Stress Center Peer Support

hi ive had anxiety and depression for about 12 yrs now i always thought i had control of my emoitions there were some days i had had panic attacks and thats tough. i had the program for about 8 yrs never really started it i don't know why maybe i was scared or a pride thing i don't know. ive been married for 9 yrs to my wife and have a wonderful boy who is ten yrs old on jan 1 2011 we were at a restaurant when worst thing ever imagined happened to me and my wife. in an instant our son had a seizure and we had no idea what happened until the paramedics came and told us. For about 2 months our son continued to have seizures 5 to 10 per day so many tests were done and no answer why this happened to him and they said it could be a viro infection and said his case was rare and said it eventually just goes away. it's very tough when doctors tells us there could be damage all they do is talk negative and they don't really know. thank God at this point since mid march he had only one or two seizures now. we have along way to go with rehab. i've been there for my son and wife for about 3 and half months now and my strees level is sky high.
i get these sharp pains and i feel dzzy and light headed all the time it's scary sometimes because i feel like i'm losing my mind
i get panic attacks and i don't want to worry about these things because my son needs me and my wife.
it gets scary sometimes need advice. thank you

I think what helps me a lot is knowing that you're not alone in this. What I mean is, your symptoms seem like they're certainly anxiety/stress related and that you need to work on coping. I'm not exactly the one to talk, but deep breathing seems to be the ticket for a lot of people. If you still have your program, grab the relaxation cd and go through that a couple times a day. Do your best to stay positive and weed out the negative thoughts. God Bless!

Are you on any medications? I just started Lexapro and ativan and my anxiety and panic attacks stopped. Im just starting to wean down off the ativan. You are under some major stress and with a history of anxiety its no wonder your going through this. you need to do whatever it takes to get it under controll so you can be strong for your family. Deep breathings just a small bandaid when your this stressed out. It is not weak to use meds when things get bad until things get better. If your already on meds than you need an adjustment. Good luck and hang in there. Ill pray for your son and remember its positive thinking that gets results and its hard to think positive when your anxious.

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your son and what he is going through. That is definitely a stressful situation for you as a parent besides your son who is experiencing it. You've said that you have had depression and panic attacks for quite some time, for years. I'm not sure if you have taken anything for the depression or not in the past.

I've been on anti-depressants at a time when I was so depressed I couldn't get myself out of bed and I had a family to take care of as well as a Daycare I ran in my home. I got help then with meds and that helped a lot. Since then many years later I was able to wean off of the anti-depressants with CBT and a Psychologist. It was after I was weaned off for a couple of months and experienced a stressful situation did I have my first panic attack.

But this led me to find Lucinda and get her CDs, I haven't had any panic attacks since my first few during May and July. Otherwise, I have been able to wean off of Remeron and Beta Blockers they put me on after I had my first panic attack. I only take Restoril to help me sleep, and I see a different Psychologist twice a month. He really understands CBT and stress related symtpoms and anxiety. So far I've been off of anti-depressants and have Xanax just in case, but haven't needed to take a whole pill for several months.

I eat meals that are high in protein and omega 3's. I stay away from excess sugar, no caffeine and I never smoked or drank. I am working on more activity now that the weather is warmer and work on changing my "negative" thoughts. I'm not totally cured or back to many of the things I use to do so easily without any fear or panicky feelings. But I'm so much better than I was when I first experienced my first panic attack which was a very scary experience!

So there is hope for you as you work the Program, I listen to CD #2 everytime a take a bath. It talks about changing negative thoughts to more realistic ones and this can really help to change the way you feel. Also, before Lucinda came along I used Dr David Burns of Feeling Good Mood Therapy books workbook called; 10 Days to Self Esteem. It helped me to get off of Wellbutrin with the help of Xanax which I weaned off of at the same time.

So if things are really bad, I recommend some Anti-depressants, but you also can work on feeling better by using Lucinda's methods. They work! Paislee