Hi, Newbie here

[Luna_Love143]

Hello, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Luna and this is my first post... I have be diagnosed and struggled with anxiety, panic disorder and major depressive disorder for 14 years now. Over the years I developed hypertension and health anxiety from a few hospital stays relating to my heart and childbirth complications. I am 32. A few of my hobbies include sewing/ crafting, video games, roller skating and drums. Something that's extremely embarrassing for me is I have intense panic attacks that cause me to go to the ER at least once sometimes 2x a month 😭😵‍💫. Over the past 14 year's I've tried getting help numerous ways like Seeing a psychiatrist of course, tried my share of many different types of medications, Psychotherapy, Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Transcranial Magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatments. Lifestyle changes like dieting and light exercise. A few things helped but the panic attacks never went away so after all this time I'm still trying to accept it and cope. I am happy I found this place, I'm feeling hopeful. I am trying my best to take things one day at a time and be present since I struggle with living in the moment.

"Breathe in peace, Exhale fear." Thanks for reading.

- Luna

[mydogs]

Hello and welcome to this amazing site.

[Shnookie]

Hi LunaBear. This is Shnookie. Welcome to the HU website. We R a warm, supportive and accepting group. I’m here 4 U

Hugs 🤗 S

[Luna_Love143 in reply to Shnookie]

Thank you, I'm still learning my ways around the site. very happy to be here.

[Shnookie in reply to Luna_Love143]

U R very welcome 🙏

[XoxoFaith]

Welcome Iam also your same age and struggle with health anxiety and anxiety and depression on an off since I was 15 Iam here for you if you needs anything

[Luna_Love143 in reply to XoxoFaith]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Same here! I'm here for you too 🌷

[Hidden]

yes, I am noobs as well . lot people think that i am not a noobs on here .

[Hidden]

Hi there and welcome! I see a lot of positives in your post. I like that you have hope. That is awesome! I also like that you take it one day at a time. That is what it's all about! Acceptance is also a really good thing that you're doing! We make it worse for ourselves by trying to force ourselves to change that which we don't like. I for one spend way too much energy trying to control things that I have little to no control of. It also seems like you're very good at utilizing the resources available to you, so kudos for that!

[designguy]

Hello Luna, what helped me with panic/anxiety was finding out that the way I had been told to deal with anxiety was totally wrong. The way to heal is by learning to accept the anxious thoughts and feelings and not fight them. Struggling with them or fighting with them or trying to out think them only makes them persist longer. My suggestion is to read any book by Dr. Claire Weekes or watch her youtube videos or use the book I found most helpful, the DARE Anxiety book by Barry McDonaugh and watch his youtube videos. It takes time and commitment but it works.

[Luna_Love143 in reply to designguy]

Thank you, Have you heard of the DARE app? It's amazing. Maybe it's the same author from the Book. The DARE App has helped me A lot. As uncomfortable as the panic attack sensations are the best option is just to ride it out. Over the year's I have come to realize that trying to stop and keep it from happening takes more out of me than the initial attack. Thanks

[designguy in reply to Luna_Love143]

Yes Luna, i love the DARE app, it's like having my own personal coach. Their youtube videos are also great, especially the ones by Michelle Cavanaugh. Another thing that helped me was learning and practicing mindfulness to be able to detach from my thoughts. For me it's pretty simple, I just sit and focus on my breath and let the thoughts come and go and not worry about the content of them or anything. It's also a good way to practice bringing myself back to the present. One other thing to consider is that I tried many different meds also and didn't find one that helped. i did a psychopharmacological test which used my dna to determine which meds were best suited for me genetically. My test was from Genesight and was paid for by my insurance. I started on one of the meds it recommended (Pristiq) and it has worked well. It really helped take a lot of the guesswork out of the process.