How to control anxiety attacks?

Every person is familiar with the feeling of anxiety. We might feel tense before an important test or a lecture, our heart might race fast before an interview, we feel worried for our loved ones. However, this mechanism is essential as it signals us that there is a problem; something irregular and unusual. Anxiety can help us stay alert and focused and motivate us to solve our problems.

However, suffering from anxiety attacks is a whole different story. People who suffer from anxiety attacks on a regular basis, life can become unbearable; they will do everything to avoid certain situations attempting to abstain from what triggers the attacks. Thus, may prevent themselves from leading and living the life they want.

Panic attacks can be treated. The treatment includes cognitive therapy combined with medication. However, there are things you can do to control it if you suffer from mild attacks. Keeping a healthy and balanced diet eating small meals frequently throughout the day found to be helpful. Eating every few hours insures that your sugar level in the blood won’t go down; a decreased level of sugar in the blood can make you feel nervous and irritable.

Another factor that might play a role is caffeine. Caffeine is proved to cause anxiety, sleeping problems and even trigger a panic attack. Soft drinks, snacks and deserts can also worsen the condition.

Practicing relaxation techniques on a daily basis can improve your condition immensely. There are many relaxation techniques that you can practice: meditation controlled breathing techniques, guided visualization and progressing muscles relaxation. You can embrace one or more ways to practice and you will see that it cuts down on you anxiety significantly.

Panic Attack Treatment with Xanax

Panic attack is state or an episode of intensive and unrealistic fear that caused suddenly with no apparent reason. The symptoms of panic attack which are usually trembling, heavy breathing, heart palpitations, chest pain, sweating, nausea, dizziness,

Hyperventilation can up to 30 minutes. Some can have a panic attack for only a few seconds and some can have a few episodes of 30 minutes in row causing the panic attack to last a few hours.

The most effective and useful treatment of panic attacks is a c combination of cognitive therapy along with taking xanax.  Xanax, also known as alprazolam, is a short-acting benzodiazepine primarily used to treat anxiety disorders and depression

Xanax was approved by the FDA in 1981 for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder with or without agoraphobia, and anxiety associated with depression (but not indicated for the treatment of depression alone).

The quick acting nature of xanax makes it an ideal medication to take immediately before panic-provoking events. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes until you feel its anxiety-reducing benefits

Xanax block panic attacks quicker than the antidepressants, often in a week or two. They also tend to have fewer side effects than the antidepressants. However, although xanax can be very efficient and eliminate the symptoms it does not manage the problem and its real reasons in the long term. Thus, it is very important to combine the medicine treatment along with psychological treatment to understand the roots of this problem and get rid of it permanently.

Also, it is important to know that while Long-term use of xanax may lead to physical and/or psychological dependence. Patients often develop a tolerance to the drug’s sedative effects. However, tolerance to the anxiolytic effects is rare when used at proper dosage levels.

I have been struggling with panic attacks since I was 5 years old. I have had virtually every treatment under the sun. I am in cognitive behavioral therapy and it is helping, but one thing has not changed – any time I become anxious about something or have a panic attack, my stomach goes on revolt against me. I have severe bouts of intestinal cramping and diarrhea, as well as nausea and vomiting, whenever I have a panic attack. I have tried Xanax but while it does decrease my overall anxiety, it does very little for my distressing GI symptoms.

I was prescribed Levsin to help with the intestinal cramping and diarrhea (doctors believe I have IBS), and I was also given a script for Zofran, an anti-emetic usually used in chemo or radiation patients. They said the anti-nausea effects of the medication and the serotonin-influencing properties of the drug might help with my panic attack related stomach problems

Does anyone have any experience with using Zofran to treat anxiety-related gastrointestinal issues? This has been going on for me for years and I’m really at the end of my rope right about now! Any suggestions you can give are welcome and highly appreciated. Thank you!

