Hey!
I'm a 19 yr old girl. I've been struggling with anxiety for a little over a yr now. I have seen a specialist for anxiety/panic attacks but nothing he did seemed to help me. I've had a lot of tests done because I just feel so crappy all the time. I have overcome a lot of things by myself. I have overcome the out of body feeling which I found out is called depersonalization. Finding out what it was helped me to really overcome that part, and I don't know what cause it but I believe having that feeling and not knowing what it was cause my anxiety because I was petrified of having that feeling of being sucked outta your body. However I still am having a hard time with the physical part. It's not an everyday or even an every week kinda thing, but some days, and when it happens it usually continues for a few days, I will just feel horrible.....I feel week, especially in my arms and legs sometimes I feel so weak there I look at people standing around and just feel like how can they stand for so long, I feel shaky but if I shake my legs I can feel better, I'll feel light headed, faintish, sometimes dizzy in my head,cold,and feel like my hands are sweaty even though they aren't. I won't feel like talking or much of anything. I'll also feel nauseous and will feel like I'm going to be sick in my throat kinda the lumpy feeling. I know it's one of the last things I need to overcome with my anxiety, but just haven't been able to because it just really affects you physically. I know I've had ekg's done and blood tests etc like most people with anxiety and from what I've read online with other people sufferering from the same exact thing, I just believe there's something really wrong with me even though I've been told I'm jsut fine. Sorry this is so long but I just hate this feeling so much and I need to get rid of it. I hate going places by myself when I feel like this because I'm afraid i'll pass out or something. I keep telling myself how far i've come by myself but this just feels so bad I need some support and some advice on how to get over it. If there's any advice that's help! Sorry this is so long again, I just really hate this and am fed up with letting this control me! I just want to put what's been going on and give the most information to help anyone reading.Any advice is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!
Hi Sweet_gurl, thank you so much for being here with us and for sharing. I am so sorry for what you have been going through with your anxiety attacks, as I know how awful that can be. Is there a particular thing that triggers these anxiety attacks and have you noticed a pattern of why and when they happen?
I used to have awful anxiety attacks to the point where I thought that I would completely pass out from shortness of breath. I had to really work on it on my own and the only thing that I found to be helpful was to walk away, get outside, and take deep breaths. I would breathe in deeply, hold it for a moment, and exhale. As well, I would nip it in the bud as soon as I felt it coming on, rather than allowing it to unravel.
Thanks for the wishes!!! I don’t know what brings them on or any causes,and there aren’t patterns which makes it very annoying. I try to get busy and ignore them. i will just feel crappy anywhere from 30 mins to a few hours and am just getting tired of it! Hopefully I can find something that will help me with this! I try to stay upbeat and positive that I will win this, but at times I just get a feeling that this will never go away! Thanks again!
You will absolutely beat this with your positivity and optimism, please know that. Try the slow breathing exercises and see if that helps at all.
Sweet_gurl, I´ve suffered from anxiety attacks, and suffer them alone. I developed, a social fobia, and I was being treated by a psichiatry (pardon my english, I´m from Argentina). I also know that is very difficult to make the decission to go and get help from a proffesional, but believe me, it can be done! and you do not have to suffer anymore. It may be helpful if you can provide an example, very detailed, in order to walk with you along the feeling. Hope it helps in any way, my best wishes.
I actually have gone to a professional but he didn’t help me at all. The main reason is he couldn’t pinpoint that out of body feeling which I now know is depersonalization. I’ve gotten over that but every now and again I will be feeling crappy and have other anxiety symptoms…it’s just frustrating.
Yes, it is frustrating, but you must keep trying, keep trying, until you don´t have to try anymore. Excuse for me asking, but what kind of professional did you went to? any chance to go to another?. Can you explain a bit better what that "depersonalization" feeling is? I´m from Argentina, I know english, but I´m in troubles trying to completely understand what that is. And it may be helpfull to you, to type it down.
A big hug!
No problem! I went to a psychiatrist who specializes in panic/anxiety attacks. The depersonalization feeling is where you will feel like you are not really you, like you are watching everything like a movie and it can kinda feel like you are being sucked out of your body so it was a really scary and dreadful thing. Finding out what it was made it easier to oversome I just don’t know while I’ll still feel the other way described above anymore…Like it was bothering me yesterday but today I feel completely normal. So I know it just needs to be overcomed, I just need some tips on how to do it.