Anxiety/Panic Attacks

[sayWORD?]

spent 15 minutes trying to login just to comment on this thread.

 

in 2006 my life had taken a pretty bad turn. i was doing alot of ecstacy (nowadays kids try to say that shits "pure" and called "molly" :rolleyes:). at that point i was smoking a fuckload of weed and drinking in excess blah blah. anyways, i ended up ingesting some bad pills, and a wave of anxiety hit me within 30 minutes.

 

up to this point in my life, i had never known the sheer terror of being scared for no apparent reason at all. i suspected this was a result of the amphetamines, a "bad trip" for lack of a better description, and tried to reassure myself that i would come down and everything would work itself out.

 

it didnt. i spent the majority of the next week suffering from the most savage bout of insomnia i have ever sxperienced to date. i definitely wasnt still high, something in my brain just snapped. i was stressed financially and in a shitty relationship at the time, and im sure that didnt help. whatever the reason, i fuckin lost it.

 

i went complete hermit mode for about two weeks. this wasnt just a regular "panic attack", as ive had some of those since and have managed to learn to deal/conquer them. this was an every waking moment terror, coupled with an excessive accelerated heart rate and such a constant nauseous feeling, i couldnt eat.

 

i lost 15 pounds, thought i was going to die, the whole nine. i didnt leave my apartment. i felt miserable and scared, fearing that i was going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life. i lost my sex drive completely, which for a 21 year old male scared me even more. my first initial thought when i woke up every morning was "is it gone?", and then a wave of anxiety would hit me and continue all day long. i stopped smoking weed, drinking, definitely no more pills, nothing worked. i couldnt even watch violent movies or play video games, thinking that this would somehow trigger more feelings of fear.

 

finally, after about a month, i had had enough. i went to the hospital thinking i was going to have to commit myself (this did nothing to alleviate my anxiety), and ended up talking to a psychiatrist. he prescribed me paxil and ativan, giving me a huge warning about the addictiveness of the ativan (which made me even more nervous). basically anything negative that "could" potentially happen in my life in this period my mind would almost instantaneously convice itself that it "would" happen, and more anxiety would ensue.

 

after taking the prescription pills for an extended period of time, i came to the conclusion that the side effects were absolutely horrendous and they did absolutely nothing for me, except further kill my sex drive, and make me feel like i was some sort of mental case. i decided they were of no benefit (for me) and took steps to wean myself off of them. i must stress this though. if any of you are reading this and are experiencing similar feelings as myself (ie the prescription pills arent fucking working, youre sick of the side effects, and you want off) DO NOT JUST STOP TAKING THEM. as was stated earlier, anxiety and depression go hand in hand, and the prescriptions you will most likely be given (at least for depression) will most likely be SSRI's which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. just immediately stopping taking these can lead to severe suicidal thoughts and even more depression, so consult with your physician if you are already on a prescription and want to get off. i was told it takes weeks to safely get off SSRI's, usually 2 weeks of full dosage, 2 weeks of half dosage, 2 weeks of quarter dosage, and then nothing, but im sure this could vary from individual to individual.

 

i was hopeless. this neurosis was beginning to affect every part of my daily life. out of desperation, i went and saw a psychologist, BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE. i was given about 3 months of pretty intense therapy. i was provided alot of paperwork and research surrounding anxiety and depression, coping mechanisms and strategies, and ALOT of support. it could be different depending on where youre from, and the type of health care systems your country employs, but this was very pricey at the time, and im sure it hasnt changed in 5+ years. however, it was worth it for me, and talking to someone who is knowledgeable and non judgemental was very benefical. therapists are like women, you gotta find the right one.

 

i cant begin to provide you with exactly i was given in terms of information and strategies, but i will sum up some things that helped me out greatly when i had anxiety attacks after treatment:

 

1) realise that the panic attack itself isnt going to kill you. just this single thought alone begins to alleviate some of the fear associated with this. thats always my first step.

 

2) rate your fear. put a number on it from one to ten when youre having an attack. if youre having a 7, you can bring up past attacks that you rated that were worse and begin to calm yourself down. say to yourself "ok, im freaking out right now, but at least it isnt as bad as last time..."

 

3) count to 10. fuck it, count to 20. 100 even. sometimes concentrating on something other than your panic attacks (even for a moment) can bring the fear level down. you'd be surprised how effective this is in some cases.

 

4) if youre experiencing lengthy bouts of paranoia and anxiety and feel nauseous, eat fruit. drink water. a healthy body promotes a healthy mind.