I am 7 months pregnant and my husband is so mean to me that it is giving me anxiety attacks. My husband treats me like garbage and I don’t understand why. I take care of him, keep a clean house, have a degree, am about to have a baby boy which he has always wanted, and have been told I am very attractive. I love him with all my heart, tell him that every day, but have thought about leaving because it has gotten so bad.
This is my husband’s third marriage, and I understand why! Both of his marriages were short lived (less than 3 years), and he is barely 40 years old! I have thought about leaving but financially do not have the money to leave; my teacher’s pay is not enough to cover a single person’s basic expenses (rent, food, gas, utilities). I want to work this out. I have told my husband I was going to leave before, but he blocks the door so I can’t. I have had three miscarriages and an ovarian tumor within the last year and do not want anything to happen to our little boy.
I have asked him to go to counseling, but he refuses. He has been in the military for many years and thinks counseling is "bull sh**." We have only been married a year. He yells at me, puts me down for the way I look (and this was also before I was pregnant), and barely tells me that he loves me. He forced me to live in a house he had from a previous marriage and did not allow me to put it on the market until 7 months into our marriage. It still hasn’t sold (nationwide mortgage crisis), and he is actually mad at me because it hasn’t sold yet. (And the house was never mine to begin with!!! It was another woman’s!)
Any advice? Have any military wives (or civilian wives) went through this?
I have no family and no one I can stay with. My husband knows this, which is why he always says, "Where are you going to go?…"
Men can also weigh in on this issue too. Thank you all for your support.

i woke up very early this morning, after a kind of crazy dream, and my heart was racing… i tried to be calm, i tried to meditate to slow it down, but i almost felt like i was going to die… i thought heavily about calling 911… i laid there, tried to relax, eventually, fell asleep i guess, cause an hour later i woke up and i felt ok.. i went into work and i was talking with someone about it who said i had an anxiety attach.. that it used to happen to his mom all the time… is that really what is was? what causes them? is there any other way to treat them, should it happen again, asside from getting meds? it was very scary.. should i call the doctor about it monday? is it likely to happen again? why did i have it?

I just got prescribed Fluoxetine (Prozac) from my doctor. The purpose of me taking it is for my persistent panic attacks, however, I really like my personality otherwise, and I don’t really know how much Prozac will effect my personality outside of treating the anxiety. I’d really appreciate anyone who knows about and/or has experience about this aspect of the drug. Thanks!!

For a little over 6 years now I have been suffering from bouts of Depression, sometimes really bad, other times I am just "sad" for no reason that I understand…My Anxiety is pretty bad sometimes, no panic attacks *i.e heart pumping wildly ,feeling like I am spinning out of control* But is getting worse with age to the point that I don’t want to do anything that could potentially "kill me" that pretty much covers everything outside the house, I hate talking to people and I have terrible insomnia that is only quelled by Sleeping pills nightly, otherwise I start panicking really bad about things I don’t even understand and because of it I wake every morning with a terrible headache and can’t ever seem to "wake up".
So my question is, is there anything I can do to self medicate without a prescription "drug" or therapist?
I exercise at least 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes a day, I can’t afford a therapist and even if I could I have a phobia of talking to people face to face, and I sure as heck can’t show weakness or emotion to them..

My Dr. has been treating me for anxiety,depression,panic attacks,etc.,for almost a year.He has tried many different kinds of meds,but nothing is working.Lately my main problem has been panic attacks.Frequent,sometimes violent,and getting worse.Right now I’m on klonopin,and he just gave me samples of zyprexa yesterday.Anyway,he also suggested an in patient mental facility for treatment.I was wondering if anyone has been to one of these,and what to expect.

i have terrible anxiety. i get very stressed, have panic attacks, cant breathe, ocd, and the thing is…my parents dont believe me when i ask them for help. i want help SO bad, but they dont want to have a child with a "problem" my brother is perfect to them and like…if theres soemthing wrong with me they dont want to know about it. how can i get help..is there any way to treat anxiety at home? i dont want to take pills

I was wondering if there was anyone out there who has a anxiety or panic disorder that are treating it with medication and pop ecstasy pills?If so, does the anxiety or panic attack treatment pills affect your roll?and after your roll comes down does your anxiety or panic worsen even with medication?thanks guys p.l.u.r!

