Anxiety Attacks

[fire]

im 18 years old, grew up with kinda of a rough childhood but always seem to get through it, no matter the problem.

last couple years due to some bad probelms ive been consumed by depression, which has sent my life a very negative way

i was only just diagnosed with it the other month by a pskologist, but i know its the same way ive been feelin for a while, been feeling really low at the mo...iregular sleep/eat, lack of energy etc

i had jus broken up with my gf of 3 years, something that ive wanted for a while but lack of self esteem post poned it

Neway yesterday i went to see her to get the last of my things from her, i hadnt slept the nyt b4, and jus kocked back a red bull fairly quickly because i almost feel asleep on the bus, when i got round, we got into a bit of an argument, i went to leave, but she managed to convince me to stay to set things str8 b4 i actualy did, so there was no hostility left between us.

we talked for a bit, but the conversation wasnt moving very quickly, so i put my head down on her bed, becuase i was rly quite tired....

then the scariest thing happned... i have no idea how long i was or if i was asleep at all...i suddenly felt short of breath for a minute, and then an ungency to go to the toilet, i ran there.. then i went to wash my hands and something jus sudenly came over, i felt really dizzy and confused, my hands were trembling, my body felt totaly uneased, and i was almost sure i was going to die... i dont remeber the most part of it..but my gf said, i came over to her and hugged her..and said "what is happening to me" and i kept saying "why" and that "i was going to die"....i paced about and sat on the bed and i jus felt like something was gonna hurt me rly badly.... its the scariest feeling, and i had lost total control of myself.. i dont know how but the feeling went away..and i burst into tears, i jus didnt kno wat happened to me, ive always been in control of my emotions, but this had taken over me.

i felt down the rest of the day, and almost cried on occasions for no reason, this was weird for me, coz i havnt cried in ages, despite wat ive been threw, ive always thot i was a strong person

i came home and looked it up on the internet, and discovered i had a panic attack aka anxiety attack, then i also learned that its common to get more after your 1st one.

now im afraid to go to sleep,

its jus that, im not a very anxious person, im not a worrier, ive never been that way all my life,ive heard of panic attacks but never thot it would happen to me, but i can tell you that you can never understand what its like until you go through it yourself

have any of you expierince panic attacks? maybe if you could talk threw your expierience, it will giv me peace of mind, i dont know what to expect...
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Write off! Honda NSR150 RR ('01) - Sold Cagiva Mito Evolution ('00) - Sold Honda NSR125 ('01) - Current Gasgas TXT 250 ('98) - Sold Kawasaki Z750 ('10) - Write off! Yamaha FZ1 ('09) - Current Ducati Streetfighter 848 ('14)

[msgander]

yep, been there!

The problem is you think you are dealing with everything ok and you are not worrying, but actually your subconcious is doing all the worrying for you and panic attacks etc are how your body deals with letting this stress out.....its odd, I thought I was fairly happy go lucky at the time I used to suffer from them, but digging a little deeper I had stuff I needed to deal with, it was kind of a vicious circle.

Best thing to do is go speak to your doctor, dont accept anti depressants as the easy answer, although they do work, they are shit to get off if you get the wrong one, people say non addictive etc, but its not that clear cut.

Go get some counselling or something similar to find out the root cause of this panic attack.

YOu mention that you were trying to get out of this relationship for some time, which may have been some of the panic....but its probably from way back, and you wont even KNOW what is caused it, your sub conscious mind will and thats the hard part.

Dont worry that they will happen every 5 minutes as they dont usually and it may NEVER happen again but you need to get to your doctor and get some good old fashioned counsellor (excuse spelling, I'm tired!) to talk things out with. Just talking to a professional will help.
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Always believe that your guardian angel flies a bit faster than you...............

[msgander]

You also mention that you are usually in "control" of your emotions......thats a good starting point.....maybe you are trying too hard to control them.............
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Always believe that your guardian angel flies a bit faster than you...............

