Anxiety, Panic Attacks - My simple methods

[Malfunction]

Social Phobia…..WOW. Who would have thought that such strong emotions will affect our lives? I hate anxiety and panic attacks. Don’t we all!!!!!

I posted my story under a guest name some time ago. I’m now a member as I’ve realised that my problems won’t go away overnight.

Things that have helped my social phobias and panic attacks:

Talking about my problem – I seeked help (and still am) from a councillor and told family (mum and dad) about my problems. The councillor is working very well and I recommend it to anyone. I work at a university and the service is free. The same will apply to most universities (even if it advertised for limited number of sessions) and large corporate businesses. Cost shouldn’t be an issue anyway.
Just by typing this message I feel better. I also find reading the longer post and peoples experiences better for my own social phobias.

Relaxing – This is very important. Stress lead to most of my panic attacks. Before presentations (including lecturing), pressure from exams, meetings, interviews. My social phobia was so bad I couldn’t get on a bus. I learnt not to be to wind my self up in tense situations and hence increase my stress.
I decided to build into my life “quiet times”. I realised that I don’t relax like many of my friends and parents. I was always active doing something. I’m in my early 20’s and as boring as it may sound, but walking is the most relaxing technique I’ve found. I’d drive out of the city to the countryside and walk around and completely escape the hustle and bustle of city life. However, I find it relaxing to walk around some city parks.

Facing the fear – My fear started when I was doing my last exam at university. A major panic attack that caused me to stop doing the exam. Not what I needed in my last year. My panic attacks have subsided greatly over the last year.
I now try to face social phobia conditions head on. Some times I still get the locking sensation in the neck that prevents me turning to someone (e.g after I’ve paid on a bus and about to turn to walk up the aisle, standing in a que). My presentations are becoming much better now I have picked up some basic skills (outlined in the second thread of this post, http://www.socialphobiaworld.com/postt172.html)

Music – Music is a powerful tool. I could say that music gets me through the day. It helps me to relax and take my mind off anxiety. When I get very anxious (e.g. 5 mins before a presentation) I recite some lyrics from a song. It not one of my favourite songs but the lyrics and the heaviness are very appropriate. It’s a song by the Deftones. The song is called headup and the lyrics I recite over in my head are, “welcome to this world with your head up high”. In the song these are recited and shouted. It’s a great uplifting and adrenaline rushing experience to me. If any ones into rock try it out. In fact I’m quiet into the Deftones now. I never imagined I would be but all their songs tell a story and are very uplifting. Its one of the only bands I’ve found that the lyrics make sense and some songs relate to anxiety experiences.

That’s about it. I will say that my social phobias have improved greatly by using these techniques. However, a couple of weeks ago I had a panic attack similar to the bad one in the exam. It was a real draining experience and it knocked me back to square one. I felt all my efforts were wasted as I couldn’t control myself in the situation. Only now I’m trying to forget the experience and forget thinking about having a similar event. I’m slowly getting back to a better state as I was before this recent attack.
Another fear that is triggering anxiety is that I have to present a paper at three conferences this year. I have to give a presentation to 30 people, then est.. 200, then est. 180. I’m very nervous and this is triggering general social phobias in my every day life.

Lastly, I don’t believe in drugs to treat (unless its serious of course). In my opinion someone who dives straight into medications without trying to research their fears first is daft. So many people on this site list what they are taking and the quantities. This is for one particular person and has been prescribed by a GP who doesn’t know the extent of individual’s social phobias. It’s not like going getting medication for a cold or ear infection. I don’t mean to offend anyone by saying this. I apologise if I have.

I’d be grateful for some advice or similar easy to do remedies.

Thanks for reading this

 

[shep]

It's my opinion that you are going about this in the right way, especially with regard to your view on taking drugs. I have had my problem since I was a teen and now I'm retired after many years of struggling with it. I had no idea what was bothering me until I saw a program on TV dealing with it. Fortunately, my phobia has not been as bad as many that have been described in various forums but I understand the suffering that people have with this. Maybe someday (soon?) there will be a magic bullet to fix this problem for all of us. I suspect that it will come after researchers find out exactly what is causing this to happen. In the meantime, I wish you well with your studies and a successful completion. After you finish, it may be very helpful to choose a job situation which is easy on your condition. Good luck to you.

 

[neddy]

Hello, I also don't believe in taking medication, I prefer to tackle this head on. I drive for a living and tried zoloft earlier on this year as the depression was getting out of hand but I couldn't get through the first 2 weeks as I felt like a space cadet and was having trouble trying to remember things like locations etc so I threw them in the bin. I have had a social phobia for a very long time now and at one stage used to cringe whenever I was around people I didn't know, but I am slowly overcoming this with my job. I have to talk to people every day and it is getting easier.
I also find music is a good way to relax. It calms me down and when I am feeling really down helps to pick me up. Another thing I find helpful is exercising. Its a good way of thinking things through and you always feel better afterwards.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Shep and Neddy for your replies.

I have thought about medications but as i said in my post its difficult to get the type and quantity correct. This is whats put me off, as it could make my problem worse or increase my awareness of a new fear.

Neddy. You said you drive for a living. Have you ever had a panic attack whilst driving. If your in Aus do you go out in the outback (Mines, etc..)? Is so, and you've had a panic attack, was it in a city or out in the outback?

Regards

 

[Malfunction]

Update over the years

I created this post over 2 years ago when I was overcoming my anxiety and social phobias. A great deal has changed since then and some situations have even triggered off events similar to what I was experiencing and feeling 2 – 3 years ago (but not quite as bad). I don’t think anxiety can ever go away. It’s about controlling it mentally and preparing yourself. For me most of my anxiety was fuelled by negative thoughts passing through my head in awkward situations.

