Feeling AWFUL symptoms after anxiety attacks? So lost on what to do...

can I reassure you my love, the horror stories or negative reviews always stick in your mind. I have been on and off citalopram (an anti depressant) and I have been lucky they have helped me the only time I had a problem is when i used to take my self off them. yes there is side effects for the first couple of weeks an initially they may you feel worse this is because the anti depressants are helping to renew and make new serotonin cells in our brain this our the cells that make us feel good. after a couple of weeks, you will notice a difference. I was years ago put on sertraline but they didnt agree with me and now I have been back on citalopram for almost a year and i have been told that they will look at reducing it in the summer (im only on 20mg) but they work for me and I had also gone through CBT therapy. there is of course, natural therapies from the health shops bachs rescue remedies are excellent when you are particularly anxious. yes its better and helps by eating the right foods cutting out coffee but i cant see what harm taking supplements do to boost your body. have you considered relaxation techniques? it will take a while but is natural  and costs nothing I have a cd with binaural waves which is excellent   but what works for one may not suit another there are other meditation cds on the market also long walks focus whats around you and distract your mind. hope this has been of some help to you

Hi

Unfortunatley all your symptoms are part and parcel of the mean anxiety symptoms.

And it is hard to accept that these symptoms are due to anxiety which then puts your body in high alert with every sensation , twinge, feeling you get. 

I should imagine every anxiety suffer can relate to this.. especially when you think one symptom has gone another appwars.

Thée are lots of ways to do self help to enable you to cope better until you can get rid completely.

A few tips i did was morning and evening guided meditation . off you tube.

Night sleep one to aid a eaceful drift off to sleep and a positive morning one to start my day. Also progressive muscle relaxation training can help with the physical symptoms of stress and calms your mind too. Rememeber Anxiety can not harm you ... but the symptoms can make you feel rubbish so telling your self when your dizzy and panicking then distracting your self really helps.

You have nothing to lose by doing all the coping tools but a lot of peace to gain if they work for you xx

Good Luck .

A little tip i also use i repeat to myself i am strong , I am calm , I can do this xx

I have severe OCD which was just getting worse with age. I am currently on 200mg of Zoloft and it has worked wonders for me, however I was on Prozac for a few months before starting Zoloft and that was a different story. It made me intensely spaztic and basically ADHD. I then switched from that to Zoloft and I am finally able to get through a day without having panic attacks and having a racing heart and restless nights. I was very adversed to medications but doctors start you off at such a low dose that you can see how it affects you and then you switch if it doesn't work for you. I think you need to weigh your options and based on what I read, medications would really benefit you and help your life move on a whole lot easier.

ImAnon, hello again

As I said to you before, I have everything that you list. In fact, your post could have been written by me if I didn't know better! I cannot really offer you much advice other than to keep going. Some symptoms really unsettle me, like the brain zaps and dizzyness... But once you accept them for what they are.. They lose their power and become far more managable.

The derealisation is an odd one. I find it happens a lot to me when I am among other people and most especially when they are talking to me. I think it is an odd form of social anxiety.

I start thinking about feeling derealisation, then I do, then I question if I am really there at that point (though I know I am) and I feel terribly panicky.

The trick is as always to remain calm and to know it will pass.

It sounds so stupidly obvious, but this works for me.

I litrerally have all symptoms you've described and They started identically to how yours did I havnt been able to find any answers and I'm about 8 months in I have a neuro appt on feb 27(the soonest they had) then hopefully an MRI after. At about 6-7 months in I noticed my pupil changed sizes and had that looked at by an eye specialist who wasn't concerned hopefully we can get answers soon I'm tired of feel this way, good luck

I have experienced ALL of these symptoms when dealing with my anxiety. I have tried a couple of different pharmaceutical interventions. Was on citalopram for a while, but it didn't really do much for me. Honestly the things that I found worked the best are cognitive behavioural therapy, and creating my own distractions. I was having daily panic attacks, and also experiencing those post-attack symptoms that you're talking about. Like an anxiety hangover. An anxiety attack is a pretty traumatic thing for your body and mind, so it's really no surprise that it leaves you feeling so horrible after. The key is to not shoot and dwell on how bad you feel. I started with just dropping and doing some push-ups when I would start feeling my anxiety coming on. That helped. Now I get out and go for a run. It's a really hard fight to get your mind to let you do that when it's in panic mode, but once you start it's a great distraction. Also it helps to train your brain that there's nothing to worry about. A panic attack makes you feel that there's something horribly wrong with you. Going for a run basically said to your body and mind "see, there's nothing wrong with me. If there was, I wouldn't be able to do this." The more times you're able to show your mind that you're OK, the less your anxiety will affect you. It's worked wonders for me

I am sorry you have gone throu all this.

I call anxiety the most exspensive and costly disorder because no matter what any one told us we go do test again and again and we hope to find an illness to be relaxed. And that what makes us really hopeless, as we become really tired and desperate to find an answer for our symptoms and we wish to fine a problem in our body then all the answers from doctors came ( you are normal ). Then we lose the trust in our doctors and we go to another then to another hospital and so on. Then we will have more symptoms as depression will come along and we will have another problem ...etc

You say my friend that what i have gone throu before and as a reasult become agoraphobic.

Seek a mental health and dont do xanax , as antidepressants work for us. I did that and i rocovered but of course i relapsed again because i thought i am good without the doctors but now i took the meds again and this time i will follow what he say.

Take it easy man , it is anxiety what yiu are feeling.