[Marcg868]

Im on tablets for Anexity, i know people said its not the answer, i find it is, i have no more stupid thoughts of wether my gf is gonna run off with another person, no more dizzy spells etc. I jsut feel happy and mellowed out. I used to hate randomly walking round ASDA or somewhere and then feeling really dizzy and like i was in a dream world, before collapsing.

Just get to the doctors and see what he says. Also, if you smoke weed or anything like that, DONT, it made me even more worse and slightest things used to freak me out.
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[craigie b]

I split from my ex over two years ago. TBH it was the hardest thing I'd ever done because I cared for her deeply but the relationship was leaving me miserable and deeply unhappy.

On leaving I was traumatised for weeks if not months after and tbh I still get pangs of wanting to go back. Deep relationships really fuck with your head and your emotions. Fucking hell, the slightest thing would make me well up and I could burst into tears at any given moment.

I've been told ending a relationship is similar to having a death i the family. Its fucking stressful, especially if you really cared for that person. Christ I still well up on occassion and get deep seated feelings of regret to this day that feel like they permeate through my entire body.

If you've been feeling low then splitting up with you girlfriend isn't going to be easy and it will make any sensation of depression seem worse. Conversley staying in a unhappy relationship would, in the long run, truly knock you into depression.

Sometimes you have to endure more pain initially to get better, as the long term prospects of not living your life could be catastrophic once you get older.

TBH if you've been unhappy and feeling low and you've been having problems sleeping, it would not surprise me if sleep deprivation was the cause of the attack. The mind goes fecking doolally without rest. Mix that in with stimulants which are keeping your mind wide awake and a emotonal situation and it seems like a reasonable reaction.

Cry if you want to, its a good release. Maybe just not in front of other blokes, cos that looks gay but don't be ashamed of it because its just a bodily responce to an emotional stimulus. It will clear your head.

From what you've said, eating sporadically and not sleeping will effect your energy levels. Conversly if your not eating or sleeping then its highly unlikely your exercising so the whole cycle becomes self induced as you become more and more down. If your feeling down and then you stop eating regulary you are in fact making yourself worse.

One thing I once read was regarding modern day depression and how easy our doctors are to diagnose it to anyone displaying symptons of basic unhappiness. You need to ask yourself 'am I really depressed, or am I just unhappy at my life at the minute and the shite hand life has dealt me?'.

If you can answer, honestly, that its unhappiness then you can cure yourself. Start eating regular meals, start exercising so when you get to bed you are PYHSICALLY and mentally exhausted. With that sorted you'll be to sleepy to not sleep, thus correct your sleeping problems.

Accepting a diagnosis of depression in many case (in my opinion) is merely people choosing to be a victim instead of dealing with the problem at hand. Don't get me wrong, I realise that depression exists but if you step outside and look around you, you will appreciate that in this country we have a lot more going for it that say, the population of africa. Every day is not a fight for survival and as such we are very lucky to be here.

Speaking to a councillor would not be a bad idea, as opening up is a good thing. I would steer clear of anti depressants as they are merely a mask for the real cause of unhappiness. They will not cure the problem, only mask it over.

I personally take great pleasure in small things, like watching my cat go out playing, or watching ma house mates dog chase after the post man. I believe that quality of life is the most important thing and that quality of life is a measure of health and friends. In theory if the little things keep you chuffed then the big things really aren't that important

I hope this helps

[WavyGravy]

I had one about the time I was splitting up with ex, I ran out in the garden at 10 o'clock at night and wondered why i'd done it, other symptoms included tingling/numbness in my hands, shortness of breath and a feeling I was about to get a heart attack.

I really couldnt understand why I had one as it was the day before me and g'f were to fly out to Jamaica for a holiday so everything should have been wonderful!

It turned out that the anti-malaria tablets I had been taking contained Larium and these apparantly can have a bad effect on someone already under stress.

