Panic Attacks Message Board

Sleeping

puggini — Thur, 05 Nov 2009 07:47:20 GMT

I was wondering whether anyone had information about dealing panic attacks when sleeping.

A little over a year ago, I had full blown panic attacks 24/7, and I got passed it for the most part. The one thing I can't seem to shake are panic attacks when I'm trying to go to sleep.

What would happen a year ago was I was afraid to go to sleep because I thought I would forget to breath. I would be about to fall asleep, and wake up gasping for air. A year ago, I would wake up and not be able to attempt to go to sleep again until I calmed down. Now I just wake up, and attempt to sleep again. It's not that I'm afraid of having the panic attacks, it's that when I'm having them I'm about 50% awake and 50% asleep, so I'm not totally aware of what's going on and apparently more susceptible. It's annoying, but it's nothing compared to the daytime panic attacks, especially because when I finally do get into a deeper sleep, I sleep soundly. It only seems to be a problem when I'm trying to get to sleep.

Any feedback is appreciated, even if you haven't encountered this problem, let me know.

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Looking for help with extreme daily panic attacks

cacophony — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:38:13 GMT

I have been suffering from panic attacks/intense anxiety disorder for about a year now.

What triggered my panic attacks was doing lsd about a year ago. Afterwards this kid I know was talking about how you can put it on anything and talking about all these ways to dose people without their knowledge. This scared me and turned into an intense phobia that it could be on anything. (I am not a drug user except that I smoke cigarettes, this was one of my only experiences with something like this in my life)

My panic attacks are also accompanied with weird visual hallucinations. Another thing is that my right pupil will grow larger than my left one and my eyes will hurt really badly accompanied with all the other symptoms of a panic attack... the longest panic attack lasted about six hours which was one of the first ones I had.

I have been unable to get medical help because I don't have health insurance. The one time I went to a doctor they got angry with me and I felt they didn't take me seriously/believe that I was suffering from panic attacks this intensely. They refused to prescribe me any medications to help with them such as valium ( I don't want anti-depressants, I've heard too many horror stories with them).

Today I was watching a documentary on panic attacks which gave me a panic attack and scared me really badly. It was showing images of people stuck in mental institutions because of their panic attacks and the way they were feeling was pretty close to how intense my panic attacks are. I get them on a daily basis and every time I feel like I'm going to lose my mind.

I'm really searching for a way to make this stop. I've tried breathing and controlling it but it doesn't always help. I always feel like I'm suffocating or having a heart attack. I had open heart surgery and always get scared that I'm going to have problems because of it.

Any help/suggestions would be immensely appreciated.

Thank you for listening.

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Cortisol DHEA ratio

Karl1 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:36:34 GMT

While I take great effort to keep my stress hormones low by not over reacting to everything I guess I still am a work in progress. On a recent lab test my DHEA was clinically low while my Cortisol level abnormally high which my DR points out to me that this can lead to panic disorder and depression. Of coarse I knew this because of Claire Weekes. I searched the Net after getting home and found a link discussing this. The Dr prescribed DHEA to fix this imbalance. If you are interested here it is.

http://www.anthropogeny.com/A%20Hypothetical%20Explanation%20of%20Panic%20Disorder.htm

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Test

fhayes31 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:17:04 GMT

Last night and this morning was a huge test of my ability to cope with panic. Yesterday was my 25th birthday and I went back to my college town an hour away to see old friends. I was hardly anxious going there and being there...which was great. However, I don't drink very often and I got a little carried away. I was more drunk than I've ever been in my life. I had a good time though and was alright until we got in the car to go home. My husband was driving and I had the thought, "Oh, no, what if I have alcohol poisoning? What if I pass out and never wake up?" I felt panic start and even in my drunken state, I was able to face it and accept it. It happened a couple more times on the way...each time I accepted and the panic stopped. Needless to say, I didn't feel very well this morning. I was dehydrated, dizzy, my heart was racing, I could tell my blood sugar was a little low...all conditions that send me into panic, usually. I just accepted all of it, and what do you know? I felt better after awhile and didn't panic. So, despite my bad choices, I rode out the whole thing, panic free. Maybe it was a good thing it happened because if I was able to accept my panic, being as drunk and out of it as I was, I feel even more confident that I can do it sober!

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Happy Halloween!

tammy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:56:27 GMT

Hope you all have a safe.. fun .. candy filled Halloween!!!!

