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Panic Disorder - Help Wanted.

Strauchy
Community Member

Hi. I am a long term sufferer of panic disorder but have never been diagnosed and never sought direct help before. My panic disorder started about 10 years ago but I've had good years and bad ones during that time. The last 24 months have not been particularly good.

I have a high normal blood pressure around 140/85 which absolutely skyrockets during a panic attack to 170/110. This does not help my anxiety at all. I have been to a few GP's concerned about this and they have said I do not rquire medication. I was diagnosed with cardiac arrythmia and my blood tests showed a slight thyroid issue however nothing that apparently needed treatment. I also suffer from heart palpitations maybe a few times a week which I can describe feeling as like a sudden emptying of my chest. These generally trigger a panic attack.

I drink too much. I drink both because I like it and as a coping mechanism to alleviate anxiety. However after a heavy drinking session my anxiety is always at its worst. I am often on the verge going to the ER absolutely certain that something serious is wrong with my heart. That THIS time I might die.

My anxiety is effecting my personal and my work life. My personal life as I am often too anxiety ridden to do anything. And my work because I am missing days, or just feeling too anxious at work to really concentrate on my job. I have missed days from work and I am certain my reputation there has suffered from it. I would love if everybody understood anxiety, but I work in a blue collar, male dominated industry and even I wouldn't understand why somebody was just afraid of nothing if I didn't suffer from it. I have not told anybody at work as I don't beleive it would help. However worrying about my work performance only adds to my anxiety.

Can anybody suggest what I should do about this? I have seen many GP's who seem to toss me out of thier office after 10 mins saying there is nothing wrong. Are there any GP's who are really good with panic disorder sufferers?

7 Replies 7

The_Real_David_Charles
Community Member

Dear Strauchy,

How many GPs have you tried so far ?

I know you mentioned drinking is for coping with anxiety.   But then you mentioned drinking leads to anxiety.  So, what do you do then ?  Keep drinking in the sort of self perpetuating cycle of damage or get to the bottom of the primary anxiety cause during a few dozen sessions with a top counsellor ?  That seems more habit based than an effective treatment plan.  It takes a few heavy and focused weeks at rehab to break the drinking but when you were to go home the anxiety would kick it in again.  For the time being it's probably quite brilliant for you to be able to recognise this dilemma and write so well about it and it's effect on your, work & family.

There was a major car crash on my dog walk today.   5 police cars, fire truck, a million gawky neighbours.  Apart from the usual "Again ?  It's once a month now" and "Was anyone hurt ?" neighbourly concerns there was one woman that drew me aside and said "And just before Christmas !".    Her anxiety was totally transparent.  It made me think that sometimes we simply get to that anxious state naturally (through fear or frustration) and other times we like to manufacture a sort of over the top anxiety which a comment like "And just before Christmas !" fitted into.

Days of work for sickness are not a well received thing.   The rest of the office form their own selfish opinions.   But someone, somewhere, fought for those sickie entitlements and you seem to need a break now and again.  It kind of says more about your colleagues - that they hall all taken days off in a sneaky way.  So, therefore, you must be doing the same. 

I remember doing my Citizen Ceremony one Australia Day and having to miss some of my Police Band work on the same day (which was a bigger ceremony).   Even with the national day being called Australia Day, the citizenship ceremonies being established on that one day, following an 18 month application procedure and knowing that the Police Service preferred it's members to be full citizens, I still had musician colleagues think I was pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.  

It seems you get called a shonky bastard for anything these days.  It's amazing you are still able to work with such strong panic disorders.   I'm impressed.

Adios, David.

messy29
Community Member

There are many GP's who are good with treating anxiety from both a psychosocial and pharmacological perspective. Perhaps you have been unlucky with your current GP, which is a shame. They will quite often explore medication options with you, and recommend a good counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist. I am now just making a foray into the world of addressing my own issues for panic disorder/ health anxiety. It is tough, you have taken the first step though, and this is key. I know how it feels to lose days, weeks of your life in the fog of anxiety and panic. I can assure you there are wonderful health professionals out there who can provide you with options for treatment and recovery, but sometimes it takes a bit of searching. The first step is perhaps to find a GP you can build a trusting, professional relationship with. They deal with these issues so frequently, that they are likely to have a few psychologists that they prefer to refer to for conditions like panic disorder. I wish you well and hope that you find some support soon. 

iJim
Community Member

Hey Strauchy,

I see parallels in your story with my own experiences. Panic disorder/ Anxiety & alcohol abuse to help keep a lid on the panic... but alcohol is a mask and only eventually exacerbates things.

You probably do need a break from the Alcohol... It's a depressant mate, and although gives some short term relief, that not what you're after. Are you? Try drinking non-acho diet ginger beer every second beer, for a while, then two in row, then just drinking ginger beer. It's also good for the unsettling bowl issues associated with Panic. But defo talk to your doc about the alcohol, if just dropping cold it is a concern for you. There are strategies available to help I'm sure.

What we resist persists.

This is key in learning to overcome the feelings of anxiety, and the inappropriate escalated response in eventual Panic... It's your fear of the Panic it that drives it ever harder.

This can be a hard pill to swallow... But learning to discard the fear of Panic is the key to discarding it's power over you.

I personally have been through the Linden Method, the Panic Away Program, and the practices in a book called Anxiety No More, and they all have a similar theme at their core... Acceptance.

What we resist persists.

There is some good reading here, and it helped me a ton.

Best wishes.

 

Jim

Colin
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Hi Strauchy, A starting point for effectively addressing your situation is for you to realise that you are the client, even in the presence of a doctor, and that they are there to provide a service for you. I suggest you assert the request for referral to a psychologist. I am of the understanding that you don’t need a referral; you can access a psychologist of your own accord. A referral though will enable a mental health program to be set up for you to cover the costs. I suggest you find out more about this initiative.

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

dear Strauchy, I can see a catch 22 situation here, because you have panic attacks at home but more so at work, you seem to what to quell these feelings by drinking alcohol, but at work your not allowed to drink, so your anxiety and panic attacks begin, so then once at home you drink too much and then you feel guilty, which then raises your blood pressure. Geoff.

 

Strauchy
Community Member

Hey thanks for all the responses they have all helped. I will take the advice and see about getting a prgrom sorted with a psychologist. Has this helped anyone before? I am quite skeptical towards psychologists as I tend to think "What can they tell me that I can't research myself?" and that it will be a waste of time and money. But I think maybe it's worth a shot.

 

Thanks again everyone.

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

dear Strauchy, point taken, however what they do is to try and guide our thinking on a different path, make us talk about our concerns, and under these concerns may lay problems which we haven't thought about.

Sometimes it works but it so much better if you have good understanding or relationship with them.

And by saying relationship I mean connection. Geoff.