In the top post I talked about anxiety about presenting at three conferences. This is true, it was the trigger of some of my anxiety. I did these conferences and had good and bad experiences. In fact one of the conferences was fairly big (100 people) and the crowd were specialists. I got an absolute grilling and to top it off not all my slides showed on the screen. It was a disaster……. A few days before the event I was really drained and anxious. I went to see a concert in a big stadium and managed to get tickets at the front. When the band was being cheered on to come on stage my legs were trembling so bad I nearly had to sit down. I just escaped and got a drink, came back and stuck it out. It got better and eventually went. This was my only major sign of anxiety triggered by the conference. After the conference I was mad at the organisers for messing up my presentation (started swearing stupidly which I regret) but I calmed down (later apologised) and thought, ‘stuff it, its over I cant change anything’. So that was that. I felt a massive weight off my shoulders and the anxiety was no more. So basically I was anxious about walking up on to the stage to give my speech and how the audience would react to my initial introduction, rather than giving the actual content of the presentation itself.

Since these three conferences I’ve done a few more and presented in front of peers. I have accepted the anxiety as part of my career and that it won’t stop me doing what I like doing. I won’t say that I have not been anxious, because I have, but I have been able to control it better now, and tend not to put myself in situations where I will become anxious to the point that I physically can’t control my body (shakes, dizziness).

Recently my anxiety has returned to levels similar to that a few years ago and there have been situations where I have not been able to control it. The last case was when I went to see the first England game of the world cup this weekend. I was in this pub that was huge, the bar was 7-8 people deep, horns blaring, people cheering, drinking, lots going on, difficult to move around etc… I panicked and had to get out of there. I went off to the toilet, locked my self in a cubical and did breathing exercises to calm down. All is fine I thought, so I went back up, BAM, it hit me as soon as I saw the crowd again. I repeated the process of going back to the toilet two more times and during this time my friends were still queuing at the bar. I had to go outside walk round the corner and get some water (major dry mouth). On returning there were my friends wondering where I’d gone holding my beer. I had to say I was claustrophobic and I wasn’t comfortable here. I left to watch the game in a less crowded place. One person who came with me felt the same and said it was too much for them.
My recent anxiety like this is being triggered by 1. a new job starting soon, 2. moving abroad to start this job, 3. Fear of what to expect. My anxiety is driven by fear of the unknown and stress (as I mentioned in my first post). My anxiety 2 – 3 years ago was triggered by starting a new job, thrown in the deep end with teaching and presenting to audiences which I hate. That’s what triggered it….nothing else. This time it’s the same……. Changes in circumstances are triggering fear. As I type this I can feel my anxiety coming on. Therefore I know my trigger, it’s the fear of starting this new job and moving abroad. This explains my tolerance in other situations (like the bar) to my anxiety. Thinking about it, that’s essentially what anxiety is………….you’re anxious (nervous, worried, uneasy, concerned, restless, apprehensive, fearful, fretful) about something. You might not know what this is yet…..the trigger of your anxiety that is. It took me a few years to really appreciate my understanding of anxiety, how it effects me and my body and to discover how it triggers and how to control/mitigate it.

Anxiety affects everyone in some shape or form. Performers and people in the limelight (in the newspapers and public eye) are often reported to have anxiety and social phobia issues, which considering their job is understandable. Did they know this would happen to them when they decided on such a career? Would they have put themselves in the position they are now in had they known they would struggle? Anxiety affects their lives so much that they just have to overcome their fears in order to maintain their status and respect (e.g. politician, performer). So perhaps this is why these people often get caught up in drugs and alcohol as a way of escape and control of fear/anxiety.

My anxiety has helped me to appreciate a great deal about how I control my body and mind. That might sound like nonsense but it’s true. I don’t want anxiety and social phobia but I suffer from it so I have to prepare and mitigate it. I can only do this by identifying my triggers and taking stress out of my life until these triggers have passed. For example, the job and work environment I was in 2-3 years ago was my trigger, at the time I should have said no to teaching and conferences and my anxiety and social phobia would have been reduced considerable or not there at all. My recent anxiety is about moving away and starting a new job, so I’ll stick it out and chill out until I’m settled and comfortable knowing my anxiety will go when it’s ready to go. My anxiety and social phobias are not going to stop me doing anything, I just have to accept they are TEMPORARY and will go when they are ready to go. I must confess that my recent anxiety started again by something stupid I did that made me worry and panic. This may have brought out the actual anxiety of me moving a bit earlier than was intended, but it gives me more time to adjust to the expected. What I mean by that is my trigger has been identified and I can work hard to prevent anxiety controlling my physical actions.

My observation is all this: Usually younger people suffer from anxiety as change generally occurs over shorter time frames than when you are older. This is good (besides the anxiety I mean), as I think it prepares you for the future. For example, I’m glad my anxiety surfaced 2-3 years ago rather than have it surface later in my life when I may have higher pressures with work, a family of my own and generally more responsibility. When this does happen (or a combination of) I’ll be more prepared and know what my body will be doing and experiencing because of my experiences with anxiety and social phobias from an earlier age.

I tried to keep this short and know it’s gone on a bit but I thought it might help someone to appreciate my battle with anxiety and social phobia over the recent years. I might never have anxiety again as bad as I did a few years ago because I understand more of how I react. That’s the body and mind thing I mentioned earlier. Once you can understand this for your own anxiety you should be able to control/mitigate it just as I have done and will do in the future.