Anxiety attacks

It's a horrible affliction, part and parcel of living, I bet most people have suffered an occurrence of this.. it ain't no fun, and those who have 'em regularly know how debilitating it can be. There is nowhere to hide while riding the ride but there are techniques to control breathing, to calm yourself, if you're able to think amidst the panic.
 
Diazepam works, as does a stiff drink. But that's the dark side and doctors are cunts these days when it comes to prescribing.

Mindfulness is the 'in' thing with the professionals, but colouring books are hardly any use when you're losing your mind on a packed bus or train.

The longer you have them, the more you learn to ride them out.
 
Diazepam knocks you out, plus a drink works even though it's a cause for why some people get it, though it calms you down. You have to change your mind of what you're thinkin about which aint easy when your heads tellin you, you cant breath...you panic and it snowballs.
 
Yes have suffered from them since 1985 Christmas Day and I honestly felt as though I was going to die.Had no idea as to what was happening,but my heart was racing like shit,could not sit still and was pacing up and down the living room and the actual fear of dying in front of my wife and kids was something that I never want to go though again.
My wife sent for the on call GP at the time and he knew at once what the problem was.He gave me a small blue tablet and within 15 minutes I felt a lot calmer but still uneasy.He told me to go and see him straight after the Christmas break and thats when he told me what tablet he had given me ... Diazapem...and I continued to take those for the next 17 years honestly.
They strike anywhere,at any time and for me there was nothing that I could do,to stop them.
Driving was the worst and one of my scariest moments was on the M6 near Chorley.I could feel a panic attack coming on and asked the wife to pass me a tablet.Within 5 minutes I was like someone possessed and drove at ridiculous speed just to get off at the next junction,so that I could get out of the car and go for a walk.I felt awful especially as my wife and two of our kids had to suffer in silence whilst I drove like a madman.
I took a long walk whilst the family sat in the car.It took about half an hour before the attack came down and arrived back at the car,which was parked right at the top of the slip road,and could see the look of joy on the kids faces when I got into the car and apologised.I told them I was fine and I swore that I would not travel at that speed again and we proceeded on to our destination.
I forgot to mention ref the first attack I had.Once I had settled down after the Diazapem tablet,I tried my utmost not to go asleep as I feared I would not wake up again.I fought and fought all tea-time and night.
I also suffer from insomnia and I put this down to my fear of dropping off to sleep on that Christmas Day.
I`ve had panic attacks in pubs,City games,shopping,driving,out for a meal,lovemaking (honestly) but I suppose the funniest was when I was having a haircut.I could feel an attack coming on and tried to erase it from my mind.Impossible !! My local barber was shocked as fuck when I just got out of the chair midway through a cut and literally throwing the apron that was around my neck and saying "sorry I can`t continue.See you in about half an hour" and walked out with a head of hair thick on one half and cut on the other.What a **** I must have looked,but I honestly didn`t give a fuck what people thought of my "new" hair style.I finally went back to get the job finished and the staff were brilliant as they had been so shocked and concerned about my welfare.I spoke to them whilst he completed the haircut and they were so taken aback as they had never heard of panic attacks,nor the problems.
You have to remember this was 30+ years ago and a fairly new illness with not a great deal of knowledge from even some GP`s.
I was on sick leave for some time and when I was ready to return to work I had to see the works GP.I was with him for 45 minutes and he asked could he use a dictaphone to record our meeting.I had no issues over that and he used the recording as part of a write up he was doing for The Lancet on depression and panic attacks and the causes,the issues,the fears etc.
I then started to attend Group Therapy Classes with other sufferers and we would openly discuss what happened during an attack.WOW !! I couldn`t believe what I was hearing !! These people suffered from the same effects that I had.And for years I always thought that I was the only person who had these irrational fears,but NO,others also had similar thoughts.It was like music to my ears and likewise it also gave some positive ways of dealing with these attacks for the whole group.
I still suffer now, but eventually my GP weaned me off the Diazapam which took about 15 months from halving my medication and eventually cutting the prescription off altogether.
I still take medication for my depression but I can now live with the attacks and as SomethingProfound said in his post,breathing properly is the way to combat this feeling.
Please if anyone needs to ask any q`s and feel a bit embarrassed about asking on here,the please feel free to send me a PM.
Over the years I have helped quite a few people from Blue Moon.Don`t be shy I don`t bite and I certainly have never discussed the feelings of those PM`s sent to me,with anyone else and certainly no-one on this forum.
Cheers,
Oakie PS Apologies for the long post ... just trying to help as many as I can.
 
Last edited:
Fcukin ell, oakie; well done for that post. :)

Luckily, mine are much milder and are linked either to driving or fear of a heart attack. The first type includes fear of high-level bridges, which I make huge detours to avoid. But sometimes they come on with no stimulus, generally on motorways, so I steer clear of them if there's a reasonable alternative.

