How I Survived My Anxiety And Panic Attacks

How I Survived My Anxiety And Panic Attacks.

Have you ever experienced as if you are having a heart attack or fear that you might die, go insane or lose control?

Have you experienced being terrified to leave the house, scared to ride on planes.

Trains, buses or any form of public transport?

Have you felt terrified of being caught in traffic jams, elevators, shopping malls, open spaces, crowds and especially hot, crowded rooms?

Let me recall my first attack. I was on my way to a client to deliver an order.

It had been a long hectic day. I was glad that I was able to ride a bus in no time.

I sat on the window side. As I relaxed I felt the tension ease from my body and felt drifting into sleep.

Without warning, I felt and incredible energy surge through my body.

It moved through my stomach going up my chest then to my neck.

My heart rate doubled, I had difficulty breathing, I felt light headed and dizzy, a wave of nausea swept over me as I began to perspire.

I stood up and ran to the driver to let me out of the bus. I remember begging the driver to open the door quick. 
We were in South Superhighway. There was no Bus Stop.

I said; “Help me, something is happening to me, I don’t know what but something is very wrong. Please help me out... I need to see a Doctor!”

I went to a nearby Doctor to seek help. I tried to recall everything that I felt but the Doctor just gave me a medicine for hypertension. 

He cannot even explain what was wrong with me. I’ve been very annoyed at the ignorance of that Doctor because I was pretty sure I am not suffering from Hypertension.

Now I am gratified to say that with all my research and study to figure out what was wrong with me. With applicable remedy in the fashion of psychological techniques, relaxation, different forms of manifestation and most importantly psychological re-orientation.

People can reclaim normal lives. I can affirm to this experience. Yes I survived my Anxiety and Panic Attacks.

What Is Panic Disorder?

According to Brownwyn Fox author of best selling book- Power Over Panic CEO of the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association. Chairperson of the Anxiety Disorder Foundation Of Australia Inc.

The attacks can be a result of a major life stress or a build up of stress. There is a marked difference between the ‘normal’ experience of anxiety and that of anxiety disorder. People cannot pull themselves together because they do not know what is wrong with them. They do not recognize the symptoms of anxiety. If it was purely the experience of anxiety, people would recognize it and they would be able to address the problem. 

It is the difference which is highlighted by the fact that even now, some health professionals are still unable to recognize, let alone, diagnose or treat these disorder.

Almost everyone i have been in contact with bring up this point; If only I had known what was wrong from the beginning. If only knew from the beginning how to deal with it.

What are the symptoms of Panic Attacks?

. Shortness of breathing

. Dizziness, unsteady feeling or faintness

. Palpitation of accelerated heart rate

. Numbness or tingling sensations (paresthesias), usually in the fingers,

  toes, or lips

. Flashes (hot flashes) or chills

. Chest pain or discomfort

. Fear of becoming seriously ill or dying.

. Fear of going crazy or of doing something uncontrolled.

. Sweating

. Choking

. Nausea or abdominal distress

. Feeling of unreality (depersonalization or derealization.)

. Feeling uptight, feeling as if you are drowning or pulled down

An attack with fewer than four of the above symptoms is called limited symptom attack. Panic attack can build gradually over a period of several minutes or hours or strike very suddenly. While they can last from few minutes or several days. Most do not last longer than half an hour

(Source; Anxiety, Phobias,& Panic)

Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Disorder

I had been suffering from anxiety disorder for over ten years.

Based on experience I discovered that panic disorder begin to progress when you experience unpleasant symptoms and tell yourself lies about what the symptoms mean.

Panic disorder is retained by a mix of habituated reaction, anxiety, internalization(continually watching your body of signs of the bogey man, anxiety)

Two lies that play a key role in controlling panic disorder are “Anxiety is threatening,” and “I wont be able to function when I become panicky.”

The truth is, anxiety is not deadly; it is just obnoxious bodily sensation.

Similarly a person with panic disorder always finds a way to get to a secure person or area when a panic is experienced.

Here are several coping self-statements that can be used to confront the negative self talk typical to people with panic disorder. 
Works with me all the time. 
(Something I learned from the book, Anxiety, Phobias & Panic.)

. Anxiety is not dangerous-just uncomfortable. I survived feeling like           these  

  and worse before.

. I can be anxious and still function efficiently; I just need to stay       
  centered

  on the task at hand.

