Anxiety / Panic

[944fan]

I seem over the years to have a developed strong anxiety reaction to things and have boughts of just feeling worried for no reason.

I just have a butterflies feeling in my tummy all the time. When it gets really bad, my legs feel heavy, my palms sweat, hands shake, and breathing gets rapid. It also clouds my mind and I can't concentrate and that often makes it much worse because I can't focus to deal with the problem that caused the worry.

Strange thing is I can usually rationalise my thoughts about the problem and deal with it mentally but I can't control my body.

Couple of recent examples. I work in IT as a manager and am responsible for systems and project delivery. One of our systems has a melt down because of a fault introduced by me and my team. It pays out some money to the wrong people, about £5K. Some of it cannot then be recovered, but a lot can. Total damage is a few pissed of people and a couple of grand. Obviously not good but no one has died and the money is a tiny amount in compassion. My reaction when I discovered it was almost full on panic attack. Was still worrying about it weeks later after it was resolved.

Another, project got delayed, client was pissed. I took it over and did the work myself. It was nothing complex and something I had done thousands of times over 15 years I have been doing it. But again completely crippled by an over reaction worrying about it, creates a vicious circle where I can't focus and get the job done which leads to more worry that it wont get done. Again the worse case scenario here is the client (who we are unlikely to get much, if any repeat business from) will be pissed off. We might be in breach of contract and have to discount the rate by a thousand or so.

I spoke to my GP about it a few years ago when it was really bad and they were useless.

It had been better in the last few years and I live a lot healthier now (don't drink or smoke, lost weight, eat good, exercise regularly). Certainly since stopping drinking it had got better, but recently it is back with avengeance.

Any one got some suggestions on what to do or who to see about learning to deal with this? Don't mind pay for private counselling but have no idea what to go for

[Hoofy]

What do you do for stress relief? Do you exercise regularly? Have you considered something more esoteric such as yoga or tai chi? Alternatively, if you want something that directly deals with things, you could try EFT - you'll have to seek out a local therapist.

[944fan]

Hoofy said:

What do you do for stress relief? Do you exercise regularly? Have you considered something more esoteric such as yoga or tai chi? Alternatively, if you want something that directly deals with things, you could try EFT - you'll have to seek out a local therapist.

Do loads of exercise, run, swim, cycle, lift weights. Certainly helps when I am doing exercising but returns as soon as I have finished.

Will take a look at EFT thanks.

[Hoofy]

944fan said:

Do loads of exercise, run, swim, cycle, lift weights. Certainly helps when I am doing exercising but returns as soon as I have finished.

I thought you did. Yeah, I always thought similar. You could also try a more chilled out class as I suggested.

Personally, though, I would use EFT every time for this kind of thing.

[98elise]

Do you have access to a company doctor.

After years of back trouble I went to see my GP, he gave me a pamplet.

A few months later it was really bad at work and a workmate told me that we have a company Dr that came into the office every few weeks. It happened to be that day. Within the hour I'd had a proper diagnosis, and had been refered for Physio. It took about 6 months of Physio, and the right exercise to get my back into a reasonable state.

[jonah35]

It will hit after stopping drinking.

Have you been a big drinker?

No doctors are aware of paws:

http://whatmesober.com/personal-writing-about-addi...

[APOLO1]

944fan said:

I seem over the years to have a developed strong anxiety reaction to things and have boughts of just feeling worried for no reason.

I just have a butterflies feeling in my tummy all the time. When it gets really bad, my legs feel heavy, my palms sweat, hands shake, and breathing gets rapid. It also clouds my mind and I can't concentrate and that often makes it much worse because I can't focus to deal with the problem that caused the worry.

Strange thing is I can usually rationalise my thoughts about the problem and deal with it mentally but I can't control my body.

Couple of recent examples. I work in IT as a manager and am responsible for systems and project delivery. One of our systems has a melt down because of a fault introduced by me and my team. It pays out some money to the wrong people, about £5K. Some of it cannot then be recovered, but a lot can. Total damage is a few pissed of people and a couple of grand. Obviously not good but no one has died and the money is a tiny amount in compassion. My reaction when I discovered it was almost full on panic attack. Was still worrying about it weeks later after it was resolved.