Forum: PanicEnd Chat Forum

valerian and ativan

averica — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:26:36 GMT

i only take ativan about once a week to help me sleep.
i tried some valerian last night..woke up several times..and seemed like i dreamt a lot more when i was sleeping.
i really want good sleep tonight(which the ativan always provides)..but i saw that mixing the 2 is a bad idea.
so im wondering if whatever i tool last night would still be in my system enough tonight to interact with the ativan...
i doubt it,but you never can tell.....

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

My recent insight into panic attacks

Opposite_December — Thur, 29 Oct 2009 07:14:56 GMT

Hello everyone! Its been a long time since I've posted on here. This is something I wanted to share with you all that I've been thinking about.

I've recently had another "light bulb moment" lately in regards to panic.

Overcoming panic disorder is tricky because when we worry, we think in circles. We chase our own tails of what-ifs, apprehension, fear of dying etc, so quickly we often don't recognize what we are doing wrong. We become so protective of our "sanity" that we block out most forms of rational thought and focus on "surviving."

What finally clicked for me the other day was a realization so simple, so obvious I had to laugh at myself.

I was thinking about the central nervous system, how it is a reflexive mechanism designed to protect us against danger, and how we can't control it. I took that thought a step further and said,"Ok, the nervous system operates much the same as any other system that works automatically without thought in my body, case in point that I can't will myself to stop breathing, that if I suddenly become apprehensive about taking air into my lungs, nothing I think or try to prepare myself for mentally can prevent it. I can influence it to a certain degree, but I can't control it directly.

Panic works the same way, and this is sort of a back-door thinking strategy that actually reaches the same conclusion as Jeff's. If I can't directly control panic by thought or worry (our mental 'armor' and preparation for attack)....what am I doing wasting time running or being scared of it? Do I lose anything by just simply choosing to not worry anymore? Logic points to the fact that no I don't, I can focus on other things and scratch "panic" off my worry list for the day, forever.

It is a tactic as simple as realizing that trying to control an automatic response like that is a waste of time, and not because I've wasted so much of my life already with panic and anxiety. My thoughts exist in a different sphere of influence than my nervous system...which is not to say one can't influence the other, but as far as outright control is concerned, a panic response is outside of my conscious domain.

This was hard for me to see because I want to control it! I don't want to be at the mercy of some random terrifying function! But that's silly because its not up to me to worry about it, I was never designed to pick and choose when a panic attack occurs, just like I was never designed to control (consciously) breathing, or my heart rate, or my height.

Its like you're holding two balloons in one hand, one is red, one is blue. The red balloon represents your thoughts, worries, what-ifs, the furious scrambling pace of fears we introduce to ourselves to "gear up" for panic. The blue balloon is the nervous system, or the panic response, in a completely different zone, the unconscious automatic response area much like what keeps us breathing when we go to sleep at night. When you think about panic and our self-created apprehensions in this analogy, it becomes more clear. You don't have to worry or keep close watch on your mind and body because those actions take place somewhere that has little to do with panic itself. Sure, the two balloons may bump into each other causing some influence, but not outright control. One balloon does not engulf the other one. And more often than not, all that bumping back and forth is us banging our worries against panic's domain, testing for a response we so dread.

It's like we knock on panic's door, and then jump in the bushes and hide. Over and over again.

Basically my understanding now is this; I've given myself permission to not worry about panic. I've told myself if panic operates independently of what I choose to think about it, why waste time trying to consciously combat it? In fact as we've all been trying to beat into our heads here we should be giving in to panic anyway, accepting, floating, daring it to be worse, whatever you choose to call it.

And by letting go of my hypersensitive need to control my body, my thoughts, panic...I've relaxed more and more and I'm returning to my "old" natural state.

     I know its hard to accept, but it really is so simple. We've just convinced ourselves that there is some demonic force inside us lurking in the shadows, feeding on the shreds of our joy and sanity. But the truth is we created that imaginary demon ourselves. Panic did not!

The problem we have is that once we receive this knowledge, whether on this site, or through a psychologist, it seems we have to work backwards against our ingrained thought habits and explain the truth at every turn, every time an old what-if jumps out until those habits give up and accept the new truth. We believe this because we've drilled these fears into our heads...we did, not panic. Why else would there be a greater percentage of the population who have had panic attacks and simply forgot them and moved on without getting stuck in the cycle? The truth is that it is just as easy for us to move on as anyone else, we are not crazy, different, or flawed. We just fear...fear, and imagine the worst things that could happen and foresee every twitch as confirmation. The truth is that if someone had came up to us that first panic attack, the first "real doozy" and calmly told us its nothing to worry about, its like coughing or breathing, just more intense, we most likely would have moved on without looking back over our shoulders...and the panic cycle would not occur. I think its important for everyone to realize that no one is "broken" or "stuck" in the panic cycle. Panic isn't cycling through us on some train track that somehow got switched to the wrong set of rails. We switched it, and we simply refuse to switch the rails back, to let the train pass through.

