Remembreing how panic felt

[Kevin160]

I finished my exams today , i have about a month break with no exams or school whatsoever ...i panicked quite a bit today and yesterday because of exams , all these anxiety attacks made me remember all the panic and fear i suffered earlier in the year , and now im feeling like eventhough i dont have anything to panic about im still anxious and my heart is palpitating ...why can i just be comfortable, i dont have any stressors right now , maybe its from remembering all the panic i had but i feel like constant anxiety might be back, im really feeling super dissapointed and angry , i dont know if i would ever die from anxiety or if it woukd ever go away , i dont know what to do , maybe its just a matter if calming a bit after the exam and recovering from this whole week , my anxiety is mild but my heart keeps sinking ..

I feel so stupid because im done with exams and even before i wouldnt usually freak out over them ..but these 2 days brought all the fears and emotions associated with panic attacks and anxiety that i hadnt experienced ever since april ...

i really want therapy

[lillyofthevalley37]

You could try GABA

But you need some downtime - sitting around doing g nothing but reflecting and trying to look for the good stuff in your life

[foxglove_pnw]

Hi Kevin

I am glad exams are done !

Use this break from school to work on your anxiety .

Mental illnesses didn’t need a reason to show up and stay !

Therapy , working out , attending a support group and talking to a doctor about medication might be good steps to take this month.

Don’t blame yourself for feeling the way you are !

We are always here if you need to chat ❤️

[Kevin160 in reply to foxglove_pnw]

Thanj you so much , you are too kind , for me therapy is a bit pricey and even though i turned 18 this year , its still hard to be able to do things on my own , such things i need support from my parents who are completely ignorant that i need therapy regardless how many times i insisted im suffering from alot if panic attacks and anxiety that is disrubting my life inckuding all aspects socially and academically etc..

[foxglove_pnw in reply to Kevin160]

I am sorry you have no support ! Do you live in the USA ? I can give you free support groups and resources ?

[Kevin160 in reply to foxglove_pnw]

Unfortunately i dont

[foxglove_pnw in reply to Kevin160]

[Kevin160 in reply to foxglove_pnw]

Its ok , as you said now that i finished exams i will work on other solutions until i talk to my parents again..i have been through this alot and i managed to succeed before , staying anxiety free for weeks at a time ,through meditation, exercise, breathing techniques ...i was surprised today that i did feel calm at the end, and hopefully i start to feel better throughout this week , for example i went to sleep a while ago and my arms fell asleep, i woke up in a terrible panic but i realized im fine and just went on with the rest of the day ..

Thank you for all the support too i really appreciate it it helps me to know i have someone who supports me which makes a world of difference in my mental health because i can let out my emotions and express what i feel

[foxglove_pnw in reply to Kevin160]

You are so welcome Kevin ! My oldest son is just a few years younger than you

I am always here if you need to chat !

[Sober2007]

Congrats on finishing your exams. Anxiety comes and goes for most people who suffer with it and is not in and of itself life-threatening. I agree with foxglove not to be too hard on yourself and focus on taking some positive steps to work on it. Wishing you the best!

[Kevin160 in reply to Sober2007]

Thanj you so much, i have felt extremely well the past few weeks with no stress, but as exams started it all came back for a bit but now im feeling a but cakmer , i guess when there is ni trigger it is hard to feel scared , but imguess its when the nerves are recovering from all the trauma

[AuntBee]

Kevin, when my nephew, who suffered from severe anxiety, was in medical school, each test he waited for, each segment of the class approaching, etc., my sister would say to him “well once that quiz (test, seminar, segment) is done you’ll be fine”. He told her “mom, it doesn’t work that way”. It’s hard to understand why that fight or flight mechanism is stuck on a continuous loop, but that is how he described it.

This is just to say I think what you’re experiencing is “normal” for anxiety. With that said, I hope you will seek out professional help, talk therapy, medication under supervision if needed, learn meditation, things like that.