 

5) sometimes weed works, sometimes it doesnt. ive got a love/hate relationship with marijuana and paranoia. sometimes it cures it, sometimes it causes it for me. find out what works for you. also, depending on where youre at in your life, the effectiveness of weed to cure your anxiety may differ.

 

6) do your own research and realise you arent alone.

 

7) exercise!!!

 

ive pretty much beat anxiety as a whole, but it took in total about a year. thats not to say that i dont still get minor panic attacks, but ive learned to deal with them, and honestly when you find something that works for you in terms of calming yourself down, theyre not such a huge deal.

 

hopefully this helps someone out.

 

have a good day yall.

 

**i want to stress that im not knocking prescription pills as a whole, im saying they didnt work for me. by all means, if you feel like this is a viable solution to your problem, give them a try. just make sure youre responsible with them, or you may just be adding to your problems.

 

***be careful with drinking. drinking absolutely killed my anxiety. it worked wonders. i drank myself to bed many nights to kill the neurosis and insomnia. however it was a bandaid solution, and being an alcoholic is arguably worse than being a nervous wreck.

 

im out.

[bourgeoisie]

exercise... I run... meditate and do yoga (bikram and vinyasa). just try and stay in control and in the present moment.

helps but it's no cure... not sure there is one. doctors are quick to prescribe.

anxiety is linked with depression so staying away from alcohol and being healthy is the best you can do... ! a tablet / meds won't change your life... but everyone's different so who knows.

anxiety meds are addictive and really hard to quit.

 

my panic attacks get so bad sometimes I vomit! other weird shit too but i'm retarded so whatever. It's pretty funny. have to laugh (my friends do)...

 

that fear note eviltrailer posted is powerful... i'll take that with me. thank you.

[shai]

fuck yes.

until the day i die.

 

I'm finishing up rereading the series right now.

 

Something else that occurred to me....how many people on here prefer rolling solo on missions? I don't know why but I don't hold with the whole "safety in numbers" thing.

[tango 24]

solo or with one friend who i know i can trust implicitly, never really liked the whole crew thing. too many people to roll over on you if they get wrapped up.

[Walid Jumblat]

This is at least the 3rd psychological disorder thread I've seen take off in this forum over the 5 years I've been here. I'm lucky enough to not suffer any afflictions (that I'm aware of) but it amazes me how prevalent it seems to be among the oontzers. Then again, there are thousands of people that use this forum - used to be anyway - and maybe statistically speaking the numbers are right.

 

Either way, if y'all can afford to see a psychologist for some cognitive therapy I'd suggest it. I'm no professional but the bit that I've read about psych leads me to believe that medication is definitely not always the best option. A lot of the time it can be more helpful to make changes in the way you think about things or react to the onset of anxiety rather than you having something 'wrong' with you. Shit, sometimes we actually have good reason to be anxious and it becomes more about solving our actual probs, like unemployment, physical illness, etc. than it does about altering your thinking. If you can't get to some therapy see if you can find the right book and beware of the 'American pill culture'. Contrary to other opinions I wouldn't think boozahol and dope are a good idea for people struggling with their thoughts.

[grimcreeper13]

spent 15 minutes trying to login just to comment on this thread.

 

in 2006 my life had taken a pretty bad turn. i was doing alot of ecstacy (nowadays kids try to say that shits "pure" and called "molly" :rolleyes:). at that point i was smoking a fuckload of weed and drinking in excess blah blah. anyways, i ended up ingesting some bad pills, and a wave of anxiety hit me within 30 minutes.

 

up to this point in my life, i had never known the sheer terror of being scared for no apparent reason at all. i suspected this was a result of the amphetamines, a "bad trip" for lack of a better description, and tried to reassure myself that i would come down and everything would work itself out.

 

it didnt. i spent the majority of the next week suffering from the most savage bout of insomnia i have ever sxperienced to date. i definitely wasnt still high, something in my brain just snapped. i was stressed financially and in a shitty relationship at the time, and im sure that didnt help. whatever the reason, i fuckin lost it.

 

i went complete hermit mode for about two weeks. this wasnt just a regular "panic attack", as ive had some of those since and have managed to learn to deal/conquer them. this was an every waking moment terror, coupled with an excessive accelerated heart rate and such a constant nauseous feeling, i couldnt eat.