. The frightening things I have thought about my symptoms are lies-

  Anxiety is an inconvenience and nothing more.

. There is no need to struggle what I am feeling, Even though it is

  unpleasant, It is just adrenaline and will pass.

. I must examine my breathing, then focus on and interpret what is going

  on with me. I need to divert my attention.

. My symptoms are just a form of conditioned feedback. They will become

  less if will not let it affect me.

. The feeling will soon pass.

What About Medication?

I tried Iterax and Inderal. But only on extreme situations.

Iterax is a first-generation antihistamine that is used to treat allergies and anxiety. Due to its sedative effects, it is sometimes used to pre-medicate patients prior to surgery. Its main ingredient is hydroxyzine diHCl.

Side effects of Iterax include headache, dry mouth and sleepiness. Because of its sedative effects, people who take Iterax are advised to avoid consumption of alcohol and to avoid driving or operating heavy machinery. 
It is not recommended for women in the early stages of pregnancy. 

(Source; The filipinodoctor.com)

Inderal (propranolol) is a beta-blocker. Beta-blockers affect the heart and circulation (blood flow through arteries and veins).

Inderal is used to treat tremors, angina (chest pain), hypertension (high blood pressure), heart rhythm disorders, and other heart or circulatory conditions. 

It is also used to treat or prevent heart attack, and to reduce the severity and frequency of migraine headaches.

Inderal side effects may include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach cramps; decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; sleep problems (insomnia); or tired feeling.(Source;Drugs.com)

Do I Still Continue To Use The Medication? NO

I realize that; Medication will not prevent me from experiencing panic attacks, but they can decrease the complete balance in what I am experiencing. It did not cure my disorder it only lessen the number of severity of my panic attack.

Why I do not fully recommend the drugs I mentioned? First I am not a Doctor. It is generally necessary for a trial and error to find the right medication and correct dosage. Take note of side effects and widrawals.

In short, medication have an exact role in treating anxiety and panic attacks but they are not for everyone.
If you are presently taking medication to ease your symptoms, I am definite; There will come a time when you no longer feel the urge to pop it.

My Therapy

I see to it that I have at least twice a day relaxation period. I listen to meditation cds, watch meditation and relaxation videos.

Learn Relax Diaphragmatic Breathing

From now on, at anytime you begin to feel anxious or scared, check your breathing. Take 3 or 4 slow easy diaphragmatic breaths. It helps calm your Amygdala. the “fear center of the brain.”


Avoid Caffeine

Avoid coffee, in fact coffee can actually set off panic attacks in some people with panic disorder. People with anxiety related problems tend to be more reactive to both human made and natural chemicals. Caffeine is a stimulant and the world’s most widely used mood transforming drug.

Eliminate Unnecessary Stress

We often use a considerable load of strength in self-repressing action such as adverse self-talk. Extra energy is wasted through raised body strain. This leaves less energy for dealing with the daily urgency of life. 
Easy task to deal with before the anxiety related problem developed has now become more difficult.

Your body needs time for healing and rejuvenation from the ravages of the anxiety and stress. I do not mean that you have to avoid life, I do mean of course to use common sense in prioritizing activities.

Sleep is essential

Sleep is vital for positive mental and physical health. According to experts and studies; sleep deficiency alters activity in some parts of the brain. If you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and action, as well as coping with change. Lack of sleep also has been linked to depression, suicide, and hazardous behavior.

Take A Break As Often As Possible

Taking time to loosen up is not only crucial but is also vital for physical and mental fitness. Establish the manner of reserving regular time for relaxation. Your body is like a machine with limited supply of energy. Organizing daily hours for resting is the same for your body as operating daily care on a car.

Other Things You Can Do

Passive Forms of Relaxation
. Biofeedback
. Diaphragmatic breathing
. Hot tubs, showers and relaxing baths
. Massage and Spas
. Meditation and Prayers
. Movies
. Music
. Reading
. Relaxation response exercise
. Self hypnosis
. Television
. Yoga
. Jogging, exercise and workouts.



Active Form of Relaxation
. Hobbies
. Dancing
. Individual sports
. Road trips and vacations
. Shopping
. Team sports such as basketball or football



Get Emotional Support

People are social beings who crave emotional support to be able to manage mental and physical health. Solitude and feeling of being alone are the two of the most damaging form of stress. 

Sadly most people who are suffering from severe anxiety usually are loners. Having one person to talk with honestly and openly clear away the stress of carrying your secrets alone. It helps to make you feel better, be more honest and open.

