Anxiety.

[liberalnarb]

Last edited Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Hey, DU. I'm in kind of a funk right now. I think I may be in the middle of a mild anxiety attack. About 2 days ago this started. It had been a pretty stressful week for me, work-wise, then on top of that a lot of depressing things have been happening around the world. So anyway, 2 days ago I was feeling okay so I decided to browse the internet (Oops). Considering the current events of the week, there wasn't a lot of up beat stuff. I ended up reading an article about Brock Turner, sickening, and all of the sudden it happened, my chest tightened, my heart started beating fast and my mind was racing. I've had an anxiety attack before, so this one was not full blown but it wasn't mild. It was the kind of feeling where you just cannot catch your breath or calm yourself down. Everything seemed to lose its color, everything felt dark, for some reason I could not escape the dark feeling the article gave me. Its better now, I woke up this morning calmer, but I still don't feel normal.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ETA : I went to see a therapist I used to go to (for anxiety) he was quite helpful, I'm starting to feel back to normal. I'm still going through swings though, it hasn't fully past.

[fleur-de-lisa]

1. . . .

[angstlessk]

2. Normal? how can you feel normal? The definition of insane:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Albert Einstein

Clinton I, Bush, Obama, Clinton II...expecting change?

[rug]

3. Well, hell.

This always calms me.

[elleng]

4. Lots of sadness around these days,

including family stuff, but I was happy to see this earlier, and it gives me some cheer:



Best wishes, liberalnarb.

[liberalnarb]

5. Thank you. I've been getting better today.

Such an odd experience though.

[elleng]

8. Good.

Yes, it is odd. Must say I don't feel physical 'symptoms,' more than stomach jitters.

[Trailrider1951]

24. Oh that picture reminds me of one of my favorite songs

"Let me bring you love from the field
Poppies red and roses filled with summer rain
To heal the wounds and still the pain..."

Jethro Tull: Songs from the Wood

Here's hoping you feel much better!

[In_The_Wind]

25. Great song!

[demmiblue]

6. A couple of videos that may help:

"You are not alone, and you are ok." ... plus a breathing exercise:

Here is a short, gentle yoga video that is calming and helps to reduce the tension in your muscles:

[LiberalEsto]

7. Hugs to you

and my hope that you will feel better

[femmocrat]

9. Hope you feel a little better today.

I know what you mean. I can't get myself motivated to leave the house and when I do, it causes a lot of trepidation. It's all irrational, I know that. I have been deliberately staying away from the television news. Find calming things to do instead of reading or watching disturbing stuff.

[irisblue]

10. I have some understandings of this

when this happens to me I only watch dog& cat videos on the net, or read a real honest to paper book with some iced tea or lemonade nearby. . Do you visit the mental health support groups on DU?

[liberalnarb]

12. Didn't know there were mental health support groups here.

Anyway, thanks.

[cyberswede]

11. Here's an emergency kitten

[redwitch]

13. Such short legs!

Nothing like a kitteh to calm you down. Unless it's a baby goat stampede.

[irisblue]

15. that last goat into the barn had sooo much to say..

[redwitch]

14. I am so sorry! I can relate, wish I was clueless.

Everything piles up and then I get insomnia too.

[In_The_Wind]

20. I hate it when my sleep pattern changes. Waking up at odd hours. Falling asleep at dawn.

Up again in 2 hours. An afternoon nap.
Oh, getting a full night's sleep would be a heavenly thing.

[redwitch]

21. I used to be a champion sleeper.

Ah well. A full night's sleep really would be heavenly.

[kairos12]

16. Breath deeply and slowly

Mantra: Peace and Strength.

[mnhtnbb]

17. Anxiety can really cause physical symptoms...

I know from experience.

The first time I had an anxiety attack I thought I was having a heart attack and ended up in the ER. That was almost 40 years ago,
and I've had less intense ones since then.

Glad you were able to get in to see the therapist.

There is an awful lot of awful stuff happening in the world and it's very easy to get tense/anxious about the future.
I have found staying away from the distressing news helpful, particularly at the start or end of the day, so I'm not thinking about it all day or
not able to get horrible stuff out of my mind before going to sleep. I have found regular times of being outside helpful: a walk, or sit on
the deck and watch the clouds or listen to the birds. Music helps, too.

Hope you continue to feel more calm.

[liberalnarb]

18. Funny, I ended up in the ER the first time too.

[lunatica]

19. OK. I prescribe at last an hour of watching kittehs on Youtube

I hope this lifts your spirits and relaxes you

[a la izquierda]

22. Welcome to my world...

just found out my mom is having an emergency hysterectomy because of a mass. I had a panic attack while talking to her on the phone.
Thank goodness I have a good therapist.
I hope you get to feeling better soon.

[DemonGoddess]

23. Sorry you had to go through this

anxiety attacks are unpleasant, to say the least. Because they can feel like heart attacks, I expect many of us have ended up in the ER because of 'em. But you know? Better safe than sorry for that.