Posted by Jaynee on December 17, 2002, at 13:46:56
In reply to Re: Loosing hope, posted by daizy on December 17, 2002, at 13:11:55
Hi Daizy: I've been there and it feels like hell. But remember this time too shall pass. Palpitations, won't kill you, so try not to worry about that. When you are in a state of anxiety, every little bodily sensation upsets you, you contact with every thought, but most of the time it is nothing to worry about, you are just being hypervigilant. I found I would contact with my thoughts and get really upset with them when I was anxious, but when I am not anxious, I still have stupid thoughts, but that is exactly how I treat them, and my body doesn't react to them. Try to disconnect from your thoughts, it can be done. How I did it was when I would get a weird thought in my head and my body would start to react, palpitation, anxiety, panic, etc, I would just let my body go limp and let the panic take over. Once I stopped fighting it and just let it rock and roll, it would go away. It is simply fear of fear.
Make sure you do your abdominal breathing and remember the panic won't kill you, and once you are no longer afraid of it, it goes away. Acceptance is the key.
As for the doc, doctors really can't help you as much as you can help yourself. They can prescribe meds, but from my experience that is about all. Try to get to a support group. There is a good book called "The Feeling Good Handbook". You have to talk to yourself like you would a best friend. You would never tell a friend what you tell yourself, for example what would you tell a friend if she told you she was worried about what a doctor thought of her?
There are many drugs out there that can help. You've only tried Effexor. I refused to go on Effexor, because my sister tried it and she said it made her feel like she was on LSD. Yet I have a girlfriend who swears by it, it has been a life saver for her. I tried Celexa. At first it caused really bad anxiety, but I offset that by Ativan. Within about 2 weeks I started to feel better, and didn't need the Ativan. But you have to help yourself. Meditation, proper nutrition, exercise, self-help books, making yourself participate in the things you used to enjoy, even if you don't enjoy them. I learnt how to drive, shop etc, all in the middle of a panic attack. Gradually it just went away. Once you realize it won't kill you and is just a bodily sensation that has a time limit.
Good luck.
poster:Jaynee
thread:33474
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20021206/msgs/33481.html