The second type has more rational justification as I did have a heart attack a few years back and now get a bit panicky if ever I experience unusual sensations in the chest region or upper left side.
 
sir baconface said:
Fcukin ell, oakie; well done for that post. :)

Luckily, mine are much milder and are linked either to driving or fear of a heart attack. The first type includes fear of high-level bridges, which I make huge detours to avoid. But sometimes they come on with no stimulus, generally on motorways, so I steer clear of them if there's a reasonable alternative.

The second type has more rational justification as I did have a heart attack a few years back and now get a bit panicky if ever I experience unusual sensations in the chest region or upper left side.
Click to expand...
Mine were of bridges to! Just started getting them a few years ago. I also had them about earthquakes and not being in control as well. It was also because of seratonin levels due to some medication I take. Amazingly, they have dissapated just to (I believe) changes in these same meds and adjusting stress levels. But man I'm careful about bumping up anything a few milligrams!
 
oakiecokie said:
Yes have suffered from them since 1985 Christmas Day and I honestly felt as though I was going to die.Had no idea as to what was happening,but my heart was racing like shit,could not sit still and was pacing up and down the living room and the actual fear of dying in front of my wife and kids was something that I never want to go though again.
My wife sent for the on call GP at the time and he knew at once what the problem was.He gave me a small blue tablet and within 15 minutes I felt a lot calmer but still uneasy.He told me to go and see him straight after the Christmas break and thats when he told me what tablet he had given me ... Diazapem...and I continued to take those for the next 17 years honestly.
They strike anywhere,at any time and for me there was nothing that I could do,to stop them.
Driving was the worst and one of my scariest moments was on the M6 near Chorley.I could feel a panic attack coming on and asked the wife to pass me a tablet.Within 5 minutes I was like someone possessed and drove at ridiculous speed just to get off at the next junction,so that I could get out of the car and go for a walk.I felt awful especially as my wife and two of our kids had to suffer in silence whilst I drove like a madman.
I took a long walk whilst the family sat in the car.It took about half an hour before the attack came down and arrived back at the car,which was parked right at the top of the slip road,and could see the look of joy on the kids faces when I got into the car and apologised.I told them I was fine and I swore that I would not travel at that speed again and we proceeded on to our destination.
I forgot to mention ref the first attack I had.Once I had settled down after the Diazapem tablet,I tried my utmost not to go asleep as I feared I would not wake up again.I fought and fought all tea-time and night.
I also suffer from insomnia and I put this down to my fear of dropping off to sleep on that Christmas Day.
I`ve had panic attacks in pubs,City games,shopping,driving,out for a meal,lovemaking (honestly) but I suppose the funniest was when I was having a haircut.I could feel an attack coming on and tried to erase it from my mind.Impossible !! My local barber was shocked as fuck when I just got out of the chair midway through a cut and literally throwing the apron that was around my neck and saying "sorry I can`t continue.See you in about half an hour" and walked out with a head of hair thick on one half and cut on the other.What a **** I must have looked,but I honestly didn`t give a fuck what people thought of my "new" hair style.I finally went back to get the job finished and the staff were brilliant as they had been so shocked and concerned about my welfare.I spoke to them whilst he completed the haircut and they were so taken aback as they had never heard of panic attacks,nor the problems.
You have to remember this was 30+ years ago and a fairly new illness with not a great deal of knowledge from even some GP`s.
I was on sick leave for some time and when I was ready to return to work I had to see the works GP.I was with him for 45 minutes and he asked could he use a dictaphone to record our meeting.I had no issues over that and he used the recording as part of a write up he was doing for The Lancet on depression and panic attacks and the causes,the issues,the fears etc.
I then started to attend Group Therapy Classes with other sufferers and we would openly discuss what happened during an attack.WOW !! I couldn`t believe what I was hearing !! These people suffered from the same effects that I had.And for years I always thought that I was the only person who had these irrational fears,but NO,others also had similar thoughts.It was like music to my ears and likewise it also gave some positive ways of dealing with these attacks for the whole group.
I still suffer now, but eventually my GP weaned me off the Diazapam which took about 15 months from halving my medication and eventually cutting the prescription off altogether.
I still take medication for my depression but I can now live with the attacks and as SomethingProfound said in his post,breathing properly is the way to combat this feeling.
Please if anyone needs to ask any q`s and feel a bit embarrassed about asking on here,the please feel free to send me a PM.
Over the years I have helped quite a few people from Blue Moon.Don`t be shy I don`t bite and I certainly have never discussed the feelings of those PM`s sent to me,with anyone else and certainly no-one on this forum.
Cheers,
Oakie PS Apologies for the long post ... just trying to help as many as I can.
Click to expand...
You need help with that Insomnia Oakie.
I am sure many people on here feel very reassured reading that.
 
in a 3 month probation after a CBT course for anxiety. went from not being able to leave the house to now sat in sunny Dubrovnik. for anxiety attacks breathing exercises really do take the initial edge off of it, but it can also help to identify the Negative Automatic Thoughts which can spiral out of control and cause panic in the first place.

It also helps to have the people around you to know what to do as well (in terms of breathing exercises). It's sometimes easy to forget about them when panicked and someone prompting you can save a lot of unnecessary stress.

most importantly, don't worry, you're not alone
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.