Life crippling Anxiety (Looking for help)

[Bsrfitness]

Hey guys, my name is Bryce!

Quick back story on my anxiety, smoked weed for 6 months when I was 17, had a panic attack, thought I was actually having a heart attack (Had a mutual friend die from heart issues in highschool so I was kind of thinking of it at the time).

Skip ahead 9 years later and I still suffer from anxiety.

I have 75% got over my anxiety (the minor things that used to trigger my anxiety) and now im left with the end boss.. the last thing holding me back from living my life. the problem is its the hardest one, the biggest one, so I decided to come into these forums to seek help, to help me take the necessary steps in order to not so much beat my anxiety, but not let my anxiety hold me back from this one life I have.

So heres the situation I am in with my anxiety, when I first had anxiety, I thought I was having a heart attack (still think I am having a heart attack when I have a panic attack), at first I could not leave the house without doing exercise, and I could not leave the house at one point.

Now, the only thing that will trigger a panic attack in my (keep in mind, its hard for me to have a panic attack now, but when I do have them, they are giant due to the circumstances), the only thing that can cause me to have a panic attack is staying awake to long or getting little sleep or both, I litterally look at the clock each morning and calculate how much sleep I got. if its less than 7 hours, than yeah it will be a rough day.

I want to travel but I get nervous about getting no sleep (and most the time I dont get any sleep), so I end up having a panic attack and have my family travel to come get me, I feel so dependant on my family and I hate it (my family are amazing btw).

But I cant live like this anymore.

I've done research, and the way to get over anxiety is exposure to fear. So rationally I think, maybe I should stay awake in order to get used to having no sleep (everyone i've asked irl told me its a terrible idea, but I feel like I need to not be afraid of being sleep deprived and be able to travel and live a normal life even if I am)? the problem is the longer I stay awake the worse the anxiety gets and the easier it is for me to convince myself I could die of a heart attack due to lack of sleep...

I want to really get help. I want to see the best psychologist in australia / retrain my brain, whatever it takes. im willing to fight for this, I just dont know where to start..

Any advice will be truly appreciate.

Bryce

[white knight]

Hi Bryce, welcome

I understand. I was falsely diagnosed with a heart attack in 1987. 3 months later after a full test, no heart attack, it was a panic attack and it appears all my anxiety peaked at that time following a workplace incident.

After some soul searching and therapy I embarked on several throngs of treatment, I realized that meds alone or therapy alone etc would not be sufficient, I was right. So, my therapist taught me muscle tensioning exercises, deep breathing etc. Add to that some lifestyle changes-gave up smoking, alcohol limited, move to the country, workplace change, occupation change, relationship change and so forth.

Some changes in the lowering of my anxiety came quickly but really the bulk of the changes came down the track, over 20 years later. But now I'm rid of all symptoms and life is great, I'm glad I stuck with my plans.

There are other things you can do- remove toxic people from your life, reorganize your finances to reduce financial stress, find a hobby/light sport, exercise, do voluntary work...feel good tasks.

Changing your occupation if you are in customer service. food jobs are the worst IMO and law enforcement...can never satisfy people. Many bosses aren't good at supervision regardless of their qualifications.

Here are a few threads you can read. Just the first post might get the message of it. Use google

Topic: anxiety, how I eliminated it- beyondblue

Topic: fortress of survival- beyondblue

Topic: seeking the origin of anxiety- beyondblue

Topic: meditation-words of wisdom- he helped me for 25 years- beyondblue

Topic: worry worry worry- beyondblue

Topic: a good nights deep sleep- beyondblue

I'm skeptical about being subject to fear. In fact anything not scientifically proven could well make you worse. Go whats proven.

We have thousands of threads here to browse through. Knowledge is power to make a difference to your life.

By all means follow through with this and reply/repost anytime. This is what we do, pass on our experiences to you.

Tony WK

[Croix]

Dear Bryce~

Thank you for coming here, I'll add my welcome to Tony's. That starting place may not be what you envisaged and in any case is not gong to be a quick fix.

