Hello

Hello everyone,

I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for 6 months now.

My most frightening symptoms are the pschological ones.

I feel trapped inside my own mind and desperately want to 'jump out' of myself. This feeling makes me panic because I know I cant escape.

I feel in a dream most of the time and become very aware of my thoughts and actions to the point that I question everything I do and say to see if they feel normal.

If anyone else gets these feelings I would love to know as they really terrify me.

Jude

Hi jude,

my symptoms are mainly physical although the more i read and learn about panic attacks, the more i become aware of the psychological element - i realise i'm having really negative, sometimes far-fetched and often manic thoughts - i think i've probably always had them but haven't realised it until now.

have you tried distracting yourself from yourself? (if you know what i mean?) this is going to sound like the saddest thing ever, but since i started having panic attacks, i took up crochet (i know, i know, so sad). i don't know how to explain this but there's something about doing something with my hands that involves counting that forces me to stop thinking about anything other than what i'm doing. it really takes my mind off what's going on in my head and helps me forget about the panic attack

am not suggesting you take up crochet, am just saying that taking up a new hobby or really getting into an old one might help!

sorry for babbling on... take care

Hi Henri,
Not sad at all. I do cross stitch and jigsaw puzzles. Being absorbed in something does help. The problem being that my mind seems to switch back to panic the instant I stop or I am distracted from what Im doing.
I know they are all just symptoms, but cant help feeling scared of them.
I have been trying to convince myself that if I didnt feel scared of them, they would go away more quickly, but I can only do this when Im feeling Ok. As soon as the feelings return, the doubt comes back because Im not thinking rationally.

Maybe in time I will get used to these feelings and realise they are not going to hurt me.....I hope.

Jude

Hey Jude,

I can totally relate to what you're saying. What's really been freaking me out lately is that everything I do feels like a totally alien experience - even just drinking a cup of tea can seem extremely bizarre, and yes, it is terrifying. Sometimes it feels like my brain actually isn't in my head, which is very disconcerting to say the least, and I get moments where I really don't know quite what's going on for a few seconds, and it really feels like I'm losing my mind.

In another post on this forum, I think it's titled 'mild anxiety for me', I talk about derealisation/depersonalisation which is what it sounds like you're experiencing. Check it out! Believe it or not, but these very terrifying psychological sensations are actually protecting you from suffering anymore 'normal' anxiety.

Best wishes!

Henri, the realisation is encourageable! See how thought determines how you experience a situation! What you think to get, what you think you are seeing, what you think you are in for situation, will determine how you think about your reality. In fact, you determine how you percieve reality, and this is mainly done by FOCUS.

If you FOCUS on oh gosh this, oh gosh that, what if, but, what will, then that is mostly what you SEE and GET.

The difference is easy, if someone says "Let's go out!" then you respond "Hey, yes fun!", or "Uhm, ouch, uhm, rather not...". The choice is yours.

Hi Peter,
I hear what you are saying, but have you got any tips on how to achieve such focus? I've read so much about the psychology behind panic attacks and am starting cognitive behavioural therapy tomorrow. It all sounds quite easy to beat in theory but in practice it's a struggle. Controlling your brain isn't that easy! Have you got any good tips on how to improve focus?

I think you should seek diversion, which means diversion of concious activities and thoughts and by that also your subconcious will follow. Focus does not mean focusing on that what you do NOT want, because then you're still focused on the wrong thing.

It probably also does not mean also focusing on that what you DO want with the reason behind it to ESCAPE what you do NOT want, because then also you'll have focus on that what you do not want, though probably in a lesser degree.

You'd have to focus on just something entirely unrelated. When you distract your mind to something, it cannot occupy itself with the thing you distracted it from. So that's called diversion. There's many diversion techniques, you would have to find one that works for you.

Also for anxiety the Linden Method I think is a complete pack of things to counter anything related to anxiety.

I hope this helped.

Greetings, Peter.

Hey peter,
thanks for the advice. i'll do my best! went to a yoga class today and for some reason it brought on some of my panic anxiety symptoms - when the class was over i started feeling really light-headed and dizzy and obviously since then i've started worrying about those feelings… you know where i'm going with this one!
will definitely try and find a diversion technique or two.
thanks again for writing back.

Worrying about the sympthoms is perpetuating the cycle, meaning, you focus on the effects of anxiety, worrying even more if it's something serious and constantly analysing your sensations. This gives your anxiety more attention than a popstar during a concert.
Not saying you're doing it wrong, just giving you an idea of what you might be doing if you are paying attention to them.

Greetings, Peter.

It is so great to have found this web site that enables me to realise that i am not alone and that i am not crazy! I am nearly 22 and i have suffered from panic attacks for about 3 and a 1/2 half years! i am currently on medication, but wanting to come off it. but the thought scares me a little! does anyone have any suggestions for me to help coming off the medication?

there are many things you can do but you must really really want to help yourself. PM me if you need to chat!