Social anxiety, thought of leaving the house is terrifying

[Mumsy3]

I have been dealing with anxiety on/off for the past ten years, most of those Unmedicated. Last week I had a panic attack at a relatives party and since then my anxiety is ridiculous. I took myself off to the doctor 5 days ago and he prescribed me medication. I’m finding everyday I’m feeling better but I’ve just been staying home and resting as the dr said my body is still recovering from the panic attack. My digestive system is anxious and knotted. I’m hungry but the thought of eating makes me nervous. I’ve taken a week off work just to gather myself. Today I ventured out, just with my teen daughter to a shop she wanted to look at and the supermarket. And that’s when the anxiety kicked in big time. I couldn’t get out of there quick enough but forced myself to stay and try and deal with how I was feeling. I’m exhausted now:(. I’ve noticed the side effects of the medication are slowly getting better, I don’t feel as lightheaded as I did initially. How has everyone else coped with this medication?
I have had an attack like this in the past so I know I will get through it but I’m such on overthinker. I imagine in my head that I have every sickness possible, check my pulse every few minutes and my blood pressure all the time (it’s stable) .

[tpman]

Hello.

i have had terrible terrible anxiety and panic attacks and you think it’s never going to go away right?

All I can say to you is that the severity of what you are feeling will get better and better especially if your getting treatment and after sone time you will forget what severe panic feels like and it won’t bother you anymore.

I’ve been very desperate myself, it’s like you feel like you going to die.. and it’s what usually leads me to forums like these where I can get some extra support and it’s great.

I myself am going through a rough day hence why I’m here, but I haven’t needed to come to forums for months because I’ve been so stable , and I assure you that you will get to that stage soon.

Rest and take things easy. If you have to retreat and isolate for a couple of days then that’s ok in my opinion. Just rest and allow your mind and body to recover. It will! I find YouTube videos or gaming is great for me when I am recovering from a panic attack

take care 🙂

[Mumsy3]

Thank you for your reply and positive thoughts. I’m finding my anxiety is on fire during the day but as the evening sets in I’m a normal person again. I think it’s like I’ve gotten through the day and I’m ok so my anxiety subsides. Starting the day today with first day of school so hoping a normal routine in the next little while also helps 🙂

[Hanna3]

Hi Mumsy3,

Welcome to BB! I had panic attacks for years, they were severe and badly restricting my life. Medication helped but much more improvement happened after the psychiatrist I began to see worked out they were triggered by certain circumstances that related to an attack I had suffered years before. Once I knew what things "triggered" the attacks they became much easier to manage.

I also have a friend who started to get them after years of simply too much anxiety in her life - divorce, difficulty finding work, raising two children alone, etc.

So I wonder if you have either been under a lot of stress lately to bring these attacks on, or can you work out when they tend to happen? Is there anything you can identify that tends to trigger them? In my case it was going from a dark place (such as a cinema) into daylight or bright light. This meant I learned to go to the cinema in the evening, and to walk through doors from dim into brighter places with care, and not take it too fast.

Don't worry as I'm proof they can be controlled and they no longer play havoc with my life - I have a generalised anxiety but full blown panic attacks don't happen any more. I don't know if this helps, but the less you feel frightened about them (you're not having a heart attack etc) they become much more manageable. Good luck, all the best, you can recover from these!

[Mumsy3]

Thank you for you reply. I definitely know that stress is a major factor. I don’t feel stressed but we have so much going on in the family with legal battles for wills, seoerations and illness that it’s taking its toll on me being the overthinker that I am. I was anxious to begin with going into the party and I’m claustrophobic so going into a small space with too many people, too much noise and it was very hot, felt the panic straight away. I’m taking it easy, it’s been a wake up call that I need to look after myself. I’m not going to push it and listen to my body more.

[Hanna3]

Hi Mumsy3,

Yes a situation like that (crowded, hot) can really trigger a panic attack. I used to have them happen waiting on hot overcrowded underground railway stations. The only thing I can suggest is to try to avoid those situations as much as you possibly can until all your other stresses settle down.

Panic attacks are a horrible feeling, I really hope the medication starts to kick in to help. There used to be a great little book out about help for them, it was called "Living with It" and I can't remember the author - the "it" is panic attacks. You might want to Google around for it - I found it incredibly useful. Maybe an online bookstore will still have it as it was enormously popular. Best wishes!