Panic Attacks Support Group

I am scared. I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of thinking. I'm scared of not thinking. I'm scared of being alive, bees, the fact bees might get in the house (okay seriously, that was just the first thing I saw because I looked at the window - so jk but really i do think like that) but my name is Jenna and I'm an extreme agoraphobic. Sometimes I go weeks without leaving the house because i have such bad panic attacks. When I'm out of the house, a lot of the time I get afraid of going back in the house. I'm usually comfortable wherever I am, as long as I"m alone and thinking about anything else can give me a panic attack. I never have a silent mind, I'm always thinking and it's usually panic! my heart races, sometimes my heart beats so hard my hair thumps and vibrates you can see it in my stomach, my nails and fingers turn whitish blue and all my limbs get cold but my face gets very hot. My throat and neck freeze up often when I try and sing/talk. I grind my teeth to the point where I have ground half of them off. I am confined to bed with a blanket a lot of the time. I have lost all of my friends to my agoraphobia i fear even online interaction with people I know.

There is no one thing that works for me completely except falling asleep. 3mg of Lorazapam helps but it's hard to get. Adderall xr makes things better for 12 hours but it's hard to get then I can't sleep for another 16 hours while having panic attacks. Antidepressants have always given me suicidal tendencies. No insurance

I am trying these support groups for the first time, so hi, I am new!

Hello......and welcome!

First and foremost understand that you are not alone! You are not the only person on earth going through this. I know that thought creeps in I was there. You are in the right place. There is so much that goes into beating these illnesses but they are all just little tools. The meds, support groups, the exercises they are all just tools. The real help begins in working on you. Who you are as a person. There are so many things that get us to this point and we have created it and only we can fix it!

Any time you would like to talk in open forum or PM.....I along with many others are here for you. Check out my diary entry on fixing you if you get a chance too.

Brian

Hi, and welcome to the group, my heart goes out to you. You have found the right place for love and support, stay with us dear, read through the posts, we are all in the same boat, some worst then others. You are not alone.

Thanks everyone. I am from the region too region guy lol. NWI oh yeah! Cali now thou

Lets all try and get better together!

Wow thats crazy!........and as much as I am here for you....I now slightly hate you for being in Cali.....while Im working in 25 degree weather with snow all over.......

It almost doesn't feel like winter without snow! it's supposed to be 70* today and I might actually go outside and lay on the grass with my kitty if I can stay awake!

Yeah I have to have some snow and cold weather.....but it is almost spring so I am done with it now.

Hi Jenna

Welcome to the group. You are not alone any longer. Now you are with friends who understand, because we all have the same problem.

You are in the fear side of panic and you need to understand - the panic attacks are not being caused by the car or the subway, or the movie or the mall.

They are being caused there by you expecting them to occur there or being concerned that they might occur there. You need to change your attitude toward the panic attacks - you need to personify them and talk to them and say - go away. Or - "if you are going to occur - then do in now in the next 20 seconds or else bug off" and then count down backwards very slowly.

You need to see your regular doctor and review what has been going on currently. Ask him/her to adjust your meds.

THere is a great book I got referred to by a therapist - "Feeling Good" by Burns - available in any book store , self help area for about 7$. It will do more for you than any therapist will ever do. There are lots of other books too.

You need to go to the forums (top line menu in the panic attack support group) > "medicines and treatments" > titles - -- on breathing exercises and calming exercises. They will help you to control this problem. They work. BUT, they take a lot of practice - possibly a month at 8 times a day for some. But, they do work . They were all submitted by the members of the group for the members of the group.

You need to accept that you do have a panic disorder. That is hard to do. But when you get any sort of symptoms from now on - you need to first think - panic symptom. Of course, you do need to review any new symptoms with your doctor, but knowing that 99 percent of new symptoms will be panic that will help you to not go to the ER so often. Symptoms change - you need to expect it.

Try to understand - panic attacks are nothing more than your own body reacting to your worrying and fears. Your body gets overstressed by you being stressed and jumps into fight or flight mode. That means your breathing gets crazy and your brain does not get enough good air. You need to slow the breathing down - thus - the breathing exercises. Have you ever seen anyone breathe into a paper bag - well, that's it. Too much oxygen.

Look over the threads and the posts and the forums - they will help you. Feel free to comment on any of them, and to create new threads with new topics.

Big gentle Hugs, Raoul

70 degrees sounds so nice. Get some sun for me

Thanks so much, couldn't bring myself to leaving the house in the last two days