 

i lost 15 pounds, thought i was going to die, the whole nine. i didnt leave my apartment. i felt miserable and scared, fearing that i was going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life. i lost my sex drive completely, which for a 21 year old male scared me even more. my first initial thought when i woke up every morning was "is it gone?", and then a wave of anxiety would hit me and continue all day long. i stopped smoking weed, drinking, definitely no more pills, nothing worked. i couldnt even watch violent movies or play video games, thinking that this would somehow trigger more feelings of fear.

 

finally, after about a month, i had had enough. i went to the hospital thinking i was going to have to commit myself (this did nothing to alleviate my anxiety), and ended up talking to a psychiatrist. he prescribed me paxil and ativan, giving me a huge warning about the addictiveness of the ativan (which made me even more nervous). basically anything negative that "could" potentially happen in my life in this period my mind would almost instantaneously convice itself that it "would" happen, and more anxiety would ensue.

 

after taking the prescription pills for an extended period of time, i came to the conclusion that the side effects were absolutely horrendous and they did absolutely nothing for me, except further kill my sex drive, and make me feel like i was some sort of mental case. i decided they were of no benefit (for me) and took steps to wean myself off of them. i must stress this though. if any of you are reading this and are experiencing similar feelings as myself (ie the prescription pills arent fucking working, youre sick of the side effects, and you want off) DO NOT JUST STOP TAKING THEM. as was stated earlier, anxiety and depression go hand in hand, and the prescriptions you will most likely be given (at least for depression) will most likely be SSRI's which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. just immediately stopping taking these can lead to severe suicidal thoughts and even more depression, so consult with your physician if you are already on a prescription and want to get off. i was told it takes weeks to safely get off SSRI's, usually 2 weeks of full dosage, 2 weeks of half dosage, 2 weeks of quarter dosage, and then nothing, but im sure this could vary from individual to individual.

 

i was hopeless. this neurosis was beginning to affect every part of my daily life. out of desperation, i went and saw a psychologist, BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE. i was given about 3 months of pretty intense therapy. i was provided alot of paperwork and research surrounding anxiety and depression, coping mechanisms and strategies, and ALOT of support. it could be different depending on where youre from, and the type of health care systems your country employs, but this was very pricey at the time, and im sure it hasnt changed in 5+ years. however, it was worth it for me, and talking to someone who is knowledgeable and non judgemental was very benefical. therapists are like women, you gotta find the right one.

 

i cant begin to provide you with exactly i was given in terms of information and strategies, but i will sum up some things that helped me out greatly when i had anxiety attacks after treatment:

 

1) realise that the panic attack itself isnt going to kill you. just this single thought alone begins to alleviate some of the fear associated with this. thats always my first step.

 

2) rate your fear. put a number on it from one to ten when youre having an attack. if youre having a 7, you can bring up past attacks that you rated that were worse and begin to calm yourself down. say to yourself "ok, im freaking out right now, but at least it isnt as bad as last time..."

 

3) count to 10. fuck it, count to 20. 100 even. sometimes concentrating on something other than your panic attacks (even for a moment) can bring the fear level down. you'd be surprised how effective this is in some cases.

 

4) if youre experiencing lengthy bouts of paranoia and anxiety and feel nauseous, eat fruit. drink water. a healthy body promotes a healthy mind.

 

5) sometimes weed works, sometimes it doesnt. ive got a love/hate relationship with marijuana and paranoia. sometimes it cures it, sometimes it causes it for me. find out what works for you. also, depending on where youre at in your life, the effectiveness of weed to cure your anxiety may differ.

 

6) do your own research and realise you arent alone.

 

7) exercise!!!

 

ive pretty much beat anxiety as a whole, but it took in total about a year. thats not to say that i dont still get minor panic attacks, but ive learned to deal with them, and honestly when you find something that works for you in terms of calming yourself down, theyre not such a huge deal.

 

hopefully this helps someone out.

 

have a good day yall.

 

**i want to stress that im not knocking prescription pills as a whole, im saying they didnt work for me. by all means, if you feel like this is a viable solution to your problem, give them a try. just make sure youre responsible with them, or you may just be adding to your problems.

 

***be careful with drinking. drinking absolutely killed my anxiety. it worked wonders. i drank myself to bed many nights to kill the neurosis and insomnia. however it was a bandaid solution, and being an alcoholic is arguably worse than being a nervous wreck.

 

im out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is literally my story exactly ha. almost to a T. Im also overcoming it a little bit at a time and i know that im nearing stability. I feel in control now and it controls my life much less now..

 

i agree that it comes with the territory. I think as artists and specifically graffiti artists were all searching for something whether we want to admit that to ourselves or not.

