New here, not new to anxiety

[CAGgmb]

I'vd had anxiety and panic attacks since I was a child. The anxiety comes and goes, but when I have it, it last for weeks or months. I keep fighting, trying to find ways that work to deal with it and get through. Not easy, but I keep working for control.💪

[Moose24]

Welcome CACgmb! I’ve been on here for a while but just check in occasionally. I’ve had panic attacks since I was 13 and I’m now 50. My last GP worked out that it was hormone related, so if it’s possible see an endocrinologist. Obviously I don’t know your life story, so you may know why you have them. Just never stop finding out information and ask questions. Best Wishes.

[designguy]

Hello and welcome. I had anxiety/panic for years and one of the things that really helped me was learning what it really is and how to constructively deal with it.

Anxiety/panic is caused by the surge of adrenalin in your body and prompted by your anxious thoughts that happen so fast you are most likely not even aware of them. Panic and anxiety can be caused by repressed emotions/trauma from your past and fears about your present or the future. They can also be caused or contributed to physically by your hormones, thyroid, adrenals, caffeine and poor diet so it's important to rule out any physical issues causing them.

Learning what they really are, why and how you have them and how to constructively deal with them is the key to healing them. You may even find medication helpful at least temporarily. What helped me was learning that anxiety/panic can't harm you and that it is a paradox, the more we resist it and struggle with it the more it persists so the solution is to surrender to the panicky sensations and don't believe the anxious thoughts and let the adrenalin flow through our body and dissipate. I found it relatively easy to get over the panic attacks but it took longer to resolve my anxiety. Anxiety is our bodies built in defense system that is basically malfunctioning now that you are an adult and no longer need protecting and you need to desensitize yourself to it.

I recommend the DARE Anxiety book and youtube videos for how to deal with panic/anxiety and the youtube videos of Dr. Claire Weekes and the book At Last a Life and Beyond by Paul David.

Another helpful thing is learning and practicing mindfulness meditation which can help you become aware that you are not your thoughts and to learn to let them flow in and out of your mind without attachment. So when anxious thoughts come up you can learn to let them go, it takes time and practice but you will get it, you can also use it to calm yourself and center yourself in the present moment.

[splash186 in reply to designguy]

thanks so much for the Dare recommendation, just ordered!!

[designguy in reply to splash186]

Good for you, let me know if you have any questions once you get into it.