Stress Center Peer Support

Thanks you for the encouragement, Mike! I just listened to session 2 for the second time. And I have to admit, I am feeling much better! Since starting the program I haven't had any major panic attacks, which is amazing! I still feel the generalized anxiety, but when I feel the panic building, I use the tools and they never progress!!

Now I am just hoping to see the generalized anxiety go away! And I think much of that may be due to my cigarette and caffeine habit and I really need to start exercising. I really think that will help. Did you have to change your lifestyle much? I had no idea just how much my own lifestyle contributed to my mental health, like duh, why did it take me until now to figure that out? I think it took this to make me believe it.

I finally feel like I see some light at the end of this tunnel!! I just can't give up just because I'm finally functional...I really believe life can improve even more. One thing that I am going to do more is utilize the peer support feature of the program. When beginning the program I didn't think I would be able to do it, my anxiety made me believe no one wants to hear me ramble about my problems! But I am going to check in daily after listening to the session. I have to.

Thanks again!

Melissa

Hi my name is Amber and I too have depersonalization. In August of 09 I woke up in the middle of the night and had a traumatic panic attack. I just remember my head feeling really funny and freaking out that I was losing my mind. I started to pace back and forth of my bedroom and trying to calm myself down by saying your not going crazy, your fine, but I didn't feel fine. You know when you get really cold you shiver vigorously? Well my legs were shivering so bad that they started to jump, and this was all during my panic attack.

After the panic attack I felt very tired and I went to bed for like the rest of the day, then when I woke up I still felt tired, but really dizzy and lightheaded.

It is now feburary and that panic attack was in august and I still feel like spacy/dizzy/tired/disconnected feelings. It usually gets really bad in bright lights and when I am really busy. I hate having a lot to do because it just makes all of those feelings return or sometimes they are just simply there for now reason. I don't know how to get rid of it, but I do know that when I think about it the worse it gets.

I heard it is just the brain protecting itself from an overload of stress. And thinking about it is stressful, so it gets worse.