Realizing you have not slept as much as you think reasonable may simply be promoting feelings that you cannot cope with the forthcoming day. I'm not a doctor and don't really know. That is how it is for me.

I think you are on completely the wrong track trying sleep deprivation to reduce anxiety. As Tony has already mentioned anxiety is reduced by avoiding as many stressors as possible in your life, that plus living a healthy lifestyle and using medical support as needed.

A health lifestyle includes exercise, both on a regular basis and as needed to detract from anxious thoughts. Eating sensible nutritious food in a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and being well rested, and avoiding harmful levels of alcohol and other drugs.

Distracting yourself with daily enjoyable activities that take you away from ordinary life and are looked forward to. I use walks, books, movies, pets and being with my partner.

The stressors you would probably know all about for yourself, people that press or upset, circumstances that are too much pressure, and so on. Adequate sleep reduces anxiety, and reducing sleep will increase it.

Panic attacks do feel like heart attacks and are terribly frightening. Control breathing to restore an oxygen balance,and promote calm, think reassuring thoughts, and personally I find trying to keep doing whatever I was doing helps, not giving up because of the attack.

All the above have helped me reach a state when my anxiety is no longer ruining my life. I do take medication and have regular visits with my medical team. I'm stable and my life is good.

Have a look at this thread which I've found very useful

Forums / Anxiety / SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY

Trying to barge though head on really is not the way. Fear of spiders and similar may be helped by incremental exposure in a controlled environment. They are a different kettle of fish. Lack of sleep is something that has its own adverse physical and mental effects.

If you are not already seeing a doctor I suggest you do so and see what therapy or meds may help too.

Croix

[Bsrfitness]

Hey guys, appreciate both of your replies!

I look forwarding to reading all of the forum post you guys recommended me to read.

Knowing there are people out there helping other unconditionally is a great feeling, and I appreciate you guys.

Some things I forgot to add about myself, I train mixed martial arts (was always afraid to defend myself + the sport and my training partners have really helped me with my anxiety).

I started meditating january and have never missed a day since, I started at 2minutes a day, and now at 16min a day, so im slowly progressing it up, and overall I feel way better for it.

Im addicted to fitness so lifestyle and diet is automatically in check, which im forever greatfull for.

I dont know what im searching for, all I know is I want any source of help possible, meditation / psychologists / forums / brain experts / cbt therapy / act therapy whatever it takes.

Problem is, I have trust issues with some psychologists (I dont want just any psychologist fresh out of university), I want the best psychologist who is not just going to talk about my feelings, I dont want to talk about my feelings, I want rock solid steps I can take, one brick at a time, so I can get over my anxiety. Im willing to pay money for a better psychologist.

Currently I take  (Anxiety med), I take half a dose (lower dose actually helps better for sleep, + the higher dose I found out actually makes my anxiety worse), before going on meds, I was 100% against medication, but after taking it, I can honestly say it has helped.

[Croix]

Dear Bryce~

It sounds to me as if you are already doing a lot of the things that do help, Exercise and lifestyle do make a huge difference in time. I use an app called Smiling Mind to help me meditate, I"'m hopeless unless I have some sort of guidance.

You don't need the best psychologist in Australia, you just need either a psychologist or psychiatrist you can work with. Confidence will come in time if they are on the right track. I'm sure you have sparring partners in your martial arts, and the pair of you work on timing and fitness and technique. I've found similar with the medical people. They have worked with me, suggesting exercises and getting me started.

They have talked about my thoughts and feelings, how could they not, I'm human and they are part of me. Looking at the things that have influenced me badly in the past, and my reactions to them. Plus thought patterns that have stopped me improving. So please don't be too quick to dismiss.

I'm glad you have a sensible attitude to meds and have worked out a good regime that works for you. I've found the correct ones at the correct level have been essential.

Do you have techniques to help with the panic attacks you mentioned? Incidentally having an amazing family as a back-stop is a real comfort.

Croix