Constant state of panic, Help please!

[Stressedqueen]

I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember and it has always been stressful but not overbearing. This past week I have been having panic attacks daily. I recently moved to a new city without any family nearby and have been having tons of digestive issues which lead to me going to a gastroenterologist. Everything they have tested me for has come back clean and they told me to go get a second opinion because their hands were tied which then showed me what a panic attack felt like. I think the thought of something being wrong with me terrifies me, especially not having family nearby to help. Never in my life have I felt the physical effects of anxiety and I genuinely had no clue how real and scary it feels in the moment. I can’t get the thought of panic attacks out of my head so they keep happening and each time they do, my brain convinces myself it’s health related and I can’t get myself out of it. Any time I concentrate on my breathing I overbreathe and get numb in the face. I know that my constant state of anxiety can cause all of the symptoms I have but I genuinely don’t know how to feel better.

[NWDogMom]

It's not an easy situation. My therapist had me write down the "steps" of my panic attacks. I now know that my twisted stomach is a panic attack. I worked hard on that for about six months. Is this real or is it panic? Now, I know it is very seldom real and almost always panic. I love dogs, so I name off dog breeds & characteristics. It distracts me long enough to allow me to think, is this real? I keep the list of symptoms in my phone. It truly keeps me sane. Good luck, breathe & find a category of things to list.

[pcscATL]

I am stunned by how much I relate to what you wrote. I just joined this site today.

I have had basically the same experience, except I moved by myself to a new city over 3 years ago now (just before COVID-19) and only started experiencing panic within the last 9-10 months. I can't for the life of me explain why, but I have myself absolutely convinced that there's something wrong with me, and that I'm going to suffer some kind of medical emergency and no one will be there to help me.

Even more confusingly, it seems to get worse if I try to go out and do something outside the house, so it's a vicious cycle. It's really beginning to get in the way of my life and I'm searching for answers to fix it.

While I'm still working on figuring all of that out, I am somewhat encouraged to know there are others out there having the same experience.

[012703060610]

My anxiety has always manifested into GI complications. In my younger years it wasn't so bad, but as I aged, certain foods became more difficult. I spent a decade really birthing three kids and working a full time travel job. By the end of it and by not dealing with my anxiety in any healthy ways, I do have permanent issues with my gut. It is actually paralyzed and is called gastroparesis. My stomach doesn't move. Turns out it is caused by Vagus nerve damage. Here is some info on it. Learning how to reset your vagus nerve can reduce a panic attack almost immediately

my.clevelandclinic.org/heal....

If I had to do it all over again, I would have kept a food journal and symptom journal. It would have taken 30 seconds a day to write down the prior days issues. I think if you do this, you can track whether it is anxiety related or something that does need to get checked out by a GI specialist.

Link on how to reset your own Vagus nerve. Learning about this was a game changer. My husband helps me with the motions needed to reset. There are tons of videos and other methods as well. Huge help in a panic attack.

youtube.com/watch?v=EnCjuPq...(Not working as expected?)