I have been diagnosed with this illness for nearly 4 ½ years but have been suffering nearly 17 years. When I was first diagnosed with the illness I had treatment for the best part of a year before I walked away from it. During that time I refused to admit I was still ill and hid it from myself as well as I was able to hide it from those around me. Thinking about it now I never got close to recovery last time was just in denial. I was alerted to being ill really through a bout of nasty panic attacks last March.
My 1st attack happened in the car on the way to college from work, ½ way to the college I started to sweat profusely with my breathing becoming fast and shallow. Slowly as the dread was taking over I felt my muscles tightening and cramping up and my chest felt like it was about ready to explode. I really thought I was having a heart attack; I just wanted it to end, even if it was terminal. I had to be driven around for nearly 2 hours before I calmed down enough to get out of the car and was able to see my GP. He put me on an antidepressant called Cipramil, which is also good for treating anxiety conditions. I still however found myself being struck by panic attacks, which led to me vomiting and getting nasty migraines, which could take anything up to 5 days to recover from. This was not going down well with work, this in turn caused greater anxiety because I felt pressured to work whilst terribly sick.
My GP ended up putting me on Propranolol, which was the first beta-blocker to become widely available in this country. The physical symptoms of anxiety are produced by an increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetic nerve endings release a transmitter called noradrenaline that stimulates the heart, digestive systems and other organs. Beta-blockers block the action of noradrenaline in the body, resulting in the reduction of the physical symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks. Propanolol helped ease the physical effects of a panic or anxiety attack for me, not always eliminated them but worked for the majority of the time, I no longer vomited, nor had the excruciating migraines that debilitated me.
During my time as an inpatient in hospital I attended a group therapy session for anxiety management in which I learnt relaxation and breathing techniques to help quell the physical side to an attack. We were also taught cognitive thinking to retrain the thought patterns that lead up to an attack.
Cognitive therapy is a way of talking about the connections between how we think, how we feel and how we behave. It particularly concentrates on ideas that are unrealistic. These often undermine our self-confidence and make us feel depressed or anxious. Looking at these can help us work out different ways of thinking and behaving that in turn will help us cope better.
Cognitive therapy also helps us to look at our "rules for living". These are strong beliefs about how we should live our lives which we develop while we are growing up. They are based both on what we learn from other people and on our own experiences. Although they shape our lives, most of the time we don't give them much thought. They may be realistic or unrealistic, helpful or unhelpful. For example, someone may grow up with the belief that "I cannot be happy unless I am successful in everything I do". This belief is unrealistic - the reality of life is that we all fail sometimes. By demanding the impossible, this idea is likely to produce feelings of depression. Cognitive therapy can help us not only to be aware of the "rules" we use but also to develop more helpful ones.
Cognitive therapy looks "here and now" issues rather than things from the past. It helps people to learn new methods of coping and problem solving which they can use for the rest of their lives.
For example if I had missed a dose of medication, instead of thinking “Oh my God I’m going to freak out and loose control and breakdown” I was taught to think “ Ok it’s not the end of the world I’ve missed a dose, what does the medication leaflet say about a missed dose, can I take one now, if not it’s not a problem” these techniques really can help.
If you find yourself suffering from and anxiety attack or panic attack I urge you to consult your GP for help in treating this problem, although an anxiety disorder may not be treated permanently they can be treated so they have little or no impact upon your life again. In addition to your GP there is a charity called NO PANIC who offer various services and help lines as well as information into panic attacks and other anxiety disorders. No Panic can be contacted at:
NO PANIC
93 Brands Farm Way
Telford
Shropshire
TF3 2JQ
Sorry this has been such a lengthy post I hope it has been of some help. Take care my friends.
Love and Peace to you all
<IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
<IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
<IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">LUKA
<IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif"> <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif"> <IMG alt="image" alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
The river is wide and oh so deep. I've been walking around in tears, No answers arethere to get. Cause between this world and eternity there is a face I hope to see
thank you both for posting such helpful information.
last year i suffered from panic attacks, due, i think to my grandfather's death, being stuck in a job i hated and other things.
it is very hard to describe a panic attack to someone who has never experienced one. From my own personal experience I found my heart seemed as though it was beating really fast, i was concentrating on my breathing so hard i hyperventilated and i felt nauseous. I was also terrified that I was on the brink of death.
The worst thing, i found was that I could think of nothing else as I was so scared of having another one. I ended up in A&E and saw a nurse who advised me to see my GP which I duly did. I confessed all to my GP-told him about my past drug use and he attributed my attacks to the amount of cannabis I was using at the time.
I stopped smoking pot, and was no longer so concious of my heartbeat and breathing. I do feel better somewhat but am still scared of feeling unwell whilst out.
I am off to Australia at the end of the month and am scared of an attack on the flight.
Could beta blockers maybe help me?
I apologise for the length of this post and would like to thank luka and girl from mars for their fantastic posts-it is really nice to know that i'm not the only one.
thanks guys
cheekytrickster
Medication is given in extreme cases of anxiety, If you still surfer from panic attacks, it would be advisable to consult your doctor. If you get anxious or are getting anxious about getting anxious maybe the organisation can give you some advice. what you might benefit more is relaxation techniques.
I can recomend a relaxation cd that I got during my stay in hospital, it might help you during the flight to OZ, it's called
Complete Relaxation by Glenn Harrold and is published by Diviniti Publishing. If there's anything else I can think of I'll post again later.
LUK
The river is wide and oh so deep. I've been walking around in tears, No answers arethere to get. Cause between this world and eternity there is a face I hope to see
[This message has been edited by LUKA (edited 06-03-2001).]
well thats the effect it has on me anyway, makes my herat beat really fast and feel really sick, like butterflies but so much worse and making me feel physically sick, and sometimes im unable to do stuff like i said there.
i found takign the herbal remedy kava kava helpful, it didnt toally get rid of my symptoms, well it did in the run up to what i thought i would be anxious about (going to meet mark lol) and it reduced them on the train going there. but obviously if theyre realyl bad id go and see your doc.
It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees