Over the weekend I have been having a lot more anxiety than usual, I also had my first anxiety attack ever on Friday night. This kinda just came out of nowhere, going to see the doctor today.

It seems as if the anxiety is starting to subside, but has anyone ever had something like this? It kinda made me sick to my stomach. I am starting at a new university in a couple of weeks and hope I am 100% because I'm sure I'll need to be to get good grades.

Passing anxiety? Anyone ever deal with it? I hope it isn't here to stay..

 

I have generalized anxiety. When I first figured out that what was going on was anxiety I was a bit surprised. I never thought of myself as someone who could have it. It was pretty severe at first, though. Daily I would have heart palpitations, I wasn't sleeping well if at all, racing thoughts, etc.

Your Dr. should be able to help. If you go with medication there are two different ways to treat it, depending on how frequently it affects you. An "anti-anxiety" med treats ocassional bouts of anxiety. If you're troubled with anxiety more days of the week than not, most likely they'll put you on an anti-depressant.

I hope you find the help you're looking for. Anxiety attacks SUCK!!!

 

Just be careful about your doc's diagnosis. You'd be surprised how many other things trigger anxiety. Make sure they check your thyroid and your adrenal glands

 

I used to have anxiety attacks, but it was PURELY self created. After a rather serious attack, I took a deep introspective to determine what was REALLY bothering me.

In all honesty, it may just be this. Don't ever doubt what you may be hiding from yourself, I mean this with the utmost sincerity.

GL with the doc, let us know how you make out.

 

I usually don't share this but I'd like to give my insight...

When I was younger aka a little kid I never minded and even kinda liked be the center of attention. Then when I was about 14 something just snapped and I got real nervous and anxious in front of big groups of people or when I got called on in class.. and of course public speaking, which I still hate (but then again a large percentage of the population hates public speaking so that is normal).

Since this is when I was younger and school came easy to me, it wasn't pressure from school related, it was just something inside me, I still don't what, that made me anxious. I tried going to a psychologist (biggest waste of time ever) and my doc gave me several drugs to try such as zoloft and paxil. Neither helped and zoloft caused insomnia for me.

I stopped taking the drugs and it naturally eased up and I was fine through college until I got to my last year and I had to do that 'job search' thing. It was a stressful time for me and got really anxious when I had all those interviews when companies came to our campus to interview us. I know people can definitely get nervous in interviews but I would be sweating balls and it felt like it was hurting my professional image to the interviewers and so my doc gave me xanax which helped A LOT. Definitely calmed me down and I felt relaxed and professional.. and I got a good job.

Now, I'm fine again.


I would think you will be fine, but IF you need something to calm you down, maybe your doc can let you try a small dosage of xanax. I'm positive it will help you and take away whatever anxiety you may come across.

And I also do believe anxiety is all in the mind. The problem is, how the fuck do we control it? Easier said than done...

 

Thanks guys, I have an appointment on Tuesday with a new doctor, my last one didn't help at all.

I will be asking about thyroid/adrenal problems. There isn't really much in my life that could be causing anxiety right now. The only thing I have coming up is starting a new university on the 29th. I guess that could cause some of it but I am more excited for that than anxious.

The feelings come and go, slightly racing heart beat, that feeling in the pit of my stomach, a sense of gloom also. Now I'm fine, yesterday I was bothered, it really does come and go.

edit: thanks for the insight imj, I am inclined not to take any meds unless I really have to, the anxiety itself doesn't bother me so much, but the mystery behind why its happening does get to me. Anxiety of not knowing why you have anxiety causing anxiety? Maybe.

 

Good luck with your appointment on Tuesday. I hope you'll keep us posted.
I completely agree with all of the posts above. Anxiety is different for everyone and can be triggered by so many different factors. For one person it can be that they're overwhelmed with their busy life and for another person is can be anxiety caused by not being busy enough. I see a therapist about once every two months to keep me on track, but I used to go bi-weekly. It's so insightful to talk openly to someone who has no previous insight and no judgement.
Personally, my anxiety started at a time when I was on cloud 9 (really, I thought my life was perfect) and I was suddenly delivered a huge blow by someone I loved. It took me over a year to connect the dots that I was anxious and insecure about the future. If something so awful could happen when I thought things were PERFECT...then perfect wasn't good enough and I stressed myself to death trying to situate my life in a "better than perfect" place. Kinda sick - I know.

ANYWAY - keep us posted.

 

Klonopin FTW!

 

Thanks! I will definitely keep this thread updated.

I guess my anxiety could also be about an insecure future.. Going to a new school, etc. But presently I am not at all anxious about starting school in a week. I haven't done much this summer so I'm ready to start school. But who knows, maybe its that, maybe its something else.

 

Personally I think anxiety is a bunch of bullshit, its a way for someone w/ a bunch of responsibilities to pussy out of something.

I spent 4 years over seas, 4 months of it in somalia, 2 years in afghanistan....

I'd hate to see people with there "anxiety attacks" handle a true stressful situation, ie, bullets coming at your ass from all directions.


NO MAN SHOULD EVER SAY "IM HAVING AN ANXIETY ATTACK" really gtfo.

 

Definitely all in the mind. My anxiety has been getting worse recently. For some strange reason I concentrate on my breathing and think I'm breathing at the wrong time and fucks up my rhythm. Weird I know. My doctor did offer me meds to calm me down but I hate pills and anything that alters the body/mind to think other than what it should. If it ever gets really bad I'm sure I'll try the meds. I just take a step back and take a deep breath and think positive thoughts. I'm a firm believer that positive thought can heal a lot of problems. Like IMJ said, how the fuck do we control it? God I wish I knew.

 

Thanks for your service asshole.

 

I have a lot of respect for our service men and women, being that I'm married to one. But I lose all respect when they become arrogant assholes who play the "you could never do what I do" bullshit card. My husband has spent his fair share of time in the sand box and years away from his family and would never say something so demeaning and completely uninsightful. You should really be ashamed.

FiftyFive - I hope you pay absolutely no attention this disrespectful "soldier". What a shame.

 

IMO, that's the best attitude to start with. Everyone makes their own decisions, but I wouldn't be inclined to suggest to *anyone* to start drugs after an issue that's arised just once or twice total, and especially one that is brand new. There are so many other (medical and mental) investigations and techniques you can look into with a professional that can help rule things out or help you cope in other ways. Looking for drugs this early on, IMO, won't help you in the long-term since in the end, what you need most of all is coping strategies and insight. Medication for if it gets out of hand...but 1-2 episodes doesn't sound detrimental. If you're more into understanding what the cause may be, ask your doc for a referral to speak with a professional and forget the meds.

 

I myself have been in many stressful, dramatic situations, maybe not to the caliber of dodging bullets but I also have never had an issue. Anxiety is not me working myself up about something I can't explain but instead a strange feeling of something that I don't manifest in my own mind.

The feeling doesn't come from worrying but instead out of nothing at all. I never thought I would have anxiety, etc and also thought it was bs until this past week. I am feeling things I can't explain and the reason behind these feelings is a mystery.

I'm sorry that you can't relate and I understand because I used to think the same way about anxiety and stress, but now I understand what people go though and can respect it, maybe one day you will be able to as well.

 

I am really hoping this unexplained feeling in the pit of my stomach will just go away. I feel pretty good today and maybe it was just a passing feeling .

I am still going to the doctor on Tuesday to discuss this and another minor issue, but so far so good today

 

You're welcome. I love you all

 

I understand the feeling of being "uneasy" as in your body or your mind can't rest. I however dont understand not being able to cope with it. Lifes to short to dwell on those kind of things. And it seems like anxiety is the new "ADHD" being its an excuse...

 

Anyone ever watch the Sopranos?

 

What about those whining pussies who come back from wars with post traumatic stress disorder. Get the fuck over it, you're not in the field anymore. Stop waking up in the middle of the night screaming cause you hear bombs and bullets.

Same thing as anxiety. You can't knock someone for what's going on inside their body. He may not have "anxiety" at all. Symptoms of anxiety are associated with many other things, i.e. what I said above about the thyroid and adrenal glands. Just because some of us didn't serve in a war doesn't give you the right to say anything about that person.

 

combat mediC in action:

 

Thanks for your service, but you're a fucking moron and probably a good example for proponents of eugenics. Educate yourself.. "really gtfo."


To the OP: I'm glad you're reserving medication as a last resort. Benzos are physically addictive and a fucked up drug in my opinion. Yes, they work, but it's because you're zonked out and probably forget whatever it is that's bothering you.

Have you thought about meditation? I know it's not appealing to many people, but it's an invaluable tool to explore yourself and bring calm into your life.

 

I was diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder back in February. Since then I have been diagnosed with major depression (in June), and then finally in July they started treating me for bi-polar disorder. It took a while to start feeling better about things but once I did the meds my doctors had put me on made the world of difference. Everything will get better with a little time and working with your doctor to determine what is your best course of action.

 

I was fine from about Monday until today. Had a little anxiety episode, finally thought I was feeling better, sucks. My girlfriend is also getting pissed at me about this, she couldn't even talk to me!

 

That's romantic. Here you are going through some sort of turmoil and she's upset by a shift in her expectations. Damn you!

I have self-diagnosed generalized anxiety just from understanding that I'm a fleshy, soft, mortal human being who's going to die one day (maybe tomorrow?). Which is why I like to smoke weed some times. It helps me look beyond my ego and put things into perspective. I think some anxiety is healthy. Who do you think you are if you're not anxious about the fact that you could have cancer, get hit by a car, blown up, or otherwise killed or hurt? What if you just lose touch with reality and start to walk around with your pants on backwards? What if X, Y, and Z? Etc.

 

You're an idiot. I could have panic attacks when sitting in a quiet room not thinking about anything. I also trained mma back before it was popular with some of the best in the world and had a few fights along with plenty street fights and never did this cause any sort of attack. Let's add in racing some pretty serious cars my whole life and climbing 1,500' towers at work for 4 years and no attacks. If I was going into a high stress situation there was no chance of a panic attack, it was when everything had settled down and was going well that I had them. This isn't meant to be a pissing contest, fighting might not be the same as dodging bullets but you're still in the fight or flight mode regardless not always knowing if you're going to make it out so stress levels are high.

I've had it since about the age of 17. It was exactly as the OP describes, gloom and doom, heart palpitations, dizziness, weakness, can't even go out of the house sometime.

It's a very real thing, completely different from being nervous. I was taken to the ER the first time because I thought I was having a heart attack. Exercise helps a lot but in my case not enough. Sleep was especially terrible. I would wake up with chest pains or just couldn't sleep at all. I've been on Klonopin for my entire adult life. They tried all kinds of meds like xanax, anti-depressants,etc, I hated them because they changed me. Xanax made me feel drugged out. Prozac made me emotionless. Only klonopin had no effects. I had less anxiety, good sleep and woke up fresh and ready to go the next morning. It had no side effects and I could not tell I had taken a "drug" or feel any different than normal except the panic was gone. I'm currently on it, 1mg twice a day. I take .5mg once a day at night. I've almost lost my prescription because I'll call it in a month late since I use so little.

Thinking back on it, I might have been prone to this my whole life. As a kid I can remember laying down and not being able to sleep for hours, sometimes not at all. I think it just got worse as I got older.

 

Sorry to hear that. After dating someone that was bi-polar, the best advice I can give is to stay on the meds no matter how good you feel. She would always start to feel good and get off and then it was back to square one.

 

I've started having quick panic attacks and anxiety recently (last year or two)

I've noticed that it is tied into my Caffeine intake and have learned to control it.

I'd see how much caffeine (if any) you intake on a daily basis and if there is any correlation to it.

Doc love to medicate right away, but it could be a simple fix.

its called Caffeine induced Anxiety

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=50820

 

caffeine could sometimes have an effect.

i was always a worrier in my 20s and had a slight attack while taking a practice GMAT test. didnt know what it was at the time. then randomly, a few months later, as i was waiting to hear back from schools, i had what i thought was a heart attack. i literally went into convulsions, was on the verge of fainting, and my body/chest felt like it was trying to jump out of its own skin. i called an ambulance and had my family meet me at the hospital (really thought i was having a heart attack). it turned out to be a severe anxiety attack. i didnt even know what anxiety really was at the time.

if you were to ask me what the worst day of my life was, it would probably be that day. because i did not know that my body could go into such a state of emergency all by itself. and now from here forward, it is something that i know exists. it is really hard to explain to someone that has never had an anxiety attack. once you have your first attack, its like carrying around a bomb on your back for the rest of your life that could go off at any time. (thats my best explanation, although i try not to think of it that way)

i havent had a major attack since. i was prescribed anti-depressants, but HATED them. couldnt sleep, and felt like a zombie.

now, the anxiety just comes occasionally, but nothing severe. i keep some leftover pills in my wallet just in case. that sense of comfort usually does the trick. ive found that the biggest culprit (for me) is the day after a night of binge drinking. i think its a mix of an overload of "depressants" with a fatigued body. so i try to avoid those crazy weekend nights.

the best way to fight anxiety is to carry a level of certainty in the things that you do. insecurities and fear mixed with stress are general causes.

 

^^ after re-reading that, i am sorry to be so dramatic on this thread. its not a great story to share with those questioning if they suffer from anxiety.

like i said, i have not had any major attacks since. you will eventually be able to find your own way to deal with your mental stress. if anything, once you learn how to avoid it, you will find yourself to be a much more sure-footed, confident person in life.

 

Better living through pharmaceuticals... Klonopin twice a day should do the trick.

 

Medication is not the answer for everyone

 

Did you have a full physical exam with blood tests? It sounds like you could have hyperthyroid symptoms, but that should not be a difficult diagnosis with an endocrinologist.

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism (under-active) and am now on armour (natural) vs synthroid.

 

I am actually feeling a lot better. I had blood test done and they were all normal. I think the culprit was a pre work out supplement that I was using that was interfering with my dopamine levels. Stopped the supplement and have felt better since.

Now I just have stomach issues which are a whole different can of worms.