Am I slowly going mad?

[Misemefein]

My life has become so small in just over a week. All I can do is cry and feel useless. I have just started a new job which was a step up the ladder, managing a team, lovely husband and friends, looking forward to a holiday in May! Things were going really well for me. Then out of the blue, minding my own business in the queue in sainsburys I started to feel really dizzy and nervous...I thought I was going to pass out . But I fought through it and when I got home I still felt weird but put it down to tiredness. The following day at work we had a whole staff meeting and I was sitting there again...Nd boom........this horrible panicking....fainting...loosing my vision feeling pours over me...I almost left twice...but again fought through it and made it to the end of the day. That night I had a few drinks and felt fine. Saturday my husband and I went to a large shopping centre to look for holiday clothes...I should had been in my element but about fifteen minutes in I felt really panicky and faint and ran back to the car....which was a struggle as my legs were like jelly...my husband followed me and through a torrent of tears I told him everything. After. 30 mins I felt a bit better and we went back into the shop.l.but I had to leave again after 5 minutes.the same feelings engulfed me. We went home and my husband ordered me to rest. We shared a few drinks and again I felt better. Sunday we went to morrisons to do the shopping but I had to leave my poor hubby at the checkout as I thought I was going to pass out. I struggled on two very wobbly legs to the car. Since then I have tried to go shopping but cannot. And now the panic is coming almost constantly. Anybody experience the same or have any advice?

[BILL16WEST]

What are you panicking about? has something triggered your anxiety attacks?.

[seyi]

Hiya my name is Seyi and what you have just written is exactly what is happening to me. I could have wrote that myself. I have been told to breathe when this is starting to happen. It is so scary and you feel that no one can appreciate and understand what is happening to you. I have been to see a therapist this evening for the first time and was told mine is Anxiety Disorder and can come on anytime. I was told to face the problem instead of running away from the situation which i constantly do.

I have just got a phone call so will carry on talking on this later.

Take care

Love Seyi xxx

[wallflower_fairy]

Hi sweet, my heart goes out to you.

You're not going mad, so don't worry about that aspect of it.

What you describe isn't unusal I don't think, as people often have panic attacks during times of calm when things are going well - but they usually onset some time after a period of stress or trauma.

It's like now things are going well there's suddenly all that room for those feelings you didn't know about to come and make themselves noticed A certain celebrity idol of mine experienced the same thing when he was having a quiet dinner with his family - these feelings of relentless panic which takes one by complete surprise. Weeks before he had been experiencing repeated trauma but just 'kept going so the emotions didn't have a chance to make themselves known. The good news is, he did get better - and that's one the reasons I admire him (although not in isolation) Anyway, I'm wondering it it's because you've had bad experiences in your past, ones you haven't resolved or let yourself think about? I'm wondering if it's to do with being around crowds as you described the panic to take place then, so something similar may have triggered the unexpected attacks. But I don't know. It may be just an unexplained onset of depression due to a chemical inbalance.

Either way, the best advice I can give would be to get professional help immediately. Go and see your GP and tell them what is happening to see if they can arrange some counselling/medication/both for you. As the sooner you get intervention, the quicker you can recover. You will get through this. xxxx

[Hidden]

Hi no you are not going mad. The same thing happened to me last year and I thought I was going crazy. My life went from being full on to complete collapse and I didn't see it coming. My head hurt, my brain wasn't working, dizzy, sick, jelly legs and I was convinced I was going mad too. Please see your gp they will support you and so will the people on here. Take small steps and try not to plan going out. If you think you can manage a short walk just grab your coat and hat and go but if you can't just rest until you are stronger listen to your body. Let us know how you are doing take care x

[formidible]

You have experienced classic anxiety panic attack symptoms. It can be quite frightening. I recommend getting support in all the ways mentioned already but want to stress how much breathing properly is so important. When starting to feel anxious and pannicky you will almost certainly be breathing lightly instead of from your diaphragn. So take a deep breath inward from your diapragn, hold for a second, then a fully release of the breath outwards. Concentrate only on your breathing. Repeat the deep breathes and within a minute or so you will feel so much better. Hope that helps. . .