hi summer, i logged in today to start a thread about almost the exact same thing.

 

i think the key in our road(s) to recovery is to look at progress over a period of time. 8 weeks ago i was in hospital, unable to make eye contact with my parents, today im back at work. today i feel really anxious  but was able to breathe it out but 5 weeks ago that would have led straight to a panic attack and most likely me rolling around on the floor looking like a fool. today i suffered from depersonalisation but was able to self talk my way through it, 3 weeks ago i would be at emergency declaring that i have gone insane.

 

what im trying to say is, that we are all going to suffer from setbacks, no matter what. you have to accept it, learn from it and move on and over time you will see a difference. for example you drove 35 mins each way successfully, could you have done that a few weeks ago?

 

We are all here for you,

 

Sunny II

hey sirius

 

good luck with the surgery! im going to meditate and visualize positive energy finding you (where ever you may be )

Sunny II

hey sirius, i am sorry for your loss. my thoughts are with you

 

Sunny II

having anxiety and panic attacks is a relatively new thing for me, about 12 weeks./ I have been coping well, doing my CBT and getting my life back on track but this week i have the flu. this is the first time i have become ill whilst coping with anxiety. it is horrible. constant tightness in my chest, my lungs hurt and i have a blistering headache. i dont fancy taking any cold and flu medication as it was Contact C that triggered all my anxiety and panic.

 i cannot distinguish between the physical symptoms of the flu or the anxiety. its hard to do the 10 questions as in my mind the pain will not dissipate because it is due to the flu but then my mind works overtime and i start catastrophizing the whole situation and up in a near panic state. what do you do when you get sick? what can you do?

hey debi any update on this?

 

Sunny II

update:

 

thanks Sunny for the tips, the box breathing is great. i find that i constantly box breathe now, without even thinking about it. 

i have removed a majority of my safe behaviours, with the eception of the multiple baths a day, it relaxes me so much, its almost like my reward for getting through the day or it prepares me for the day. i find that carrying objects around with me caused more panic, if i feel the bottle of pills or my rock it would remind me why i have them...the panic. without them around i tend to forget about my panic. when i do have bouts i rely on box breathing and self talk.

 

working at the moment! 

 

Sunny II

i feel like i have made some real progress since i joined this website, thank you all for contributing to this feeling of mental........don't really know what adjective to use here......peace......i think i have found have a little piece of peace.

the last few months have been hectic, i was in the hospital for two weeks, my personal record was 11 panic attacks in one day, i was taking 6mg of ativan a day, suffering from depersonalisation every day, lost all my friends, alienated my family, lost all sense of worth, erased my beliefs, value, ethics, lost my identity and was pretty close to being dead....
 
this was definetly a wake up call; today i meditate, i treat myself and others with unconditional love, i display my emotions instead of bottling them up, i have my friends back, im closer with my family, i havent had any panic attack for weeks, and no anxiety for at least 7 days. im still sick with the flu and today my whole head is congested, 2 months ago this would have resulted in a panic attack, today i can clearly think and know that it is a minor annoyance but will be cleared up in a few days...this is why i feel at peace today.
 
i now have a tremendous respect for the human brain, treat your brain good and your brain will treat you good!!
 
this website has contributed so much in terms of laying out a plan, and the fellow members have provided so much support just by being here and by being a group of people that i can relate, the forums are the first place i would turn to when i felt anxious. with the help of this website, my other CBT group and my support network that i setupas soon as i could, a little bit of education and support goes a long way. meditation and yoga were also key to my recovery to date.
 
there is still a long road ahead, im down to 10mg of paxil aday, that was cut down last week and i still rely on sleeping pills to get me to sleep...so i still have goals to remove the medication completely.
 
i have had several major setback but feel i dealt with them well. i feel strong again, happy, SELF-RELIANT and above all confident. i am back at work full time, i have all my friends back, i have removed negative influences from my life and i even had a hot date for valentines!
 
once again thank you all for letting me VENT! i will still be here, contributing, still working the path  but if anyone has any questions about my journey please ask me, i feel i have learnt alot and really want to give back to the community.
 
Sunny II

Hi Diane welcome to the site, it really does work! it does take time and alot of will power and a lot of effort  but anything is possible!! Good luck and be sure to post a lot, there are a lot of regulars here who have bags of experience ready to answer any question and give undying support.

 

Thank you Davit and Red, i really have come a long way. but just to remind im not 'cured' yet, my body gave me some heart flutters to deal with because i was getting cocky lol, no panic and no anxiety just annoyance and went about my normal day.

 

hi steven, my name is sunny, i am 26 years old, perfectly healthy adult male, with perfect ecg results, all clear on 35 different blood test, for a ex-smoker i have an exceptionally healthy heart, awesome lungs and everything is perfect.....except i also have anxiety and panic attacks....what is going on??? in november i was in emergency about 8 times, finally the emergency doctors had enough (we were on first name basis at this point) and sent me away to do some CBT.

 

i have been here a few weeks and a lot of the members will atest to my progress as i have gone through the course, in the past 8 weekss i have gone through extreme panic to the point of suicide and now i am doing ok, back at work kicking butt at work and life is almost back to normal. i still have a bit of anxiety....i can i feel it in my chest....but i have learnt techniques to get through it and hopefully overcome it completely. i havent had a panic attack in weeks.

 

 the point im trying to make is that you ARE perfectly healthy!! anxiety and panic is a very natural and useful thing that our body, our species, has relied on to survive. some people (me, you and others) sometimes cannot control when this 'fight or flight' reaction occurs and CBT is used to help us get control this part of our body and mind.

 

the most important thing for you to remember is that, no one in has ever died of panic attacks, though they may feel uncomfortable and you already know this....you are a perfectly healthy 19 year old. who has made a wise decision in seeking help so early on. i can conquer this, you can conquer this. i personally have treated this whole thing as a life lesson, i am now a much calmer person and i breathe properly, take care of my body and mind and am much happier than i was a year ago.

 

 first thing you should do i section 1 asap, you will learn some key concepts and where anxiety comes from, second i recommend the relaxation techniques and box breathing. very important. and lastly just know that this is a group of amazing people who will offer advise, tips, their stories and generally be a shoulder for you. you are not alone, post often and let us know if you have any questions, i mainly use the forums to vent, read other people stories good and bad as recovery is generaly a cycle and u will experience ups and downs but the general trend will always be up.

Take care of yourself and do everything with love, 

Sunny II

end of rant ;-)