Patience

One of the first thing you need to learn is the willingness to endure. Everyone naturally want a quick fix. There is no such thing. This build further stress which keeps the whole course going. Whether we like it or not, we all have to learn restraint. Learning to be kind to ourselves. Being kind to ourselves indicates we are not putting ourselves under additional unneeded stress.



Taking Care Of Ourselves

A good diet and adequate sleep are also very important in helping boost our threshold to stress. If we have eating issues it is crucial we look for guidance to help restore natural eating patterns.

Returning to beneficial sleep patterns can be a problem, and this is where meditation technique be a big help. Although we have refined our daily meditation habits, our meditation technique can also be used to aid us go to sleep.

Exercise also plays a valuable part in rehabilitation progress, and it would be essential to look for tutorials in constituting a basic exercise program.

Your Number 1 Priority

The act of returning to normal means obtaining that we cannot be everything to everybody. We do not have to do, or accept anything we know is going to be damaging to ourselves. Our recovery. Like everyone else, we have the right to do what is right for us.

What Is Really My Value?

The need of recognition goes beyond our cry of “This is not who I am” When we say “This is not who I am” we are referring to the picture we had before the disorder. Despite the form we had of ourselves, we have always admitted that we never felt any sense of self. 

This main aspect was always lacking in our lives, and this is where this is all coming from, that our perception of incapacity, lack of confidence and lack of self regard arose. We negate these by our need to be perfect.

From the past we adapted and altered our behavior to what we distinguish were other people’s assumption of us. We became who we though we should be, and in doing so we censor much of who we could be. 

Our character became reliant on other people’s approval. The more we are reliant the more we have to suppress our real self, even if we did not realize we were doing it. The more in-efficient we felt the more we felt the need to be excellent and flawless.

Many years we created the model of who we thought we thought we should be. We lived our lives with anxious feeling that we were not who we appeared to be?

All of us are looking for apparent answers to our hardships, but we are not aware we are looking in wrong directions. Although we may find brief portion to sustain us, we do not recognize or feel the immense potential of our self which is waiting to help us.

Anxiety disorder can probably destroy us to some degree. They tear away the very web of our whole reality. They destroy our process of life. The attacks and the anxiety scares us sometimes to a degree that normal everyday living is void. Yet we do not notice in this destruction on an identical positive force. The destruction can be a clear twist in welcoming our true self.


The Fear Of The Unknown

We must stop and become aware of that there have been other moments in our life when we have made bigger adjustment. Even though these adjustments were external, we still feared change because we really did not know what will happen. 

We experienced this when we started to work, went to college, getting into relationship, getting married or raising a family. That worry is the same as we are feeling now. Looking back at our past we will see that the fear is no different. We have felt it before. Back then, we went ahead and haste in our choices and decision, still feeling doubtful, still worried and feeling the fear. This time, even though the circumstances are different the fear is still the same.

All we know is that we are walking in uncharted territories of our future, and it can seem painless to stop where we are, despite unresolved problem. What we do not realize is that of the self. As the “dis-organized” self breaks down it can mean the beginning of our real self.




Moment of Redemption

Every so often we will feel exhausted, powerless and weak. These feeling is temporary. It will all be obvious why we are feeling this way. We will discover a lot about ourselves, in fact, at times we will wish we didn’t know so much!

It may mean a do over to make life a little bit more convenient and a little bit uncomplicated while the combination with the self is worked thorough, it is a moment of redemption what our needs are, possibly new ability or trying things we have always desired to do. Say no to some, welcoming others we did not notice were there. We have to become mindful we do have a choice in the universe. Fear will be always there but so too...bravery.

The Road to Power Over Anxiety

The presence of fear is all right, Being afraid is all right. Feeling defenseless and powerless is all right. They are all part of the progress of our self. We could be sway from the road, this is all right too.
What does worry grip us back from? What do we want for ourselves in the future?

How do you see yourself? That individual is not going to pop out like a genie in a bottle. We must endeavor being that individual being that person. It is an adventure in ourselves to ourselves.

All the energy that is preventing us can be liberated for us to use in whatever we may desire. The time will come again for adjustment, far less badly, but come again it will and there will be new test to meet.

It is a question of how truthful we are being with ourselves, but this truthfulness is the road to power over anxiety...of grit and persistence.

It is your choice.

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