New member and anxiety attacks

[OttawaUk]

Hey everyone, newbie here.

I count my Blessings, because sadly or happily enough, my anxiety disorder is what brought me back close to the Lord. This time I'm staying forever, I can't believe I ever let our relationship get far apart.

My heart and prayers go out to those that share this affliction. I know what its like, and its not fun. However, never forget that Jesus loves us no matter what we struggle with in life.

My attacks are off and on, but are getting better. If anyone wants to talk about theirs, I have learned a few tricks of the trade to help them out.

In the meantime, I pray for all of you.

OU

 

[GaelSong]

Hey OU, welcome to a friendly place on the web. I too suffer anxiety attacks though they are getting better. The only limitation on me from them now is driving long distances. You're right, it's not fun having this affliction. And this anxiety is what brought me back to the Lord after a long absence too. So there is some good even in this I guess.

 

[beetlequeendiva]

Hi, I have been a member of CF for a while but have never been to this part of the site. I have recently started suffering from anxiety attacks and could use some help to keep them under control, so any tips would be great. Thanks xx

 

[LiberatedChick]

Hello and welcome
I've suffered with social anxiety for several years now and did think it was improving. Now I'm not so sure as I think social anxiety has teamed up with general anxiety to beat me round the head some more. I'm glad to hear your attacks are improving and would be interested in hearing the helpful tricks you've learnt.

 

[OttawaUk]

Here are a few tricks to stopping panic attacks..

1) The opposite of fear/panic is anger. If you feel a panic attack coming on, inside your head, get very, very angry at the panic. Yell at it, scream at it, the fear will disappear quickly and stop it dead in its tracks.

2) Use a distraction, count backwards from 1000-1 as fast as you can. As soon as you stop thinking about panic, it will disappear.

3) Hold your breath

If all of those fail, which is highly unlikely, try this..

4) Let it happen. It may sound scary at first, but when you give into panic, and say "Okay fine, I'm not scared, do your worst to me, I couldn't care less what happens as a result". Your panic will become powerless.

Give that a try, and God Bless!

 

[invisiblemoses]

That's good valuable advice, OttawaUK....I'm going to try some of those things.

 

[always_hope]

I ask myself, what is *really* bothering me? I have a nasty habit of hiding my feelings even from myself, and the generalized panic feelings lessen when I can say, if only to myself, "I'm sad about _____" or "I'm worried about _____."


Love,
Hope

 

[BohemianChris]

Do you take medicine for your attacks? I take medicine for generalized anxiety and social anxiety.

Cheers!
Chris

 

[always_hope]

Yes, I take medicine.

 

[BohemianChris]

Does it work for you? I hope so. I take valium, and ativan for my anxiety. I don't have a panic disorder though.

Cheers

 

[OttawaUk]

Unfortunately I have some sad news about medicine. Some of you may want to hear about it and some of you don't. For those who are happy taking medicines, please don't read this, but if you can handle it, read what I have to say.

Medicine in the long term, will only make it worse. Unfortunately, with anxiety, its a downward spiral, especially when you take medicine to help. The problem is, since its all psychological, medicine will only mask or dull the problem, and once your body gets used to it, you'll have to take more. Yet, the underlying problem, never goes away.

While this sounds horrible, there is so much hope to get over it. I'm completely medicine free, because the only way to get over anxiety is to teach your brain to not fear, what you're fearing.

What happens, is your brain starts associating certain things, with anxiety. Social anxiety, your brain associates with people or social situations. What you have to do, is get out there, teach your brain that there is no threat to yourself, and you will get better. I know, it sounds so tough, and believe me, I've been there.

The whole reason people have anxiety, dates back to the days when we would get an adrinaline rush from a physical threat (like a wild animal which would do physical harm to us). Nowadays, there are very few physical threats, so our brains start to associate the panic/anxiety with other things. Once you start the whole avoidance/re-enforcement of the anxiety, it just spreads.

Like I said above, try those tricks when you're in social situations and they will work, I promise. Once you overcome one fear, move onto the next. Then that way you can tell yourself, hey brain, I was able to do this the other time, remember?

Jesus will be with you the whole way, and its a long-term process, but you can do it! I promise!

God Bless!

 

[BohemianChris]

I'm glad you are a doctor and know what you are talking about.

Cheers!

 

[OttawaUk]

Chris, what I'm saying is only logical. There is no cure for anxiety, the drugs only dilute or mask it, so the underlying problem is always going to be there. There's no doctor that can disagree with that, because they'd be lying.

I know what its like, I have this problem!! Besides, I'm not the only one who disagrees with using medicine for it, there are plenty of people on the web who give the same advice.