 

Thanks for the insight and I hope anyone else that reads this will feel some relief as well in seeing that people have overcome it to an extent they didnt think possible. Im sure most of you can relate that there was atleast 2 or 3 months where i felt like i would much rather die than live in this dizzying state.

[MedicineCabinet]

my first initial thought when i woke up every morning was "is it gone?", and then a wave of anxiety would hit me and continue all day long

fuck, this is so funny yet sad. totally understand this

 

also guys, make sure your doctor is someone who you can see some genuine care in past the professional level.. usually not hard to tell. & that theyre not a piece of shit making commission from the company of whatever prescription hes throwing out there like candy canes on christmas

 

one big nutty family

[RIPS]

http://youtu.be/5Za2k5wA3sk

[~KRYLON2~]

caffein and flourescent lights tweek me out pretty bad. for whatever reason my heart starts pounding and i sweat like crazy, not to mention the feeling that something bad is gonna happen. i quit drinking energy drinks and coffee as well as exercising more. sofar the results have been great. i'm in better shape, smoke less cigaretts, and feel better about myself. the anxiety went away, i feel more confident when speaking in public sometimes in front of 100's of people. anxiety attacks and public speaking are a bad combination. 30mins feels like forever.

[mackfatsoe]

don't get hooked on the xanax, bromazepams

[yardwanderer]

^^Great advice please heed. These things can be helpful but if you have an addictive personality you will love the feeling and abuse as a crutch rather than a silver bullet, so to speak. It's easy to become more agitated, scatterbrained, and paranoid with benzos.

 

If you have anxiety marijuana can often help but ultimately worsen your problem if you have mental dependency issues. If there is a history of alcoholism in your family there is a common tendency to abuse SOMETHING, not necessarily drink, for perceived well-being.

 

If you must smoke, try only smoking indica strains, stay away from sativas if they make you racy, paranoid, anxious. Try to keep it to the end of the day, or carry a one hitter for difficult moments. I find smoking in the morning can fuck my day up, make me more paranoid, anxious, apathetic depending on where I have to be and what I have to do. Smoke what you need to get relaxed and don't overdo it.

 

If you have access to MJ edibles, use those in small doses.

 

Don't drink too much coffee. If you smoke cigs, quit asap.

 

Try chai or green chai with milk.. Incense.. Small relaxing things can make a HUGE difference.

 

Get 8 hours of sleep no more no less.

 

Make it a point to challenge your boundaries daily as far as routine and social interaction. Trial and error. Little steps.

[shai]

falso guys, make sure your doctor is someone who you can see some genuine care in past the professional level.. usually not hard to tell. & that theyre not a piece of shit making commission from the company of whatever prescription hes throwing out there like candy canes on christmas

 

If you can't find a doctor that's willing or able to take a holistic approach to your condition, alternative/complementary medicine is definitely worth checking out.....especially if you're looking for something more substantial than the usual common sense advice and a script for ___________.

 

Herbal remedies can also take the edge off without knocking you for a loop like most anxiety meds. Valerian is good if you need something stronger and don't mind feeling like you took a mild benzo. St. John's wort seems to work for everyone except me, so I dunno. Kava has about the same effect as drinking a couple light beers but it tastes like dirt and may cause liver damage. Damiana, mugwort, passionflower, hops and chamomile have calmative properties. One of my friends swears by L-theanine, which I have yet to try but sounds interesting....and so on.

 

The best thing to do is keep an open mind and ask your doctor questions about what other options are available. If they don't know, find someone who does. Good luck.

[CILONE/SK]

I gets this shit. tells you about it when sobbers

!!!

[graff goon]

i use to get them really bad for days at a time. i was prescribed effexor 75 mg. it took one month for the meds to get into my system but they went away. ive been on the meidcation about 7 years and havent had anymore panic attacks.

 

meds act different with everyone and dosages take some time to figure out how much youll need for them to go away. also ask your doctor to prescribe you something thats non habit forming so youre not getting rid of one problem and gaining a new one

[RIPS]

[injury]

i agree that it comes with the territory. I think as artists and specifically graffiti artists were all searching for something whether we want to admit that to ourselves or not.

 

this is what im saying ...

some writers i know are fucking weirdos. i take comfort in that because i am too.

i feel like a lot of these dudes, especially a few that have known me for a few years, are closer to me in a lot of ways than people ive known since childhood.

 

we're fucking weirdos and most people simply wont get it. you have to be a weirdo to want to write on other peoples shit many many times. it's this weird insecure cross between deviance and immaturity and some weird psychological yearning.

 

 

iono.