I withdrew two years ago and it was nightmare. After the birth of my child my panic came back.
I feel people judge me but it works for me i was on it for fourteen years prior. The withdrwal took two months. After my son i had postpartum and anxiety so now i take .1mg of klonopin at night and prozac in the day and i feel hundred percent better. I just feel as if i failed that i needed the klonopin again to deal with my anxiety.

Ive been suffering from anxiety for about 3 months but I have a problem with substance abuse due to the panic attacks. Are there medications that are legal that will help me from attempting suicide?
PS. (I only began abusing illegal drugs because I was embarrassed and ashamed of my panic attacks)

This summer, I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse. For those of you who don’t know, its a relatively common heart defect where the valve of your heart is ‘too big’. This causes it to buckle, and sometimes leakage can occur that needs to be fixed, although if it needs surgery, people tend to need it around their 40’s. Many symptoms can ( but don’t always) accompany Mitral Valve, commonly fatigue and anxiety.

School started back about a week ago, and from about the last week of summer to now I’ve been having increasing anxiety. Nothing is really the matter; I seem to stress over little things more than I have before. No matter what I do nothing is getting better.

So yesterday, when I was in the shower, I lost control; I’m not sure how it happened, I know I was almost crying before and then I just burst full-out into hysterics. I felt like I couldn’t get enough air, although I’m wondering if this was due to the heat of my shower, as often I feel like hot air makes it harder to breath, but not to the extent that this was. I was gasping for air and my limbs where shaking uncontrollably — they felt like jello, really weak. I also got dizzy. My hands and forearms got numb and tingly. I didn’t get scared because of the "attack" — I had been researching anxiety and this sounded like an attack, so i felt like I knew what was going on. I remember thinking "It’s not gonna stop, this feeling isn’t going away. I’ll have anxiety forever." and similar things. I was pretty shaken afterwords, but the "episode" was quick. I didn’t tell my parents because I wasn’t sure what it was and I wasn’t thinking clearly. My muscles hurt so bad afterwords, and this morning my chest muscles hurt too, like they had been strained.

In your opinion, does this sound like an attack? What else would this be if it wasn’t? How is anxiety treated, other than drugs? Links to any websites and anything you have to offer is much appreciated! Thanks for reading.
I’m grateful for these quick replies. Of course, the internet can only give an educated guess, but thats all I was looking for, really. I went for a checkup with my cardiologist yesterday and told him I have been having anxiety. The only answer I got was "I hate to put adolescents on antidepressants/antianxiety pills. It can affect alot of things." I told my mother just now and she agrees that it was an anxiey attack, although she said, "Just stop obsessing over the anxiety; focus on other things."

Which isn’t a problem sometimes. Today, for example, is the first time in the past 2 weeks I’ve felt somewhat relaxed. My chest doesn’t feel tight and I’m not getting "butterflies" like I have been. But most other times, I can’t stop, no matter what I try.

So what do I say to them to make them see this is getting bad? You’d think a panic attack would be enough. They just seem to be side-stepping the issue. I don’t want to take pills either; what other way do they treat anxiety?

I applied for a postion working for the government. I passed the drug and physcial exam except for the medicines that I am taking. I received a phone call from the company because they want more information about the medicines that I take for anxiety (for panic attacks which then resulted in depression because I had no idea what that was and was in denial about it). I passed the physical exam but the doctor won’t sign the paper until I talk to a counselor. If I was diagnosed in 2004, which is two years ago, can they
rescind the job offer? I have been stabalized on medication so I do not know why it is an issue. It is a huge corporation but it is private. The nurse will not be in for the phone "evaluation" tomorrow but will call me on Monday. Should I be worried? This phone call created more anxiety!
Thank you for your help!

