Depersonalization with panic attacks

[jodyg007]

Hello,

I am new to the site. I currently suffer from panic attacks. My doctor has perscribed me with Lexapro and Xanax. Xanax to control the panic attacks and the Lexapro to control the overall anxiety. The Xanax helps to calm me down. However, I still do not feel the effects of the Lexapro.

I would like to know if anyone else feels the same thing I feel... depersonalization. This is my main concern. I feel as though I am going crazy. Looking in the mirror is sometimes funny because I know it is me who is there, but in the back of my mind, I feel as though its not me standing there. It triggers my panic attacks. I sometimes feel as though its someone else controlling my body. Does anyone else feel this way? Is this depersonalization part of my panic and axiety? It really worries me.

 

[Lea]

If I were you I wouldn´t take any drugs. It´s all chemical shit and will only make you worse in the long run. Yeah I know the doctors prescribed you but the doctors don´t care, everybody cares only about their own interests.
You may not agree but that´s how I see it today.
When you give them up it may make you worse but I think that´s the only way out, plus a healthy lifestyle. Don´t expect miracles straigt away, but go bit by bit. Try to detoxify your body and avoid using mobile phone.
I think even if this doesn´t solve the problem, could help at least a bit or stop getting worse.

 

[striker]

Lea is right on the money.

But first thing, how old are you?

Plus add these things to your lifestyle.
- eat only fresh food (veggies & fruits) - It will make a huge difference to how you feel
- nothing from the fridge that's already cooked. So no food that was cooked yesterday
- Massage your body with Oil in the morning & leave it on for 30-60 mins.
- Sit in a calm place & Meditate ( focus on the spot between your eyes )

 

[moodygoo]

I can relate I think, actually I think it was derealization but they kinda go hand in hand and are the hardest thing to explain. For me it was like if you'd been watching a cartoon for an hour and it suddenly went into 3d animation.. don't ask.

I'm with Lea on the drugs (but not quite sure about the mobile phones :-/) my doctor said they wouldn't precribe anything because they could make things feel more weird and surreal and make things worse. It's possible the depersonalization is caused by the drugs.
Have they suggested counselling?

I hope you get past the worst of it soon cos its scary and lonely as hell

 

[Marie_knowsbestt]

exactly why i take breaks inbetwen drinking binges. coz even tho i dont 'suffer' from anything, im what u call 'normal' folk, long binging sessions have the same effect on me, i feel lifeless with no emotion, even though i dont feel crap in myself or about myself? that could be tiredness...but i know i can feel like it for a week after a heavy drinking session and feel totoally wicked after about 2 weeks of no drinking at all. its very wierd granted.

 

[Marie_knowsbestt]

ps. to the author, do u drink alcahol or/and smoke cannabis alot? my adivice is the nmber one thing to stay away from if u suffer from depersonalilization is stay away from cannabis alltogether. im sure people who have ever got stoned has looked at stuff before and thought it looked unreal some how? well if u have this normally imagin what cannabis would make the world look like to you!

 

[Kamen]

Yes, depersonalization is something normal with panic attacks. When I had panic attacks, with time, I started to get used to them and to know that this old "friend" cannot harm me, so I was ready to.. accept them. And once you accept them, they begin to vanish. I used (and still use) a light medication (Deanxit). I know what you are going through, I know it is terrible terror but they will eventually disappear at some point, I believe. Here is what works for me:

* I read about sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and how our bodies function during stress. This helped me to build a logical foundation and understand that there is nothing crazy with me and that this is the normal saving mechanism of my body but just not running when it should. This is important, since you will know that you cannot die because of this and this is the first step to control your anxiety. I read more about heart rate and understood that our hearts are capable of fast pumping for long periods. Having a heart rate of, say, 140 is when are exercising in the fitness saloon - you cannot die because of this and you are not having a heart attack. All those symptoms of panic attacks are normal during extreme stress.

* Sooner or later, our organic bodies will die. This is inescapable, so simply be wise about it - accept it with time and don't care so much.

* I believe and intuitively feel physical death is not the end. I also believe this reality is actually illusory, as many spiritual teachings say, so even if I feel depersonalization, I say to myself that it doesn't matter and that I am always at home (and I am one with the Universe), so there is nothing to be afraid of.

* Looking at the sky might be helpful even when you have Agoraphobia, because the sky can be seen from everywhere, it is something familiar and safe, with no people there, so it could help you reduce anxiety attacks.

* I started to practice meditation. And not only because of stress. It helps.

* I listen to more relaxing music, such as ambient.

* Some kind of sport might be helpful, I believe, because it can help people to get used with higher heart rates. Also, this improves the work of the cardiovascular system and should lead to lower resting heart rate. Unfortunately, I don't practice any sport because of laziness.

 

[Lea]

Moodygoo you´re not sure about the mobile phones? Unfortunately I am, you only need to check out google (put "mobiles damage" or whatever), there are enough alarming things I think. It´s like putting your head in the microwave, only not that strong :/.

 

[Lexmark]

I got stoned so much once that I forgot who I was.
So i can imagine wat u go through its pretty scary

 

[jodyg007]

Thank you everyone for your comments. It really helps reading what other people have to say. I felt really helpless and I thought I was the only one out there with this syndrone.

 

[letusunite]

Connecting

jodyg007, thank you so dearly for sharing your experience,

I know, this thread is sort of over,
but I still feel it is necessary to express my experience, because through connecting experiences I can satisfy this dread.
I know, that whenever I begin to have a panic attack. I feel incredibly at a loss of my spirit, or whatever. I look at myself, and see this physical body, I imagine a brain... but then I imagine my spirit and freak out as to where my soul is. With this thought, my head gets an achy, pressure build up feeling. And I just lose myself, It's almost as if I took drugs. I become overwhelmed with feelings of lonliness, and the fear that I am material for the mentally insane ward in a hospital. Which is what overwhelms me the most, fearing that i'm going insane. Lately, this feeling has been reoccuring, and it brings me to tears, I hate it, and I want it to go away.
I just wish I could live easily, knowing this place of mine is home, and that nothing can happen to my sanity, but during times like these (When im suffering with the panic attack or whatever) I just feel doom and utter isolation.
I used to be able to get over my panic attacks, but I fear that i'm losing myself now, because I'm always fearing them.
(i probably shouldn't be writing this during the actual attack) but this attack has been so strange, not so predictable, and I didn't want to have to deal with it.

does this sound like a panic attack? I fear i'm going crazy, and that I will be locked up in some nutso ward. Other symptoms of my "hopefully these are just panic attacks" are...
-get sort of jerky, irritable to my surroundings, overly sensitive
- when i get intoxicated (rarely) I get a horrible lump in my throat which causes me to believe that i'm choking.


phew, this panic attack is going away, thank god. now i can go to bed. whoever read this, I thank you so much, it means a lot.