[ZERK847]

For social anxiety, Prep your mind, Ask yourself what's the harm being around/talking to mad people. sometimes try putting yourself in situations that may trigger social anxiety, TAKE RISK'S. confront your fear, It's hard for me to be around and to talk to people, but I do these things and it helps. By knowing what actual harm it can do to you and being prepped for it makes a difference. what don't kill you makes you stronger. Anxiety= keeping oontzers on lurk from day one.

[theprotester]

Buy stuff! You'll feel heaps better!

[Walid Jumblat]

For social anxiety, Prep your mind, Ask yourself what's the harm being around/talking to mad people. sometimes try putting yourself in situations that may trigger social anxiety, TAKE RISK'S. confront your fear, It's hard for me to be around and to talk to people, but I do these things and it helps. By knowing what actual harm it can do to you and being prepped for it makes a difference. what don't kill you makes you stronger. Anxiety= keeping oontzers on lurk from day one.

 

You might want to read up on relaxation techniques before you do this though. Learn how to calm yourself when you get panicked and desensitise yourself systematically. As in small steps, teach yourself that you can control the fear and that there is less to worry about than it may feel. Flooding yourself with the stimulus that triggers anxiety can sometimes make shit worse if you're not set up properly.

[50million]

Exercise! Breathing techniques. Eat super healthy food.

[NightmareOnElmStreet]

TITS. SOLVE. EVERYTHING. I"VE BEEN SAVED!

[EXECUTIVE_FINGERBLAST]

The allure of the psychedelic culture is what I blame my social anxiety on. I got kicked out when I was younger and moved halfway across the country, up rooted, and never really planted roots since. This made me really reclusive and at one point I was cultivating psilocibins and tripping alone pretty often.

 

That alone will fuck you psychologically. I've never been the same in social situations, unless I drink. I used to smoke often and it never seemed to affect me. I had to quit not to long ago because I started getting really uncomfortable around people that I wasn't really close to. Like not being able to speak. weird.

 

I was doing really good, until I took this 'golden' opportunity to experience a different culture. Man, this shit has been tuff. Round eye feelin' a hellova lota indifference over here. And yea tits are a band-aid. but nothing sticks.

 

The best remedy for anxiety/depression i've come to find is like many of you said, staying productive IDLE TIME IS NO GOOD! exercise, meditation (mindful breathing), generally just healthy living. and eight hours of sleep everynight. Having a kid did wonders for me, but not being able to seem him crushes my spirits.

 

Also Im about to re-read The Awakening Of Intelligence by Krishnamurti. I urge you all with similar afflictions to do so as well. Right now im feeling like I wanna fucking run until I hit a brick wall. Know what I mean? I cant sit and not do anything and if I do something its self destructive. Writing on shit is always a good release.

 

Shitz so sad its funny. Thread full'a manic depressive wweeerrdddooeezz

[john_gacy]

Just

Relax

It's All

In Your

Mind

[Hecho]

Haven't read the thread in entirely.

 

I had some bad, bad anxiety for around 3 years. It kept me stagnant and I knew it which didn't help with mood either.

 

As said earlier knowing the cause of your anxiety helps, so do some reflection but as important is activity which is going to keep you healthy and give you a strength of mind which will help avoid it in future, and other people if you want to. There's something out there you enjoy focussing on which will in turn help you to relax.

 

If you learn what makes you comfortable with yourself I think anxiety based around the actions, or thoughts, of others will become less an issue.

 

So do what you feel is right for you, things you enjoy or which serve a purpose for you. It may mean less money or having to face conflict of interest. Talk about the real you for a minute. And Croc's image is perfect. Patience.

[RIPS]

[Sleazeside Heights]

it's the worst ever. sometimes it feels like nothing works, and that is a terrible feeling. It's amazing the power your mind has over your body and the pressure and stress it puts on it. there are things that can help you relax sometimes, but they are temporary. There are a lot of good books out there if you search them out. Many are just collections of life advice, and tips on how to manage feelings. your brain is a fucking bastard, and you have to learn to separate yourself from it to keep it in check.

[Butter_Milkshake]

I havent posted on here in a while but there was a thread on here about a year ago that had tons of good infomation in it. Mine come and go, the more i drink, if somebody close to me passes away, working too much...DO NOT GET HOOKED ON XANAX, you will become dependent on that shit and youre anxiety will increase like crazy when you are not on it. Talking to a therapist helps some people because they can help you discover the root of your problems. Also go to barnes and nobles or the library there are tons of good books on this disorder.