Current Events > Had a series of panic attacks that lead me to a stent in the psych ward.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am now unemployed due to all this and Im not sure if Ill be able to work any time soon. The attacks were so bad that I was in the fetal position rocking back and fourth.

People who havent dealt with it just say to get over it and that nothing is wrong with you, meanwhile Im convinced Im having a heart attack. Several visits to the ER the docs say Im perfectly healthy, but then I keep going back for the same issue.

it seems to be exasperating as I constantly feel a looming threat of impending doom. Constant dread for no reason and no amount of breathing exercises or self talk/rationalizing it makes it stop. I tell myself its not real, There is no imminent destruction. I tell myself that not Im dying. I try to focus on different sounds to take my mind off it. Nothing makes it stop.

in the end I just have to suffer it until it subsides on its own. It happens anywhere, anytime. I cant function when it happens.

even tho I hate the idea Im considering filling for disability. Ive struggled with this issue for 20 years, but it is definitely getting worse.

I dont really want anything. Im just venting.

you sound like a prime candidate for disability

Kudos to you for dealing with it for so long, I know intimately how bad it can get. Do you take medication for it or do you just suffer through it?

I take various medications, but they dont seem to help much as it still happens consistently. Maybe theyd be much worse if I didnt take meds

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

there's a lot wrong with it. oh you mean disability pay. yeah that's fine. but being disabled isn't a normal everyday experience...

Dyinglegacy posted...

I take various medications, but they dont seem to help much as it still happens consistently. Maybe theyd be much worse if I didnt take meds

Or they don't work as they should. But I suppose thinking it could be worse counts as positive thinking?

Do you remember if anything triggered the first time?

Have you tried getting the things you can control dialed in? Daily meditation to train the mind, daily exercise, proper nutrition, good sleep cycle?

I used to be that way when I was younger. I would feel like my heart is going to stop. I did have an arrhythmia so that probably contributed to my anxiety. I got surgery and everything and was better, but I still had anxiety that something was going to happen to my heart.

I think when I started exercising and eating more healthy, that helped ease my anxiety. I also play games or something to distract me.

I'm sorry to hear that. :/

I'm sorry man, know it's not up everyone's alley but have you ever tried therapy? Could be there are other deeper reasons triggering your anxiety (not saying that is the case, just a thought). Hope you find a way to cope with this effectively.

I'm sorry you went through that, TC. Panic attacks are awful, I know. I can't make them go away unless I sleep, but it's super hard to sleep like that. I've never had quite that bad, but I feel for you, TC.

I was there 1 1/2 years ago. Had to take 2 weeks off work, but was only partially hospitalized. I became unable to drive by myself for a while, because I thought I could have heart attack at any moment. Im not fully cured, but I was able to get my life back doing everything in my power to get better which included: meds, healthy eating, exercise, good sleeping habits, dropping caffeine, doing meditation and going back to hobbies. I have a kid so I had to get better. Granted my situation doesnt seem AS bad as TC, but I know how all that feels. Its the worst. And you start crying at how powerless you are.

Ive been down all the alleyways. Self help, therapy, drugs, church. Ive tried it all.

sometimes youre dealt a hand and you gotta play with what youve got. You may not like your hand, but its still yours all the same.

Ive pretty much come to accept that crippling anxiety is just something I am going to have to deal with. Ill deal with it best I can and thats all I can do.

People have it worse. Theres cancer, theres being a quadriplegic, theres so many other things Id consider worse deals. In the end, the battle is going to be in your own mind. A person can make peace with anything if they have the mind for it.

Even if the impending Doom isn't real, the feeling that it is most definitely is real and that's the only thing that matters in the end.

e.g. Sometimes a multiple sclerosis flare up can make you feel like you're on fire. You know you're not on fire. You can see that you're not on fire. But if it hurts like you're on fire then that's the only thing that matters.

My girlfriend just recently started going through exactly what you are going through. I've taken her to the ER twice because she thought she was having a heart attack and both times the Dr's told her she's fine. It's extremely frustrating for her to feel like she is dying and people that are supposed to help tell her that nothing is wrong with her.

She did a lot of research online and has figured out she suffers from DP/DR.

Here is a link she found for resources that genuinely helped her to understand and recover from what is effecting her.

https://acoachcalledlife.com/

Also, look up Swamy G on YouTube for more info on DP/DR.

Listening to someone else who had this same condition and recovered from it has helped her so much. Stay strong and I really hope this can also help you TC.

We're all rooting for you!

Dyinglegacy posted...

Ive been down all the alleyways. Self help, therapy, drugs, church. Ive tried it all.

sometimes youre dealt a hand and you gotta play with what youve got. You may not like your hand, but its still yours all the same.

Ive pretty much come to accept that crippling anxiety is just something I am going to have to deal with. Ill deal with it best I can and thats all I can do.

People have it worse. Theres cancer, theres being a quadriplegic, theres so many other things Id consider worse deals. In the end, the battle is going to be in your own mind. A person can make peace with anything if they have the mind for it.

Have you tried some of the newer treatments available in the form of clinical testing? Or anything similar?