Does anyone suffer from anxiety / panic attacks?

[staffie 10]

i suffered with them five years ago i had chronic anxiety and had to be hospitalised.it was dreadful,but im not too bad now i learn to get by.so i completely understand what its like.no one can know what its like until they have had it.

[Sirius10 10]

Hi guys. I'm glad I found this thread because its been quite a comfort. I've been having mild, short panic attacks for the last couple of months (maybe one a week) and I think it all stems from a nasy bout of food poisoning I had. This weekend has been particularly bad though and I've had two full blown panic attacks with all the horrible symptoms (trembling, nausea, almost passing out etc) lasting for a couple of hours each. Now I'm left with this constant sense of anxiety and a lump in my throat which I cant seem to shift and its pretty scary. I guess this is just expectation of another attack but its really difficult to deal with. Its only just started to get this bad this weekend so I dont want it to descend into some kind of full blown panic disorder where I get terrified of doing everyday stuff so I dont want to go to a GP where they'll just stick me on anti-depressants straight away which I think will probably make me worse. Any short term tips to try and shift this constant anxiety thing? Also, a lot of it seems to stem from alcohol (ie: I seem more susceptible the day after a big night out) - anyone else get this? Thanks for listening

[StarSparkle 10]

Hi guys. I'm glad I found this thread because its been quite a comfort. I've been having mild, short panic attacks for the last couple of months (maybe one a week) and I think it all stems from a nasy bout of food poisoning I had. This weekend has been particularly bad though and I've had two full blown panic attacks with all the horrible symptoms (trembling, nausea, almost passing out etc) lasting for a couple of hours each. Now I'm left with this constant sense of anxiety and a lump in my throat which I cant seem to shift and its pretty scary. I guess this is just expectation of another attack but its really difficult to deal with. Its only just started to get this bad this weekend so I dont want it to descend into some kind of full blown panic disorder where I get terrified of doing everyday stuff so I dont want to go to a GP where they'll just stick me on anti-depressants straight away which I think will probably make me worse. Any short term tips to try and shift this constant anxiety thing? Also, a lot of it seems to stem from alcohol (ie: I seem more susceptible the day after a big night out) - anyone else get this? Thanks for listening

 

First of all, Sirius10, I really sympathise with you, and I'm glad you've got some comfort from this thread. I know I found it a tremendous relief when I first realised that so many people suffer from panic/anxiety attacks, and that it wasn't just me.

 

I hear what you're saying about not wanting to go to your GP, but I think it would be a very good idea if you did go to see him. Just so you can talk things through, and see what suggestions he can come up with to help you. There are certain medications that can specifically help to reduce levels of anxiety, for example.

 

Something that did strike me as a possibility with your mention of food-poisoning, was the possibility it might have left you with intestinal parasites. Might be worthwhile getting the doctor to check that out, mentioning to him you've had food-poisoning recently?

 

I may be wrong here - and I have no formal medical knowledge or anything like that, so don't quote me - but I'm sure I've heard that such things can have an effect on your emotions.

 

But really - get along to your doctor - that would be the best thing.

 

And the Forum's always here for you, of course.

 

Good luck.

 

StarSparkle

[Diesel 10]

Couldn't we all meet up and talk about our problem?