Anxiety and Panic Attacks

[black4vcobra]

Sorry to hear you are going through crippling anxiety OP. As others have mentioned, it affects a lot more people than you realize.

For me I know it is work. Sunday afternoon/evening rolls around and the week that I'm facing puts me in a pretty crappy mood because I spend far too much time sitting at a desk. My week is much better i'm even out of the office 1 day of the week visiting a client.

I've definitely used booze to quiet that anxiety from time to time but then the next day is just worse. Booze is not the answer and I've made the strict decision to stay away from it as the "crutch" to deal with anxiety.

Edit - beyond the work issues, now that I have a 7 month old son, I definitely have some anxiety about failing him as a father. We think we are doing alright so far though the impending winter is going to introduce another issue for us to deal with.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

I have been drinking a lot more now, because that is the only thing that works. Has anyone else experienced this before?

I feel you

 

[97WHITEVENOM]

I have been suffering from anxiety for 6 years now on/off. I go thru stretches of high anxiety that can last a week or even a couple months and then it usually quiets down for awhile.
To the OP as far as alcohol and anxiety goes...

All alcohol does is borrow tomorrows happiness for today.

 

[IronSnake]

I've looked into this as I've slowly but surely fought with this most of my adult life. A lot of bad moments of my life give me anxiety when I think about them. Unfortunately.

I wish I could say it's some sort of mental game you play with yourself, but I found that there's only a couple ways to fix it for me. Exercise is huge, but since I'm not a runner/Gym guy, getting out in the shop and wrenching my ass off helps. Installed studs/spacers on the GT a few weeks ago and had to man handle them to get them in. Got home, felt better than I ever have in a while.

I also noticed a huge part is not sweating in this cold weather. Not like sweaty pits but like full body sweat. I suggest hitting a sauna. It will help cleanse your body and improve your health overall, which will improve your mood.

Lastly, a caffeine + not enough water is a deadly combination. If you put drinking on top of it, and boy you have problems to be had. Hydrating is huge, laying off excess Caffeine & sugar, watch your booze consumption. However, I went out and hammered a bunch of beers with the boys a while back and woke up hungover. Once I was back to square one and felt good, a lot of the tension in my chest was gone. Cutting loose does some good too I guess.

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

After a really rough break up I faced, I started to get anxiety and panic attacks too. It is getting less frequent though.

 

[Sirraf]

I've stopped drinking for the most part, and it seems to have gotten a little better.

Weirdly enough, when we went to my wife's family for thanksgiving my anxiety was alot better. Maybe being around people helps?

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

I've stopped drinking for the most part, and it seems to have gotten a little better.

Weirdly enough, when we went to my wife's family for thanksgiving my anxiety was alot better. Maybe being around people helps?

Being around people definitely helps.

 

[_Snake_]

I've stopped drinking for the most part, and it seems to have gotten a little better.

Weirdly enough, when we went to my wife's family for thanksgiving my anxiety was alot better. Maybe being around people helps?

It sure does. You’re “living in the moment,” but you can also do that on your own.

Have you ever meditated? Headspace is a great meditation app and will help you learn how to live in the moment and lessen the effects of depression or anxiety.

 

[Cobra Jet 429]

Dealt with anxiety for about 8 years now. I too thought it was a bunch of BS. How quickly I learned otherwise. In the beginning I used therapy, along with daily prescription for Effexor XR, an SSRI and Ativan as something to take when attacks happened. Effexor didnt work well for me and after 2 months of trying, Id had enough. So after that there has been no medication really. Mostly counseling for about the first two years and since then, mental exercises to help fight off attacks when they do come. In recent times CBD oil, CBD/THC 1:1 vape pens (legal from a dispensary) have given me the absolute best relief from the small daily issues that can rear up. Honestly, talk to a therapist and of you can find a source for good clean, legal CBD products, Id go that route. CBD has very minimal risk for bad interaction, doesn't cause any type of dependency and doesn't cause any type of inebriation. For me its just like life was before anxiety. If you have any questions, or want advice by all means, shoot me a PM. Anxiety is a cruel mess to deal with, but with the right therapy, support system and knowledge, you can deal with it in a way that doesn't disrupt your life.

 

[Cobra Jet 429]

Also, drinking for the purpose of quelling anxiety will fix nothing. It only leads one way. I rarely drink alone. For me, drinking is largely relegated to being a social activity.

 

[lilcoop03]

I had what I am calling a panic/anxiety attack 4 months ago. I posted about it here as it was my first one (and only one at 35 years old) and I thought I was having a heart attack. Went to the ER, everything was fine. Even had stress test and MRI done. Really scared the hell out of me! I'm not sure what triggered it but I quit drinking, smoking, and doing recreational drugs that day, cold turkey. It made me look at my health and well being and put things into perspective for me and made me realize how much of my life and money I was wasting on stupid shit like that. I have cut back on caffeine, drink more water, trying to eat better and exercise more. I haven't had another one since and I will be so glad if I never do!

 

[Fordflo]

What helps me is praying to Almighty God regularity and reading his good word the Bible...what helped me with my anxiety/PTSD, etc is Philippians 4:4-7...great bible scripture...and no, I am not a pastor just sharing something that helps me out everyday...

cheers charlie

 

[mustangvsix]

Find a psychiatric/mental health doc to talk to. My wife couldn't sleep, near pass out while driving type anxiety over mortality and life and such. Helped her a lot and was able to avoid meds.