I hope this helps...if you read this far

- Joe

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Tinnitus part of anxiety?

therese48 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:44:22 GMT

I was just reading on line about some of the symptoms of anxiety. I know many of them and have had them for years...but if some of this is anxiety, it's new to me.

Dizziness - off balance, pressure in head, ringing in ears. They did say tinnitus for one (disturbed hearing) but if I think back, I swore I wasn't at this level of anxiety before the ringing started....but it sure helps me escalate.

I'm trying so hard tonite to "float". Making myself sit down...and say about the tingling...."bring it on...tingle". It did help some. The pressure in head and ringing is hard to do that with, but I'm working on it.

Going to see doc in the morning to confirm this isn't anything. I want to know for sure....and if it's all nerves...then I'll know and can go from there.

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

restless or circulation need help

letchi — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:06:15 GMT

Hope all is well with everyone, i have a question, i tend to get restless legs and arms, always feel like i need to move them, i take this as a side effect from the ssnr i was on remeron, because i never did feel like this before anyways my Dr say it's not. the thing is i have chronic neck tightening and am wondering if this is causing poor blood circulation and causing these symptoms , any experts out there???

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

I'm giving up the fight...and winning!

DavidD — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:30:46 GMT

I thought I'd like to share the following with you because it is a strong vindication of everthing Jeff says here, and what Claire Weekes said before him. I has taken me over 35 years to figure this out - better late than never!

When I had my first experience of panic when I was 18, I did recover from it then, and remained free of it for many years. I discovered Dr. Weekes back then and her book gave me the understanding I so needed. I went on for a number of years thinking I would never again have to go through any of it, until 2003 when it all restarted.

In the last few years, I came to realise that I wasn't actually following the method - I wasn't accepting any of it. I have remained stuck like that ever since - there have been complicating factors such as external stresses - but I have simply not been ABLE to accept. The fears and symptoms have just seemed so bad and I have used all sorts of avoidance tactics. Yes I have had times when I have "seen the light" and gone through my fears, and my attitude has become more philosophical, but not enough for me to say I am cured. I have just fallen back into the same old rut.

But the other day I realised something, relating to how I recovered all those years ago. Back then, over a number of awful weeks, I had gone downhill rapidly into nervous illness. One terrible night, I went to bed and simply could not breathe - I got up and panicked big time as thought I was about to die. All night long this continued, me struggling for breath, my parents stayed with me and tried to calm me down. They knew it was only fear doing it to me but I could not believe this

Finally, about 9 in the morning, after having wandered round in circles outside in the garden for 2 hours, I came in feeling that I had really reached the end. In my terrified mind, I thought that if I were to go to sleep, my breathing would stop and that I would die. This is impossible I know but that is how it seemed then. This had been the last straw - I just could not go on so I resigned myself to going to bed and never waking up. I had completely given up. I was too exhausted to do anything else.

I fell asleep and slept for 2 hours. I awoke and found my breathing was perfectly normal - of course - and all the terror of a few hours earlier had vanished. For a few wonderful moments, I felt the most amazing peace.

What I had done was to practise utter acceptance. I had faced and accepted my very worst fear, that I would die. The effect had been to shut the fear down.

All this happened BEFORE I ever read Dr. Weekes' book. I had inadvertantly discovered the right method of getting better. From that point on, having seen the effect of giving in totally to my fear, I started to desensitise and to recover.

But the realisation I had the other day was that I need to do exactly the same thing now. If I examine what my fears are now - mostly related to my health - I can see that all these lead back to that basic fear from all those years ago, that of dying. I just have not faced that fear now. I realised that I could give up the fight, give in to my worst fear, face it, accept it. I have been skating round this fear, avoiding it with attention to all sorts of lesser fears.

Now, I could prove, just as I did all those years ago, that giving into the fear does NOT mean that it will happen! As Jeff has said so often, it resolves the fear and shuts it down.

This is all so obvious really but I have been blinkered for so long because I couldn't see the connection to what had happened to me in my teens. I have analysed everything over and over for years, gone round in circles, read and re-read Jeff and Dr. Weekes' writings but simply did not see what I was doing so wrong. The answer was right there all the time, so basic and so very simple.

So, I am giving up the fight to avoid what I fear most. It can take me if it wants - but it won't!

DavidD

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Step-by-step

Nell — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:26:47 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I am wondering what your step-by-step method is for when you are facing situations that make you anxious and when you are having a panic attack. I am using Jeff's and Dr. Weekes method for facing, but I would like any helpful tips and to learn something from you all as well.