Anyways, all I'm saying is that you should only use medicine as a crutch until you're ready to face the problem and work through it, because it'll never go away until you do so! But don't dispair, I've come a long way and so can anyone else! God will be with you the whole way.

Take care, and God Bless.

 

[always_hope]

Does it work for you? I hope so. I take valium, and ativan for my anxiety. I don't have a panic disorder though.

Cheers

Yes, it does work.

 

[BohemianChris]

Really? So all medications used for anxiety are there just to mask the problem. Every doctor will agree? Wrong, mine doesn't.

You don't want the help of meds, that's fine, but don't think you are doing others a favour by telling them that meds only mask the problem and they aren't dealing with life. That's basically what you said: they are whimps.

Now, do not get me wrong and think that I believe psychotherapy is not needed. As someone with schizophrenia, I am in psychotherapy three times a week. I take meds for anxiety, depression, sleep, and my hallucinations/delusions. There's a chemical imbalance in my brain, along in yours, that medication can restore. That's the point.

Have a nice day.

Chris

 

[BohemianChris]

Yes, it does work.

Good.

 

[OttawaUk]

Chris, this thread is about anxiety and panic attacks, not schizophrenia.

Anxiety and panic attacks are not caused by hormonal imbalances.

 

[BohemianChris]

Anxiety and panic attacks are not caused by hormonal imbalances.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

The exact cause of anxiety disorders is unknown; but anxiety disorders -- like other forms of mental illness -- are not the result of personal weakness, a character flaw or poor upbringing. As scientists continue their research on mental illness, it is becoming clear that many of these disorders are caused by a combination of factors, including changes in the brain and environmental stresses.

Like certain illnesses, such as diabetes, anxiety disorders may be caused by chemical imbalances in the body. Studies have shown that severe or long-lasting stress can change the balance of chemicals in the brain that control mood. Other studies have shown that people with certain anxiety disorders have changes in certain brain structures that control memory or mood. In addition, studies have shown that anxiety disorders run in families, which means that they can be inherited from one or both parents, like hair or eye color. Moreover, certain environmental factors -- such as a trauma or significant event -- may trigger an anxiety disorder in people who have an inherited susceptibility to developing the disorder.

Source: http://my.webmd.com/content/article/60/67142

Also, 83 thousand pages on Google disagree with you: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=anxiety+caused+by+chemical+imbalance&btnG=Google+Search

So, if you want to play the "may be" game, you can, and you'll win. But, right now, with the evidence we have, there is an overwhelming support for a chemical imbalance is the reason being anxiety happens. Therefore, you treat the imbalance, and give coping skills through the means of psychotherapy, group therapy, etc.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[OttawaUk]

Two sides to every story, Chris.

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=297

And I quote:

"Unfortunately, some of the drugs used to treat anxiety have an addictive component, and this is one of the risks of conventional treatment. If judiciously used, these medications can be very helpful, but all too frequently doctors have over-prescribed them to the point of inducing dependency or true addiction. The most popular antianxiety drugs - Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, and Ativan - all have addiction potential. It's not uncommon for patients to start taking them, find that their anxiety symptoms are reduced, and try to taper off only to find that the anxiety comes back. And Prozac, an effective antidepressant, actually leads to a slightly stimulated or hyped-up condition, sometimes causing sleeplessness or anxiety. Then antianxiety drugs are often prescribed to "take the edge off," setting up the patient for multiple-drug dependency. So in the long run, we really need to develop a nonpharmacological approach."

Please don't use a Google search as anything conclusive, because on the flipside a search on "anxiety + medicine dependency" yields 255,000 results.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=anxiety+%2B+medicine+dependency&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Like I said, medicine is not a cure, all it does is mask the symptoms of anxiety, and when you stop taking the medicine it'll all come back. So what are people supposed to do? Stay on drugs all of their life?

I'm not surprised by your response, its typical to attack what I said, because people don't want to face it sometimes.

I have this disorder, I know what helped me best, all I can do is share it and people make their own decisions.

God Bless.

 

[BohemianChris]

Nice quote.

Two different classes of drugs, benzos and SSRIs. One can be addictive, and the other is not. The brain is an extraordinary component of our persons, and can do many remarkable things, meaning, no you do not have to stay on medication for the rest of your life, because your chemicals change in your brain. Eg., the average depressive episode lasts nine months.

You said two sides of every story, yet you debate a fact that is irrelevant. Not once was it brought up about habit forming: I mentioned that anxiety is a chemical imbalance, and you said it was not. So, then you quote about how the drugs in the class of benzos can be addictive.

I'm glad you aren't surprised. I just don't want you to make other people feel bad for recognising a problem and following doctors orders. Google isn't my only source, there are countless books, and my father I can and have spoken to, who happens to be a neurological surgeon. I think he knows a tad more than you .

Cheers