Another, project got delayed, client was pissed. I took it over and did the work myself. It was nothing complex and something I had done thousands of times over 15 years I have been doing it. But again completely crippled by an over reaction worrying about it, creates a vicious circle where I can't focus and get the job done which leads to more worry that it wont get done. Again the worse case scenario here is the client (who we are unlikely to get much, if any repeat business from) will be pissed off. We might be in breach of contract and have to discount the rate by a thousand or so.

I spoke to my GP about it a few years ago when it was really bad and they were useless.

It had been better in the last few years and I live a lot healthier now (don't drink or smoke, lost weight, eat good, exercise regularly). Certainly since stopping drinking it had got better, but recently it is back with avengeance.

Any one got some suggestions on what to do or who to see about learning to deal with this? Don't mind pay for private counselling but have no idea what to go for

I get this a lot, or I used to. I had to make a decision last month. That would affect the financial position of about 300 people. Try exercising as much as you can, or as much as time will allow. Cut out drink, the" brain fog" will pass. Try some ZMA capsules before bedtime. It will help rebalance your nervous system.

Also have a look here, you might want to test for VRT also
http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtm...

Edited by APOLO1 on Sunday 22 June 09:28

[happychap]

Any one got some suggestions on what to do or who to see about learning to deal with this? Don't mind pay for private counselling but have no idea what to go for.

You might want to have a look on the British Association of Counsellors and psychotherapist BASP Website, go to the find a therapist sec and you can locate therapists in your area. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy may suit you, however explore other models of therapy. Going for therapy can be scary, exciting and empowering. Find a therapist that you feel you can work with, one that will challenge you as well as support you, it can take time to find the right therapist for you, don't give up if have to try several therapist before you find the one that fits for you. Good luck

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

As suggested..go for counselling, it has the potential to change your life.

Up to a few years ago I was firmly in the "pull yourself together & get on with it" club.

Then my girlfriend started with the panic attacks, that went on to be a full blown breakdown. I now understand that it is an illness...that can be managed and even largely resolved.

Best advice I can give is do not ignore the symptoms.

[944fan]

Thanks for all the tips. I think I will find some sort of counselling. Don't have a company quack but do get private medical, not sure if I can get anything via that. I do feel that if I don't learn to control it now then when something properly bad happens I will go into full blown panic attack.

Interesting what someone said about PAWS. I was aware of that from the Sober for 365 days thread. I have had this anxiety for years and if anything it was worse when I was drinking. Think it was partly to blame for me drinking so much as the booze made the feeling go away, but then came back worse in the morning.

I started reading the Dale Carnegie book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Its all really common sense stuff and I am not sure it helped. Consciously I am aware of the symptoms and can control my mind, its the subconscious physical symptoms I can't.

[goldblum]

944fan said:

Thanks for all the tips. I think I will find some sort of counselling.

Good idea. As another poster has inferred it can be quite invigorating and is in no way a negative step. You may learn a lot about yourself and discover hidden strengths.

944fan said:

I just have a butterflies feeling in my tummy all the time. When it gets really bad, my legs feel heavy, my palms sweat, hands shake, and breathing gets rapid. It also clouds my mind and I can't concentrate and that often makes it much worse because I can't focus to deal with the problem that caused the worry.

This is a physical rather than mental manifestation of stress and is brought about by the release of adrenaline (called epinephrine nowadays) which in turn causes these symptoms. Anything that artificially raises your heartrate (as this will exacerbate the condition) should be cut right back. Coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, driving fast etc etc. Sex. Just kidding. Get out into the countryside and do some walking, take a holiday - you get the idea. Good luck.

[HorneyMX5]

I've suffered this for the last couple of years, well actually thinking about it, pretty much since puberty. It's a horrible, horrible thing. Why drag this thread up? Well I'm in the middle of a full blown relapse. I'd been managing if fine after a course of meds and CBT 2 years ago. I'd get mostly good days and the odd tough day. The last week has been hell and culminated in me getting home from work last night and throwing up.

I went back to the Docs today and he recommended a relaxing weekend and try work again on Tuesday but right now I'm stuck int he circle and just making myself worse. My poor wife just doesn't know how to cope or help me.

