Anxiety and Panic disorder

Hi Kerry....

There is little that can be done over cyberspace about the debilitating condition of panic attacks as the treatment and councelling that is required to even start to alleviate such a problem really needs to be done by an expert and face to face.

Nevertheless it is sometimes good to get such a thing off your chest on a forum where people can sympathise, empathise and discuss your thoughts with you. ( Maybe even in PM form ).

I am not going to even try to give you any particular advice about this condition even although I do have some experience of it, ( luckily, not personally ).

Anyway, there are many self-help groups on the internet and here are only a few of them:

https://www.thelindenmethod.co.uk/

https://www.apa.org/pubinfo/panic.html

https://www.adaa.org/AnxietyDisorderInfor/PanicDisAgor.cfm

https://www.panic-attacks.co.uk/

Good luck to you and remember..."The darkest time is just before the dawn" !

Thank you for that. I did have counselling once, sometimes i just sat there for the full hour and cried because even though what i wanted to say was there i couldn't get it out. Eventually i got to trust her but then she left and the stupid thing is i was devasted. I never had therapy after that but i agree that i think i need it. There is a two year waiting list at our local hospital it's pathetic.

It sounds to me like you need to search inside and try to find the reasons why you're feeling what you're feeling.
It would be hard to control your attacks if you don't know the very root cause.
I've had panic attacks, and I don't know that it's something you can control really, but you can calm yourself down if you learn how to clear your mind and sort of step out of yourself for a while. This is really important if your panicking causes you to hyperventilate.
I've never been on any medication for anxiety, so I know that it's something you have to condition yourself to live with. You have to be really aware of everything, and your feelings. When you panic everything tends to be going very fast, and you have to make it all slow down. I don't know how much sense this is making. Sometimes I can explain something to my understanding, because of course 'I' know what I'm talking about, but everyone else is just like...

yeah when it happens i feel like i just need to escape, there is an immediate urgency that i cannot explain. It goes when i manage to calm myself down then i consider myself a compete idiot for being so weak

Wow...thats really sad.

I know the urgency. I've been in that situation so many times. I know the feeling of weakness too, but you're not a weak person, not at all. It's just difficult to be in a place in your frame of mind that not very many people understand.
I can remember hiding in a bathroom at a church and I was hyperventilating so badly, when I finally walked out, I fainted. I just remember how strongly I felt that I needed to get away from all those people.
Of course I always felt like an idiot when it was over too, mostly because of all the attention it draws when that's the opposite of what I wanted. You do have a strength inside of you that you need to find. I really think that things like anxiety are so personal that it's something you have to overcome on your own.

You need to keep going to counseling. I have taken courses in this subject. I to have ptdo. I am a basket case if i am in a car as a passenger. this is due to an accident 8 yrs. ago. I am fine if I drive . I also am a wreck if i have to use an escalator. I will NEVER GET ON ONE. I know the reason but I cant hel myself. I also cant be in a small room . There again I know the reason but cant deal with it. so just keep seeking help.

Thanks everyone. Saw my health visitor today and she is so nice and helpful. I cried my heart out on her and i didn't feel weak or stupid because she made me feel relaxed and comfortable. I have started taking a herbal medication called kalms, hopefully that will help. My health visitor is also referring me for counselling.

Good to hear you're doing better. I hope you continue to be able to open up to someone.

Thank you hunni.....it's a good feeling being happy. I am just waiting for the mood to drop which often happens for no apparant reason... thats the feeling i hate waiting for something to happen when things are going well (if that makes sense)