Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
I have been dealing with anxiety for a few months now. Have had quite a few scary panic attacks too. There are times when I go a few weeks and feel that I'm dealing well and I'm on the road to recovery when all of a sudden I feel like I'm back at the bottom. My main fear is my heart because I get strange sensations in my chest area. It's not really pain or tightness. Hard to explain. Closer to burning I guess. I avoided working out or major physical activity for quite a while. Even going up the stairs would send me into a panic because of the increase in heart rate. SOmetimes I obssesively check my pulse and a lot of the time it just makes the situation worse but I can't seem to stop. I have been to the emergency room 3 or 4 times and all the tests came back normal. I recently started trying to work out again. Sometimes it feels great, other times I have to stop in the middle because I'd get an attack and worry I might pass out. This is just horrible. I keep wondering whether this will ever completely go away. The skipped beats are just horrible because sometimes it just comes out of the blue when I bend over or even take a deep breath. Anxiety and panic attacks have affected me in so many ways mentally, spiritually and physically that I feel so frustrated. I was trying to really get my life on a more positive track before this all happened. I was meditating regularly, focusing on positive thinking habits and then suddenly this hits me. I just felt like venting here. Any comments welcomed.
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My day...today...misplaced my debit card...didn't realize it until I got to the register after shopping to a full cart. Used a different debit card and pulled apart everything looking for missing debit card before I left parking lot. Got home, dropped keys. So now I have a missing debit card, missing keys. A full cartload to unload and put away. I got everything put away.Dumped purse for a...
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I don't really know how to label this but I having a rough week and I can't say it's one thing.... I have a lot on my plate which is nothing new and I try to cope in many positive ways and do but I still have my moments.My kids more so my daughters talk to me about everything which I know it's cause of comfort and we are close.... however I really struggle with the venting about their dad which...
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
Keep writing it out, to sort out your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and words.
Do even breathing to help you find the calm.
It can be quite scary not knowing what’s going on but it probably is anxiety as your doctor has said. Even if that’s true anxiety can be caused or made worse by lack of thiamin (B1) or lack of magnesium. Lots of sugar and carbs make it worse too. Like Mid said, learning to breathe properly helps too. When I couldn’t get the answers I needed I had to do my own research but that doesn’t make me a doctor, still just a patient. I hope you can find something that helps you too.
Do you know why the anxiety started, was there something going on at the time, is it from Covid-19 fears, etc?
Did the ER doctors have any suggestions, such as prescribing an anti-anxiety medication, what did they say to do?
Your heart is fine. It's okay if it skips a beat or flutters, it's all normal. You can follow up with your regular doctor to determine your next step.
You are going to be okay.
And you CAN stop checking your pulse. Mind over matter. As someone with health anxiety, I guarantee it will make things worse.
Do not Google your symptoms. Do not check your pulse. Continue working out at a safe level. Stay hydrated. Keep writing.
To answer @GirlinCalif my first attack started when I was worrying about my iron level. It’s such a long story but I thought it was too low but I’d been taking supplements and got paranoid that maybe I was taking too much and I freaked out because I know over supplementation on iron can be fatal. I was just in a really bad place. Then after the first attack things went downhill and I started fearing another one, which of course just leads to the vicious cycle. I was given Lorazepam but I’ve only taken it a few times.
Have any of you heard of GABA for anxiety? If so what is your experience with it?
Thanks again for all the responses and advice.
I’ve made a promise to myself right now that I won’t check my pulse for at least the remainder of the week and then take it from there, until I finally stop.
I hope you feel better soon.
And if you're not successful one day, that's okay because there is another day ahead.
And I'm suppose to take 80mg of omeprazole for my acid reflux per day. But I only take 40mg every 3-4 days because it upsets my stomach. Making healthier choices in eating and cutting out things like coffee like you said, that can help significantly. It's also possible that it's just adrenaline. And that's ok, it's normal and occurs naturally in our bodies. Try to figure out what the immediate thought is before you feeling the burning.
You've got this!
Dealing with anxiety and panic is not easy. Speaking with our group, relaxation techniques, and loading relaxation apps on your phone are great ways to address the attacks when they occur. We are all in this fight together and please know that you are not alone. Hope this helps!