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 suffered with panic attacks for about 20 years. It comes in waves. Just a couple of weeks ago, I felt great. Enjoyed my job, even planned a vacation. It all changed last Saturday at 2 in the morning. Panic overwhelmed my being and I haven't been able to recover my sanity since. It's so bad at night when I do finally fall asleep, that I wake up fearing that I'm dying or will if I even attempt to fall back asleep. Sometimes I wake up disoriented thinking that I can't breathe, but I'm awake and breathing. I can't keep my blood pressure down because of the panic which causes me to panic more. I dread nighttime when I'm so exhausted but can't sleep, panic but feel so alone. Everyone else I know is tires and sleeping so that they can live their lives. I feel guilty, alone, and pure fear every night. Nothing I've tried at night calms me and I don't like taking the Ativan.
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I did the dumbest thing today. I charged my earbuds, unplugged the block and put the block in my little bag instead of the earbuds. I wasn't happy about that when I got to the gym. What a dummy!
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Ever since I stopped doing therapy because of insurance, I've been feeling that old tense and irritable sense of anxiety and stress. I hate that. I was making so many strides and changes during therapy, my therapist would acknowledge all of my progress and accomplishments, and I miss that reassurance. Today I thought about it, and I made those changes! She would always tell me that I chose to...
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
Anxiety blood pressure easily handled-stop, pause, breathe, option, until you feel the calm inside.
Keep a journal to express all those words, thoughts, images, emotions, feelings, and practice even breathing.
Best wishes as you find your better balance naturally.
I'm sorry you are going through this. I also have had panic attacks for over 20 years now. They sure are scary and miserable.
We can get into a cycle of after having a panic attack, we start to fear having another one, and then we avoid doing anything and any place that had to do with the first one, and it is a vicious cycle, for sure. Such as, since you had the bad panic attack last week at 2 am, now you fear going to bed or sleep because you fear having another panic attack.
I do that too, avoiding what first caused the panic attack. But that only works for a short time, since eventually we will have to face that situation again (in your case, going to bed, which is a nightly thing obviously).
I was having horrible nightmares every night not long ago, when I was going through a stressful time in my life. What helped me was sleeping on the couch. For some reason, the change in scenery of sleeping on the couch, stopped the nightmares and night terrors. Maybe something you could try. Sleep in a different place in your house for awhile and see if it gets better.
As @Mid said, journal your feelings, thoughts, stresses. There could be something you are worried or anxious about lately, and you feel out of control about this stressor. Writing it out will help. Talking to people about it will help.
If they prescribed the Ativan, maybe take it to help you at least get some sleep? You need to stop this current panic cycle. And you need sleep.
I hope you feel better soon. It will stop. You're going to be okay.
No the panic is not predictable, that’s just the time when I’m most tired.
Is it possible that posting this entry was the soporific which enabled that 6 hours of restorative rest? In my personal herstory of night terrors, etc., journaling about my anxieties of the day goes a long way toward helping me feel more grounded before I fall asleep.
Just wondering. . .
Gentle support while you find what works for you. Welcome aboard.
For my heavily psychotheraputed nickel, there are as many ways of journaling as there are ways for anxiety to bite my proverbial hindquarters and I need them all. Some nights I need a paper entry that I can use for a letting go ceremony. Other nights the ideas and support of an open forum post, such as this one with all the shades in between. Anxiety is a creative demon in need of creative management.