h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If anyone has ever had an anxiety attack, they will know that they can be very scarey. I should know, as I have been having them for the last 12 months now.

Some times I feel that life is going so great, and then one little obstacle will bring me crashing back down to Earth. Sometime I wish I get distracted again while falling and fly back up to Cloud Number 9. Generally this is not the case, and I end up being lonely, and I some times I have hurt the few people close to me because of this.

If there was ever an easy way out of such a situation in my life, I would take it. But to be fair to myself, and the people around me, I have started to do something about the attacks.

Firstly my doctor has given a drug to use should I find such attacks occuring. Since drugs only solve the immediate situation, I have also started to go to counselling.

Life is hard to start off with, and I have more than the average amount of 'background' problems causing me stress, and hence I get quite major anxiety attacks.

Maybe I should take note of The Guide's front cover says. Some times it is all to easy to tell a person not to worry, but unless you know what they are thinking, and how much thought goes into such worrying, you will see that just telling a person not to panic, or worry is easier said then done.

I could go on for ages about my life with anxiety, but I won't. I like talking with people who are willing to listen, even if it is a stranger that I may never meet. If you should happen to read this journal entry, and would like to talk to me, just leave a reply and we should be able to catch up some how.
 

I spent quite a few years coping with anxiety so I know how you feel.
Without going into too much detail My husband left me for another woman and left me to look after our daughter and pay a huge mortgage
and all the debts he also left me with.
So you can imagine it wasn't very pleasent.Because I did nothing about the anxiety attacks things steadlily got worse and I thought I was going mad.
In the end my doctor referred me to a counsellor and it really did make all the difference.
Remember when you get anxious,who is it hurting?Nobody but yourself
Another thing i learn't was to get to the reasons for feeling anxious.
I had this big thing about beeing late for appointments etc.
I still get it sometimes but not as bad.In this situation I found it better think what are the consequences of being late.If there were no
bad ones then I began to let go of my anxiety.
Do keep on with the counselling it will really help.Be honest,face your fears and take responsibility for your actions.You will find that this will eventually empower you and make you a much stronger person.
Good Luck.
Write to me anytime!

Thanks very much for your reply. It is great to know that some complete stranger had the time to reply to quite a personal journal entry. It gives me the feeling that there are people out there that do give a damn about strangers. I would like to talk to you sometime, maybe over email. My email is [email protected]

Anyway, thanks again for the reply, and the encouragement to continue on with solving my anxiety attacks

*jumps for joy* WOHOO!!! My counsellor tells me that in the short to medium term I really don't have to go see her. I haven't had a panic attack for ages, and even on the weekend while having the flu, I heard some news about a person that would have usually angry and upset, but it didn't.

In the last 3 weeks I only have had one down day, so my counsellor was very pleased, and so was I. I know that should I need her again, she is only a phone call away to be able to make time to see me.

TO top things off, I have found someone else to spend a bit of time with. I hope things go well this time.

HI,
I glad you are doing so well.I told you things would turn out okay.
Counselling may feel a bit weird at first but once you start to turn the corner it relly does you good.
Just remind yourself of what you have learn't next time you're in a
situation and you won't get even near to an anxiety attack.
Will e-mail you soon.

Wow Drool, that's unbelievable that your husband took off like that. I hope you managed to get money out of him in the end! Not surprised this caused you anxiety, I don't know how I would have coped.

Garibaldi, I can totally sympathise with your problems too - I have been suffering from worse and worse depression evey year for the last fourteen years. Usually it only lasts for the summer but last year it lasted 365 days (to the day). No rhyme or reason - it is not triggered by anything and I have no control over it. During these depressive phases I feel extreme and irrational hatred of everything, especially children. It's like constant PMT multiplied by thousands. The walls close in and I have in the past resorted to self-mutilation as an attempt to escape. Also had intense panic attacks with hyperventilation and hallucinations of indescribably horrible scenes.

Weird - I have a normal life, a well-paid, not-too-stressful job, lots of lovely friends and partner who loves me so there is nothing in my daily life to provoke it.