Didnt discover this till years later, and I think its still not proved, but the Larium wasnt the cause, the cause was the stress of living with someone I didnt want to.
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1975 CB125s, 1991 GN250, 1990 Ducati Paso 906
"Don't wake him up - He's got insomnia - He's trying to sleep it off"

[craigie b]

BTW I had a panic attack whilst shopping in Iceland about 5 years ago. But I'd spent the prior three weeks pilled out of my brains every day and night so I wasn't all that surprised once I reflected on the situation.

[fire]

thanx guys... i think the attack was due to lack of sleep and the high caffience content in that red bull. also already feelin depressed and enduring more stress, was all just a recipe for disaster

you are right, its coz i keep convincing myself im arite, i never get to take a step back and look at problems.

i was lookin for a full time job, but i think my lack of motivation doesnt really help me there.

so tomorow, im going down to sign up for the gym, which is porbly gonna wipe out all my part time jobs fort nightly paycheck, but it shud be a good investment

will giv me a reason to wake up in the mornings, and hopefully my body will need to provide more engery for that, hence eating more food, and il be exhuasted at nights

once ive sorted myself out, i can go on to lookin more thoroughly for a job that i want, i guess ive been puttin this all off for a while now.

craigie is right, depression is only a state of mind that you can only let urself get into if you let it.
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Write off! Honda NSR150 RR ('01) - Sold Cagiva Mito Evolution ('00) - Sold Honda NSR125 ('01) - Current Gasgas TXT 250 ('98) - Sold Kawasaki Z750 ('10) - Write off! Yamaha FZ1 ('09) - Current Ducati Streetfighter 848 ('14)

[WavyGravy]

soory I didnt give you any help in my post, i'm not really qualified to do so but I can only tell you that its natural to be scared of it repeating, amongst the people I know that have a had them its unusual to happen twice. In my own case I did sometimes feel a bit panicky for sometime afterwards, but it wasnt anything like the inititial attack and was easilly controllable, just left me feeling very tired.
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1975 CB125s, 1991 GN250, 1990 Ducati Paso 906
"Don't wake him up - He's got insomnia - He's trying to sleep it off"

[craigie b]

Good man You'll be grand as long as you believe it

[BanditBitch]

[colin1]

Ive only had one once, but i agree wdnt wish it on my worst enemy. Its hard to explain how bad it is unless you have had one.

I agree with craigie b about the dangers of accepting the label depression and letting it become part of your identity and so u become a victim.

I also agree that the red bull helped bring it on.

I once did something very stupid and dangerous after consuming a lot of vodka and red bulls when i was feeling down.

Try to sort your life out so you enjoy it more. Also do a few fun things, to snap yourself out of it even if its just for a few minutes.

Id agree that exercise, diet and everything else will help.

For diet, id say its important to eat little and often to keep energy levels up. Try to have protein and carbohydrate at each meal.

I know some people who have got really fucked up on medication, so try to sort things out yourself without getting the doctor to prescribe you stuff.

If you do end up on them, treat them with respect and dont suddenly stop taking them.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[ZRX61]

Find a hooker & get yer pipes cleaned...

[Nb]

I feel the same after too many coffees. Stay away from the red bull.
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Cbr1100xx blackbird gone, mk4 golf gt tdi chav now
Colin1 wrote 'Im grateful for what i can get, which isnt all that much.'
Columbus travel insurance are crap!! Do not use!

[akaDAVE]

I've never had a panick attack but have been in states of depression on and off for years.
I found that the lack of sleep really does have a drastic effect on the anxiety side of it.
When you haven't slept properly you feel weak, confused and hopeless. It's harder to evaluate and rationalise things in your head and so the anxiety builds on itself.
Straight forward misery is almost easier to live with. That acheing feeling of anxiety feels like it does the damage.
Youve got the right idea, excercise and look after yourself as best you can to keep on top of things.
Put that one experience down to a lack of sleep and that dirty red-bull crap and avoid it from now on you'll be alright.
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GSXR600