[jonah35]

944fan said:

Thanks for all the tips. I think I will find some sort of counselling. Don't have a company quack but do get private medical, not sure if I can get anything via that. I do feel that if I don't learn to control it now then when something properly bad happens I will go into full blown panic attack.

Interesting what someone said about PAWS. I was aware of that from the Sober for 365 days thread. I have had this anxiety for years and if anything it was worse when I was drinking. Think it was partly to blame for me drinking so much as the booze made the feeling go away, but then came back worse in the morning.

I started reading the Dale Carnegie book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Its all really common sense stuff and I am not sure it helped. Consciously I am aware of the symptoms and can control my mind, its the subconscious physical symptoms I can't.

Once sober two years if its still an issue there could be another prob.

Did you have anxiety in your teens prior to ever drinking or did you only get anxiety post age 17 or whenever u started drinking?

[Rachie]

2 of my closest friends suffer anxiety issues, but it's making them very controlling. I don't want to lose them as friends, but it's hard to deal with!

Do you have any advice please?

[HorneyMX5]

Rachie said:

2 of my closest friends suffer anxiety issues, but it's making them very controlling. I don't want to lose them as friends, but it's hard to deal with!

Do you have any advice please?

I'm not surprised. The sufferer becomes quite quickly aware of triggers and the onset of a bad period once they understand they have anxiety. This makes us at times very selfish and controlling because we are desperate not to end up causing an attack or a period of bad days.

I'm not sure what advice I can offer. My friends whom I have confided in seem to just keep out of my way and leave me to it when I'm not in a good place with the occasional text to check in. Seems to work OK for me.

As an update to my post earlier in the weekend I've managed to calm down now thanks to seeing an emergenct Doctor on saturday when I was struggling to do anything at all and breathing became an issue. By a stoke of luck she was also a sufferer and recommended a book and CD on Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman, seems to be helping quite a lot to put things in perspective and get my imagination and fears under control a bit.

[Shambler]

Caffeine does not help, so cut out coffee and tea. Try to teach yourself its all about breathing, cognitive therapy is very good.

[mph1977]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

As suggested..go for counselling, it has the potential to change your life.

Up to a few years ago I was firmly in the "pull yourself together & get on with it" club.

Then my girlfriend started with the panic attacks, that went on to be a full blown breakdown. I now understand that it is an illness...that can be managed and even largely resolved.

Best advice I can give is do not ignore the symptoms.

I agree with 2 smokin barrels

the irony of 'pull yourself together ' is that if you have been taught the techniques quite often you can - but how are those techniques taught? talking therapies / counselling and CBTs can be key planks in identification of issues and techniques to resolve them ...

a lot of the sad angry tts out there are because they think pull yourself tgoether is baout bottling things up.

[Storrsy24]

I'm sorry you feel like this. I can tell you I can relate to the anxiety/panic attack problem. I have fears of being in pain and it getting worse, so my GP gave me a number for counselling sessions (which is free) and she put me on tablets for a month to see how I go, they're beater blockers called Propranolol. I've been on them for 14 days now and haven't had an attack since hope that helps.

[944fan]

So, I have been for a few counselling sessions so far. Went private rather than going down the GP route. Didn't want to get put on pills as I hope to deal with the root cause rather than hiding the symptoms.

So far fairly classic stuff I guess. Parents strict and disapproving up-bringing etc. It is really interesting though. In the lasts session we talked about how their lack of affection and nothing ever being good enough has created in me this desire to always make people like me and always looking to please people. That is a potential cause of the over reaction to things because I worry what people are going to think of me.

Funnily enough since counselling the physical symptoms, especially the butterflies feeling have switched course and now come at different times. Other day at work something major happened, big cock up all round and I felt fine, didn't panic and it was ok. Then early today I was reading a book minding my own business and out of nowhere I felt like I was having a panic attack, for no reason at all.

[oceanview]

I would suggest not automatically writing off Pills- You might need them because THAT is the root cause- a chemical imbalance.
I know theres still a big stigma about taking any meds for mental health problems, yet know one would think twice if it was to do with something physical.

Ive also known people say (" oh id never take anti-depressants" but quite happily neck a bottle of wine etc, with alcolhol being a MUCH stronger drug than any of those meds.