[Kevin160 in reply to AuntBee]

I appreciate what you said , thank you for all the support , i will see what happens niw , it really gets better sometimes to a point i feel almost normal with weeks without anxiety but sometimes anxiety is constant that i feel im dying of going crazy , and alot of things happened to me where im really sensitive towards certain topics where any stress makes me feel extremely scared

[Pearl67]

YAy🥳🥳🥳 DONE for now🙌🏻🙌🏻 Weird thing about our awesome bodies is they do not always behave according to our circumstances. You “should” be low stress now, right? But the adrenals cough out adrenaline and cortisol as a response to the stress we have had for the previous days/weeks/months. Hard to do, oh I know, but try and allow it to wash over you. Distract yourself outside, with others, people watching. It may take a day to “come off” the “pill” (cortisol-stress hormone) you have been on this week! You are doing great, we are here and you made it through the week! Winning🙌🏻

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

Thank you so much, this made me feel much better ..i have been feeling a bit anxious but its much better today and i feel a bit calmer..hopefully it gets better

[Pearl67 in reply to Kevin160]

Can you spend time outside today? Wirh friends? Doing something you love but have not had a chance to do because of your exams? If, do those things🤗 Along with breathing exercises throught the day. Your body will soon get the message to stop with all the fight/flight hormones and relax💆🏼‍♂️

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

I will certainly try , i used to be a very social person i used to go on trips , do all sorts of social events ..hang out with friends .. exercise but i feel im afraid of doing some things because it causes me panic attacks now ..im also worried about my heart health ..my pulse sometimes feel too low ..and i worry all the stress with adding exercise and activities will do more harm than good

[Pearl67]

Have you had a check up from a regular Dr in the recent past? Since these things cropped up? Low pulse, etc?

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

My whole anxiety started because of a doctor, i have always had anxiety but it was always mild and never really bothered me alot , i used to stress easily but it wasnt severe, i was very socially active, i had good relationships, i had health anxiety but it was a bit hidden from people..

In late december i went to a doctor due to some stomach issues i have been getting probably due to anxiety, he kept pointing out how my blood oressure was elevated and my stress causes it which i was aware of , however this caused me to develop an insane fear of fear itself, a vicious cycle that i didnt want to fear because my bp would rise but that caused it tomrise, i wasnt knowledgable about relaxation techniques, nor meditation , i was 18 and the panic was so severe i would get hospitalized, i would get bp of 160/100 , i was convinced every night i wouldnt wake up , i had no support and no one to talk to , there was also alot going on , my mom had a ancer scare right after being given a clean bill of health after an actual cancer diagnosis and this caused all my health anxiety to rise over the years. I started to realize i can lower my bp and that anxiety is jever constant and i wouldnt panic except there is a cause , and since i know my bp rising wont kill me because im healthy and i dont have a problem and dealing with the stress helps i calmed a bit, but the nerves remained sensitized, i would recover a but, then get a panic attack when i remember how panic felt , i would go through experiences that make me panic like social events etc...

I realized i went alot too irrelevant but i just wanted to point out the whole story where the doctor did a bunch of tests that were all normal, i got head CT, blood work, stool samples, all sort of exams, nothing wrong ..and i started feeling better , so im positive its anxiety, ofcourse my health anxiety makes me think its something much more serious but i dont know

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

Im 18 and im skinny, i dont smoke and i never had any problems , i always went to doctors i tried my best to beat my heakth anxiety because i always thought something was wrong but no doctor ever suspected anything, i recently went to an eye doctor due to some eye problems and its apparently stress, nowadays doctors just know stress , might of saved them medical school expenses

[Pearl67]

I am no Dr. and do not know you, but you must be young. I am going to go out ona limb and assume you are young and healthy! Work to retrain your thoughts about exercise hurting you. Anxiety is a LIAR! Also, I think many of us could say exactly as you have about who we were before anxiety got way out of control! But I can assure you, it DOES get better! Therapy (even online vids walking you through different therapies, poscasts, workbooks, etc) is a MUST in my opinion. Meds are only 1/2 of rewiring your brain. You are young! I cannot tell you how lucky you are to be able to “right the ship,” NOW before pattern are more entrenched!

Go outside. Sit. Go through the what do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you feel?

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

Trust me i might be young but i went through alot, and im aware it does get better i never thought it would this year but i survived so far where i never thought i would , i was in rock bottom litteraly, everything was falling apart , but it always gets better, which is the reason i never give up ...

Between family problems, my mom getting cancer , severe health anxiety, being surrounded by all kinds of fears such as death, i have been through it all, and it really made me feel stronger but recently it has been too much

[Pearl67]

Tests are done....this is YOUR time now!!! You take care of YOU! Great job on getting a workup though. Alwsys want to get rid of physical ailments if that is driving things. Now to find things you truly enjoy! Treat yourself on a job well done in uni!!!

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

Thank you so much ..i will try my best bur thanks for all the support you are incredible

[Pearl67 in reply to Kevin160]

We all need each other! And as often said, “we are helped the most by helping others!”

[Kevin160 in reply to Pearl67]

♥️♥️