When I feel an attack coming on I:

Tell myself I am not afraid of this feeling and say "go ahead give me all ya got!" I try to believe it and remind myself that it is my nerves bluffing me to cause me to feel the fear and the physical aspect is from the adrenaline causing all the physical feelings.
Keep myself positive and relaxed, reminding myself I have been through this before and I know the worst of it and to accept it.
Distraction, I read a magazine, start a conversation, play a game...anything to take my mind directly off the terrible thoughts passing through my head and the physical feelings. I sometimes even visualize I am in another place, a relaxing place.
At this point it has passed and I can move on with my night ha ha ha.

Sometimes I will add 2nd fear by being a little bewildered, like why am I panicking? I remember that my nervous system is on high alert from being sensitized and that it is simply responding to my mood, which is often me being nervous about facing.

What is your game plan?

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Going backwards :-(

therese48 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:45:37 GMT

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on here in awhile. I was doing pretty good with anxiety attacks and I have been so busy - 1 1/2 jobs, etc. I should have been coming on to help others through rough areas...and felt guilty about that. But my life has been SO SO busy. I am currently giving up some of the fast lane so I can relax and take care of myself some.

I feel I have gone backwards BIG time.

Along with a lot of other junk, I am the Chief safety officer for our clinics (9 locations). So anything that has to do with health and safety I have to get info out to all staff (about 200). To make a long story short, I had to research swine flu (that subject really helps acute anxiety!!) on and off for about 3 weeks. You talk about kicking the anxiety in to gear!!! I have been "sick" ever since!!

I really have had a sinus infection and bronchitis (I've smoked lots of years and that has me scared to death!). Been on antibiotic and it's helped...but here is how far backward Ive gone:

I have missed work from being sick. My friends are leaving me left and right....tired of my "anxiety talk". They just think I'm crazy. I'll even be talking to someone on a website where you can chat, and they disappear!! I go on the website...and see there are there to talk to and all of a sudden they are gone. I send them messages and they don't respond. I get the hint.

I'm acting like an idiot and can't stop. I take my temperature every couple hours...since we all know with swine flu one symptom is fever. Pacing, coughing, tingling in head, ear problems (I think are real, but went to Dr on WEdnesday and he said Im fine and wants to get me on antidepressant). Dr couldnt see any problem wtih ears, throat, nose. BS!!!! I am feeling it!!

I'm really sick of all this. I feel Im not good for myself or anyone else. I'm too paranoid to be good for my family - and with this hitting full force again, I'm ready to give up. I'm sick of ME!!

Then on top of it, my 17 year old brought home a permission form for the swine flu shot. Well, I've heard and read 2 schools of thought about that - so I am on the fence and don't want to make a decision, but I have to. Alone!! I signed it and sent it in, thinking if I research and figure out its best not to get it - I can always change my mind. The scarey thing with that is that none of us have ever taken even a regular flu shot. Do I want to put her in line for having a bad reaction when I have never taken one myself? I'm going nuts with this alone. Heck, Ive heard the flu shots "can" be fatal! Any flu shot!

My oldest had a co-graduate friend (pregnant) die from swine flu. Then another friend had a friend's 2 year old die from it. Is this over-rated? I'm reading both ends of the controvery and hearing the cases where people die.... and just losing my mind.

My Dr listened to my lungs and said "smokers lungs". And since I let him know about my anxiety, that's all he wanted to talk about. I wish I hadn't told him. I left there just knowing I missed something...and he is diagnosing WRONG!! He did say he thinks maybe thyroid problem....and ordered a test. And other blood work. Told me to think about Wellbutrin for depression...and it will help me quit smoking. BUT he said it may make me feel weird so he will prescribe Valium to get the Wellbutrin in my system and it will work in about 2 weeks. He said to look at my cigs as medicine....and my medicine will kill me...but his won't. But of course, it may cause suicidal tendencys. Huh??? I had a horrible experience with Valium last year - had a breast cancer scare and stayed on it long enough to get through waiting for all the test results - one month!!

My ears have been ringing everyday for about a month....but were better when I visited him - so I forgot to tell him!!! So now Im sure it's something really bad causing it. I never had this before - freaking ringing in my ears??? What's that about!!! I thought about going for a second opinion. Of course I have myself with a brain tumor or something.

My husband is no help - he is about as paranoid or worse than I am! I called a friend who works in a Drs office this morning...and that about put in icing on the cake. She is taking Airborne, D-3, Ocsillium, and got her Dr to write a script for Tamiflu (what they are treating swine with) just in case her sniffles and sore throat last weekend were swine. She is only going to stores early morning...and staying cooped up. Well, I can name that tune in one note!!!

