Tips to deal with my anticipatory anxiety

[Danoro]

A little background: I'm 28 y old and for the last 3 years I am struggling with anxiety. My mom suffers from severe anxiety since her mid 20's as well..

At first I thought I had heart problems since all my symptoms were related to that area.. (fast hearbeat, chest pain, dizziness).
After I found out it was anxiety, I was having hard time dealing with it.. I was very depressed that I have to go through all of those terrifying symptoms all over again and again without any way of stopping this forever.

Lately it's being harder for me to remain calm, mainly because of my job and life in general.
I also gave up on a vacation since I was afraid that I'll get anxiety attack during the flight, and there will be nothing that could be done to help me.

My main fear is getting an intense anxiety attack that I won't be able to control. when I'm visualising myself in that situation I'm afraid that I'll start yelling / hold my head and cry.

It's weird because it never happened before, all the times I had anxiety attack it was "only" fast heartbeat and feeling dizzy sometimes I might feeling a bit detached liked i'm going crazy but i'm usually calming myself down in 10 minutes.

But still.. my fear from losing control is actually controlling me.. whenever I go out I feel like I want to go home to my "safe" spot where I could manage my anxiety.

I'm getting tired of this feeling and I hope that I can do something to feel better.

[SammyD100]

Hi Danoro

I'm so glad you've posted about your experiences; as hard as it must have been to write everything down and put it out there on this forum, I think it's a great step to helping you learn to manage your anxiety. I'd like to respond from the perspective of a Psychology student but hopefully others will respond with their experiences too, as I'm sure there are many people here who have gone through similar.

You mention being worried that you will have to go through the symptoms of fast heartbeat, chest pain and dizziness again and again – it sounds like your symptoms tend to last about 10 minutes and then you are able to gain some control, and that’s actually great! It sounds like you have a few things you can do to help you calm down, and I’m hoping that with some new strategies you might be able to gain even more control over their intensity and duration.

Some of the strategies that have been proven to be really helpful for Anxiety include mindfulness, breathing techniques and challenging negative thinking. Have you tried mindfulness and breathing techniques before? If not you might like to start trying these out at home, when you are naturally feeling really calm. There are lots of apps that you might like to try, like Smiling Mind.

Negative thinking styles are something that you may need some support to try and change and challenge, possibly with a Psychologist. You may be aware that you are able to access Medicare-rebated sessions with a Psychologist? It might be worth considering talking to your GP, who can make a referral for you.

Unfortunately the more you ‘escape’ from situations that might challenge you, the more you reinforce for yourself that you are unable to do things (like a holiday), and the more you will retreat from future situations. You may think, “I can’t go on a holiday because I'll have a panic attack”, then not go. You will be OK and not have a panic attack while at home, which may reinforce the idea that it was best you didn’t go on a holiday. This is a type of safety behaviour that ends up creating a bit of a cycle, and make it less and less likely that you will put yourself in challenging situations – just in case. It sounds like the above is starting to happen for you when you talk about going home to your ‘safe’ spot.

I really think there's every chance you can learn to manage your anxiety and live a full life again, so all the best!

SammyD

[Ruby__2]

Hi Danoro,

SammyD offered some great tips.I suffer from anxiety/agrophoria which left me paralyzed.

See your GP.They can suggest a few things to help you cope and live a'normal' life.

With my GPs help,I now see a psychologist who helps me challenge my thinking and how I talk to myself. I went from being unemployed stay at home mum(20yrs!), to full time job,and living life one day at a time.

Please don't sell yourself short.With the right supports, you can overcome this but you cannot go it alone.

We are all here to offer advice, but at the moment I think your first step should be your GP.Open up ,the help is out there.

I hope I have helped.Anxiety can be debilitating, but it doesn't have to be. Do it for you!Go for it,what could be the worst outcome?That someone will listen and care?Sounds like good odds to me!

Keep me posted on your progress. Even if you just need to vent or toss ideas around,we are all here for you on theBB forums.

Ruby2

[blondguy]

Hello Danaro

Welcome to the forums and thankyou for being with us too!

Ruby2 and Sammy have posted helpful advice above

Ruby2 mentioned "We are all here to offer advice, but at the moment I think your first step should be your GP" Ruby is spot on here as these feelings of anxiety are awful. I have had them for a while and see my GP who makes me feel a lot better.

Even if you print out this thread and take it to your GP....It will make your visit more productive where finding some peace is concerned 🙂

Just a note from me if its okay...'The earlier anxiety (of any shape or form) is treated the better our recovery will be'

The forums are a safe and non judgemental place for you to post Danaro.....There are many super gentle people on the forums that are happy to be here for you

my kind thoughts

Paul