What should I do now.

[moley64]

Hi,

I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for just over a year.

The problem started when my wife told me that she was thinking of leaving me. The news completely stunned me and came to me out of the blue. I was relatively calm when she told me a (Saturday evening). The next morning I was very anxious which then proceeded into a full blown panic attack. I was in such a state that I was taken to A&E. Over the last 12 months I have had many different kinds of therapies and medication which have improved me from the position that I was in 12 months ago. I was assessed by the crisis unit of my local mental health hospital. 12 months later I still worry endlessly about things in particular health issues. I have a particular fear about not being able to breathe. What is strange is that my relationship now with my wife is really good and she has stood by me in particularly difficult times of the last 12 months.

I cannot seem to fathom why I continue to be so troubled by anxiety and panic issues.

[milo1]

HI MOLEY something similar happened to me not bad news but i had a very dizzy spell room was spinning thought i was going to pass out this then turned into panic attack i too ended up in a and e i have never been ill in my life my doctor says i now have anxiety i dont take meds as i am allergic to almost everything i have no worries as such but i too struggle to breathe i am always on edge thinking i am going to have another attack they say we have to put the past behind us and move on easier said than done but yes this is anxiety be strong i have been told it will go eventually i am glad your wife has helped you my partner has also been brilliant good luck time will heal x

[moley64]

Hi Milo

Thanks very much for your supportive comment. When you are going through a rough patch it is very nice to have a feeling of support. Hope all goes well with you.

[Hidden]

Hi Moley.

The feeling of not being able to breathe is horrendous to say the least.

But they are just fears and when we hyperventilate we cannot breathe properly but this is only because we are breathing rapid from the chest and nothing more, I would suggest very slow deep breathing quite frequently possibly every day for a few minutes at a time, this way you learn to breath from the stomach and not the chest.

Its not easy to start with but it does get easier.

Your wife is one in a million and as milo says her husband is so supportive too so i would say he is one in a million also. So long as you have the support from your partners then you will make it honestly. Its not easy we all know but having support is the best thing we can have.

Unfortunately for me i lost my support and guidance when my parents sadly passed away so i feel a great deal for people when they do not have it and it makes me so happy to read that some people do have that support and its great.

I wish you all well and keep up the good work whatever it may be, you will subside this condition somehow there is a way through it but we have to keep at it, its a long struggle and sometimes we want to give up but please please never give up, you have been fighting it for a long while to give up now would make us all feel like failures and we are not.

[moley64]

Hi Deborah,

I do think that support and understand is very important. I think that a tough part of anxiety and panic attacks is the sense of being alone and isolation. If you have a broken leg you have something to show for your pain. Thank you very much for your kind a supportive words.

M