I tried pushing myself last week so far as getting out in public. I bought tickets to two plays - one on WEdnesday and one Sunday. Now I'm afraid to take my daughter to them and told her we would be stupid to go with all this swine stuff going around. She said she understood.....but I'm sure she is disappointed in me.....just as I am.

I am so tired of this. Need to go walk....talk to God....and let this go somehow. I'm sorry I'm ranting. But Im glad this board is here. Ready to just tie one on. A BIG one. Thanks for listening.
Theres

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

How I healed from Panic Attacks

Linnea — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:53:52 GMT

Hi all,
Hope this is of help. In the late 1970's, early 1980's I spend time on a psych ward, 4 different visits for a total of 8 months.

The panic was so severe I was not able to function very well, could not work, etc. The fear was so great I was in a zombie like state, very numb and I could not carry on a conversation. Finally in 1983 a wise doctor put me on Xanax and an antidepressant and the fear finally subsided. I have been off medication for over 22 years now. In order to do this I contacted over 500 doctors, healers, educators since 1984 I sought the cause for the terrible fear.

Here are some theories: When one is under huge stress the adrenals can become depleted, this is what causes the anxiety. If one starts taking a good quality vitamin C, B complex and an adrenal support supplement this will calm the anxiety down. I have found this to be of great help and others have told me also this is successful.

I found an excellent alternative doctor who did muscle testing on me and found the exact dosage of vitamins, etc. that I needed. Also acupuncture helped, Bach Flower Remedies helped, Neuromodulation Technique helped.

I also learned that anxiety can be genetic. My brothers and both parents suffered from anxiety.

What seems to bring on the anxiety is eating sugar and refined carbos, for some reason some fruit can trigger an attack for me. I don't drink coffee, alcohol, refined carbos, rice, corn and so on. I eat a lot of protein, no pop, no diet pop, only water, peppermint tea, milk. I can tolerate low sodium V-8 juice I think because it has so many vitamins in it. However I stayed away from all sugars for years, this helped a great deal.

When I got out of the hospital and for about 7 years after I did not have any sugar of any kind. Also I found a pancreatic support from raw pancreas really helped too.

I had depression along with the anxiety and it was about six years of "the dark night of the soul". Extreme depression, when I stopped the sugar, coffee and started taking the pancreas support, vitamins and Amour brand thyroid medication I was almost back to normal. My medical doctor put me on thyroid even though the blood tests showed I was in the normal range. She said I had to take Amour thyroid twice a day because of the short half life of the medication and also that the Amour brand included the important T-3 and T-4 components which almost all the other thyroid medications don't have. I saw a huge relief in my thinking and anxiety when I started taking this.

I have been anxiety free now for many years but will never forget the six years of the numb state, very lonely as I lost all my friends, family did not want to come near, extremely hard, it was 24 anxiety every day for those six years, constant panic (the doctors at the hospital said I would never recover and they never saw anyone so sick with depression and anxiety - I married, have two college degrees, have a non profit helping the homeless and presently going after another degree, I work full time and watch over an elder mother). If I can come out of that anxiety condition you can recover too. Don't give up. Thanks for listening, Linnea

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Might find this helpful.

willrecover — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:52:38 GMT

I really like http://zenhabits.net

They have a great article about "giving yourself to the moment" today. I would also encourage you to dig the past posts. I discovered it from a list of last years top ten blogs, I have been reading it for several months now and seems to have something useful from each post. I don't necessarily agree with all this person says but much of it includes day to day ideas for living. I have found it helpful to keep my perspective for managing my stressors.

Anyway, hope it helps

Will

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board

Utter Acceptance?

bond6699 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:20:55 GMT

Hello,

I have some issues abt utter acceptance. These days I am having a hard time dealing with coming over fear of unwanted or anxious thoughts ex: doing something embarrassing or hurting at any damm place.

I am not analysing it and just welcoming those thoughts. Yesterday, after a long time I read again Jeff's material and realised the true meaning of utter acceptance for the first time in the last 2& a half yrs. But I am not sure whether I am doing it in a right way or not.

Today I had one of the worst anxious feeling of various negative thoughts while on the train and I tried to make it worse, even I didn;t care what I am doin?

I mean concerntrating on making it worst, not welcoming other positive thoughts in real life.

Is it the right way of doing "utter acceptance", as I couldn;t handle that unpleasent feeling and just let it go by itself. And still anxious at the moment.

Hope u get my point..

Andy

Forum: PanicEnd Message Board