Still, fingers crossed, it went away suddenly on 6th Jan this year and hasn't resurfaced so far.

Wow such honesty. Strange isn't it how reassuring it is to find that you are not the only one. It started for me when my parents got divorced - I was 12 and has followed me around ever since. Counselling stopped me from going to a watery grave on the university campus - very picturesque lake with a swan - I have a sense for the dramatic. i have bounced in and out of it ever since. I am glad that you are all getting better and keeping the wolf from the door at present. I thought I was heading back down there before the summer - but my brother pulled me back from the brink thank god. He just looked at me and said "Your my big sister and I need you, I can't cope seeing you like this." Fair broke my heart.

Garribaldi - I am glad that you found the counselling helpful and I hope that everything works out for you. Drool you are an inspiring - I hope thing goes well. Jonny - I am glad you are better - sounds like you are like and me and suffer from the "If my life is so good, why am i so unhappy." syndrome.

Godspeed

I was going to put in a long & sympathetic reply here about parents and how they f*** your life up, but chickened out. Instead I am now going to use my "amazing" powers of deduction to guess which university you (AJ) were at - Nottingham?

pretty good - Warwick actually . Where were you?

Exeter. There weren't any lakes there with swans on them, so that narrowed it down by, er, one. And I know there's a nice lake at Nottingham Uni. So not really very amazing powers of deduction at all!

Exeter's lovely - nice campus. Lots of squirrels I seem to remember from the open day. I was very impressed by your guess - funny cos I prefer the East Mids to the West - well that is not strictly true cos Warwickshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire are lovely. Its just the West Midlands bit that is crap. Aren't you originally from Worcester?

Have a fab weekend one and all

Thanks everyone.

It really makes me happy to see people reply to this thread. It's one of my most personal ones, and to see other people with similar problems is in a way therapy, so I say Thanks.

I remember last year that I was on the verge of tears 24hours a day. I look back and see that there wasn't anything really bad in my life then, just that some where along the lines I didn't pick up the skills I needed to get through it.

As for parents, my parents are still together. Actually I think since I left they have been a lot closer, for which I am happy. They may not be the perfect couple, or the perfect parents, but they are mine, and I love them alot that some times it hurts to be so far away from them, but then again when I went back home for a trip everyone told me that the move to Melbourne has done me wonders. So I think of that and know I am doing the right thing.

As for not making the same mistake, I think I am sure that I won't. But we all say at some point that we won't, and we do, but I am more concious of my past, and the skills I picked up from counselling will take me a long way.

I feel like I am a new man, but in fact I am the same person, with pretty much the same interests, as I was 3 years ago before I let every thing snow ball. I feel happy, and my old out going (but shy) personality is back, and I feel I can face things and find a work around if they are not to my liking.

So just in passing, thanks to you all, means a lot to me to hear about other people, and I guess it does to you all.

I think my email is in this thread, if so, feel free to email me.

if interested see this thread!

http://www.h2g2.com/forumframe.cgi?forum=5923&thread=18170

Love
Lochangel

I have to say, that my anxiety attacks were mainly due to the fact I wasn't dealing with my sexuality. Things are a lot better now.

I have been suffering from a condition called Hyperventilation Syndrome for over two years now. It means that I feel as you do during a panic attack, but most of the time.
My body has apparently learnt to prefer a lower level of Carbon Dioxide in my blood, and so I breathe out too much CO2. This makes me hyperventilate all of the time.
I am sure you know all of the symptoms - head spinning, unable to concentrate, tingling lips and fingers, heaving chest not being able to take a big enough breath in - horrible.
I am having help from a physiotherapist, but this has had little effect to date.
Stress and tension only make this worse and some days I could just curl up and cry because I havn't the energy to do anything else.
The worst thing is, though, that I end up upsetting those that love me because from the outside I appear not to give a damn about anything, but on the inside I am desparate to join in and have fun! I just don't have the energy!
I'd love to hear how you are doing now, have the drugs and councelling helped?
If you read this, please reply.

Just letting know I have read your article. my life is going well now. I will reply when I have more time on my hands