anxiety/panic attacks!!!

Hi Nadene, I'm a 53 yr old man, and have only now been diagnosed with severe depression following a relationship breakdown, I get awful panic attacks when I'm out, there's a huge age difference between us so what I'm saying may not be relavant to you, and I'm certainly no expert, but I've been prescribed Citalopram which does help, but it's up and down, yesterday I was up, but today I'm really down, I'm not aware that my face burns up, but I shake and want to get home if I'm out, don't know if any of that is of help, but it's nice to know others are suffering and you're not alone, take care x

Hi Nadene. I'm really sorry to hear about your daily anxiety and panic attacks, that must be really challenging for you. 

It sounds like your sympathetic nervous system (stress response) has been activated so many times over the years that it's become an ingrained habit. So you are always primed for danger as a result of your experiences as a child (your subconscious doesn't know that the danger has passed). The good news is that you can get the anxiety and panic attacks under control. Have you tried meditation exercises or self-hypnosis by the way? By doing these regularly you activate the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation response), which balances out the stress response that you often get. It also send a message to the subconscious that you are no longer in any danger. It may be difficult at first if you are not used to slowing down your thoughts, but if you persevere it will get easier. The feel-good effects will also last longer and longer and eventually take over as the default mode. Basically you can't feel deeply relaxed and anxious/panicky at the same time.

By the way, I think you're right to avoid looking it up on Google because that tends to make people more anxious!

I hope this helps, take care of yourself.

Tim.

You are a young woman with your whole life ahead of you. Go to the library or search the internet for meditation and yoga techniques or better still, join a yoga or meditation group who will teach you how to centre your mind and calm it down.

You need to take control of yourself, no one else will do it for you and your need to look after yourself, because you are the only one that can do this for yourself.

Be kind to yourself and learn from the books or the information that you read on how to calm your mind, by focussing on your breathe. Learning to deep breathe will make you feel so much better and your body will learn to relax and take comfort in the way you feel.

Join a local yoga or meditation group and learn how to calm your body down. This is the way to take control of your symptoms and make you feel better. Otherwise you are going round and round in circles.

Hi Nadine,

I have not experienced my face burning up but I have had my face going all tingly and then numb, I couldn't move my jaw, it was terrifying to say the least. I believe what you are experiencing is to do with hyperventilation and too much C02 leaving your body, this can cause the calcium levels in your blood system to drop rapidly.

It is a very common side affect of panic attacks, my hands tend to close up and I'm unable to move them also.

It's taken me a long time to accept that these scary symptoms are caused by anxiety, but since accepting it I have not had a panic attack (last one was on New Years eve) I still get anxious but the CBT has been amazing for me and it has taught me to accept that all my bad thoughts are just passing.

You seem really positive and accepting of your anxiety which is a great way to be, I actually laugh about mine at times. I do a lot of extreme sports where I'm constantly putting my self in danger and I'm complete fine, if I'm sat at home minding my own business and I feel the slightest twinge, pain or spasm I fear the worse, it's bonkers 😁

I hope your feeling better soon

I also agree with Tim, meditation really does work. There is great meditation practice called "Mindfulness", you can download a free app to get you started

Hi Nadene. I also started at a young age due to childhood abuse. I am now 55. I am not saying you will have anxiety all of your life. I have had many years free of anxiety. A traumatic event will put me right back into it. I have had the red, burning face. I was working a temp job, and felt like it was burning off. I went to one of the other workers and asked if I looked okay, because I did not feel okay. She said I was red as a tomato, which scared me even more. I was taken straight to the doctor to get blood pressure checked. It was fine. He said it was the anxiety. New things pop up all the time. To fead the fear monster inside of us LOL. You have been given some good advise by others here. Try to use as much of it as you can. Which is why I am in this group. So I do not feel so alone in this, and to get some good advise that has worked for others. And sometimes it is just nice to talk to others. Anytime!! Hang in there