Forcing a panic attack on myself????

[Deb Johnson]

Hi I am new to the progam. Sometimes I feel like I also bring on panic attacks myself. I worry about what I should have done differently during the day, what others think of me, did I forget to do something, etc. What can I do to break this. I do the breathing exercises and they help. I have also been on RX meds but I want to be free of this. Any suggestions?

[jtbrannen]

i believe you might just be upsetting yourself and as odd as it may sound..just try to relax..tell yourself positive thoughts jtbrannen@yaoo.com

[Faith_TX]

Originally posted by frasierlooloo:
Chris,
Amen to your statement that the thought of a panic attack is worse than having one! The fear of the fear drives me nuts! I know exactly what you mean. Hope your having a great day! gina

Yeah, once I stopped and looked at it logically I thought. . .if I'm just afraid of being afraid that is sort of silly. Now I must say that I also recently started taking 1/2 Xanax (just a .25 small dose) before bed and I think that's helping too. But, I know it doesn't last all day so that gives me a chance to work on my own thoughts.

Monday night I fell asleep without it and woke up not being able to catch my breath. So, I told myself. . . I knew I needed my Xanax dose, but that I needed to calm myself down first so I knew that I could still do it on my own. So I imagined myself floating through the panic attack and waiting out the adrenalin rush and it went away 10 minutes later or so. Then I got up and got my medicine and went back to bed.

I read a little pamphlet from the Lutheran church (I'm LCMS) and it just gave the information in a very logical medical way and that made sense to me. I carry that pamphlet with me everywhere now just in case I'm having a day where I can't quite think straight.

My counselor said that I need to try to stay 'grounded' and try to talk to people that calm me on days like that. . . and read things that are calming and based on FACT not overly emotional. So, for me that pamphlet did it and I personally like reading the Bible because for me that is calming. I know that's not for everyone.

I think I'm making progress and hopefully in a few weeks I can drop my small dose of Xanax also. I'm still considering trying the Lexapro again, but I haven't decided yet. I go back and forth. Today was a good day so of course I'm saying I don't need it.

[Faith_TX]

Originally posted by Deb Johnson:
Hi I am new to the progam. Sometimes I feel like I also bring on panic attacks myself. I worry about what I should have done differently during the day, what others think of me, did I forget to do something, etc. What can I do to break this. I do the breathing exercises and they help. I have also been on RX meds but I want to be free of this. Any suggestions?

Deb I do that also! I am always worrying about what others think of me, but I'm working on doing things that make me feel good about myself, and trying to come to the realization that I am a good person with a lot to offer but not everyone is going to like me. So the best thing to do is just be myself and try not to overthink everything. I think sometimes when I worry about what everyone thinks, I try TOO hard and then I end up acting weird which defeats the whole purpose! LOL