New to anxiety

[Bswartz]

Good evening. I am new to all of this and I am looking for help in ways to deal with this. I was diagnosed with PTSD and acute social anxiety disorder about 3 months ago. Since then I have been experiencing almost a constant state of panic. If I leave the house I can get about 3 or 4 steps out of the car before my legs give out, and I can't breathe. Any idea on how to cope with this will be appreciated.

[sunnyg]

It's very tough and I am so sorry you are going through this. I get the hell it is. First, be sure to have all minerals and vitamins checked. Get a thorough blood test. Have your thyroid tested too. If all is well with the blood work, still take good vitamins and minerals as the stress in you body is depleting those. Try to walk for 10 minutes everyday. Lift some small weights too. It's ok to do all of this is your house.

When you panic how do you feel? List your symptoms. Anxiety has so many!

We are here to help you.

[Bswartz in reply to sunnyg]

Thank you for your reply. When I panic it feels what I assume it would feel like to have a heart attack. Chest pounding, all my limbs go weak, very hard to breathe, and loss of focus of everything around me.

[Jeff1943]

Bswartz, there is no need for you to live in a constant state of panic, what has happened is that following the trauma in your life your nervous system has become super sensitive and is bombarding you with bad feelings such as you describe.

But these feelings of panic are not life threatening and can't cause permanent damage to you physically in any way, anxiety cannot do that though its symptoms can seem alarming and can mimic real organic illness.

You could see your doctor about this who will no doubt provide you with medications to overcome this but nobody wants to take tablets for ever. The alternative is the system of self-help called the Acceptance method. This encourages sufferers such as yourself to stop fighting the feelings as this only creates more stress and tension that feeds your anxious nervous system. Instead it teaches people to temporarily Accept the bad feelings without fear - if you do this you stop constantly feeding your sensitised nerves with fear and apprehension and eventually your nerves recover and all the symptoms such as the panic, your legs turning to jelly and the loss of breath will cease to bother you.

I recommend that you read about the Acceptance method in a short book by Claire Weekes called 'Self help with your nerves' in the u.k. and 'Hope and help for your nerves' in the u.s. available new or used on Amazon. I wish you an early recovery which reading this book will ensure.

[bekahwillislv88]

"Good evening. I am new to all of this and I am looking for help in ways to deal with this. I was diagnosed with PTSD and acute social anxiety disorder about 3 months ago. Since then I have been experiencing almost a constant state of panic. If I leave the house I can get about 3 or 4 steps out of the car before my legs give out, and I can't breathe. Any idea on how to cope with this will be appreciated."

BsWartz, Good afternoon. I know it's weird and it does really suck to be new to all this. I used to think I was a strong minded person before all this (OCD, Social Anxiety) happened to me. And to find out later that I wasn't as strong as I thought I was really took it's toll on my life. I can only imagine what it's like for you to find this stuff out 3 months prior. But I'm gonna say something else...ever since I've gone through these things, I'm also stronger than I thought I was too. And have come full circle in all this and have conquered many obstacles in my life simply by refusing to give in and give up. Just know that first of all none of this is your fault, sometimes your mind will go into "shut down, fight or flight mode"...and that part isn't your fault...so don't blame yourself for that part....however, the stuff you CAN control will be your fault if you don't do something about it. Heck, even the stuff you can't help can and will be conquered if you put your mind to it. I know it's a cliche to say that, but it's so true if you really want it to be. If I were you I wouldn't focus my time and energy on negative thinking patterns because that will get you absolutely nowhere. Focus on people in similar or exactly the same situations as you in order to know that first, you're not alone in this, and 2, if they overcame it, there's no reason why you 'can't" overcome it either. "Can't" is a self defeatist attitude that will land you nowhere. So start now with that advice and be consistent. Otherwise it will never stop. I hope that helped, and you're more then welcome to ask me for any help you may need. I'm not a Doctor or anything. But it takes one to know one.

God Bless ~

Rebekah