Try to keep it short I have been dealing with bipolar disorder scents I was a young kid with no meds…. panic attacks and anxiety (GAD and Social) came on later on and I had never said anything just ketp it all in trying to deal with it…Exercise mediation and singing songs helped for awhile but is loosing its effect and adding to the stress I want to seek treatment NOW before it gets any worse…. I don’t have a Dr to go see and talk to im sure I cant go to a immediate care center so how the hell do I get treated?? Try to find a random Dr?? wont he think that Im just out to get pills?? I know some crack heads do that shit I just want and need help…

I’m trying to overcome an anxiety/depression issue that is triggered when I take on a job that provides no stimulation/enjoyment. Sometimes I quit after a day.
The thing I can’t get used to is spending so much of my life doing something I don’t want to do – 8 hours a day 5 days a week is a huge chunk of life to dispose of.
I think part of the problem is that I don’t have any career oriented goals.
So, do I do it and deal with it or do I hold out for something that might be ok?

I always want to mention it in an application or a job interview but I’m afraid that I may not get the job – even though I know it has made my performance suffer in the past and it may have been different if I had mentioned it to a manager. I also think that people don’t really understand anxiety or panic attacks and probably think I’m just a cry baby who wants to be treated with less pressure.

3 months ago I went to hospital after having a nervous breakdown. I was later told that it was mainly do to my lifestyle i was living( drinking, smoking dope, working night shoots) After this incident I was left with frequent anxiety attacks.

The Dr’s I used perscibed me on pur bloka tablets( which apparently control addrenaline), and Espirade Capsules( which is an anti psychotic). After six weeks I was perscribed Cipramil to treat my anxiety.
During the course of my anxiety attacks I never once had depression. I may have been down for having anxiety issues but thats all. Now 3 months later I’m left with major depression. I don’t find myself interested in activities which I once did. I feel totally un-attached from the environment around me, I find it difficult to get out of bed too. It just feels like i’m a walking zombie which has no enthusiasm for life.
Could the medication which was perscribed for my anxiety have caused me to become depressed? Please Help anyon

I have been seeing my nurse for a while now and i have learnt from her that i have bad emotional problems which means in the past i have pushed people away who have tried to help because i didn’t believe anyone would want to help me and in the past i have opened up to someone but i got so desperate for love that they ended up hating me. Then i hit rock bottom and had a breakdown and accept that i couldn’t do this on my own and went back to the nurse. For 3 weeks i have been seeing her weekly and she has been doing basic therapy with me which isn’t her job. This week she told me that she could no longer help me with the therapy but would still see me weekly and deal with the anxiety instead. I am feeling gutted, i don’t understand what i did wrong? Maybe i opened up too much but she asked me to and that was part of the work we were doing. 3 weeks ago when i first started seeing her i was so positive about things which is the first time this year and i could see and wanted myself to get better. I knew she wouldn’t be around forever but i thought she would of stayed around a bit longer than this. I really don’t know what to think. Last night i started getting nightmares because of what happened last time i opened up to someone and this feels like the same. With the other person i knew what i did wrong and i was sorry but at the end of the day i just wanted them to care for me and help me. I feel like giving up now, i have been suicidal in he past and i don’t want to go back to the place in my life, i thought i was getting over it but she has just proved that i shouldn’t open up as people end up hating me. I don’t have family i can talk to and my friends don’t understand what i am going through so i don’t talk to them either.

I had an annual check-up for everything (including std’s) and I won’t have the results for 2 wks. I am terribly nervous. The doctor said there really wasn’t any cause to worry. My white cell count was slightly increase (in the prelimary results) but she felt this was due either to my NuvaRing or my endometriosis, since there was no other evidence of an std (ie chlamydia, ect) and she felt antibotics were unnecessary. Regardless of this reassurance, I still am suffering alot of anxiety in waiting for the results. Any suggestions for dealing with this?

My boyfriend has quite bad anxiety/depression.
It really upsets me that I don’t know how to make him as happy as he could be.
On top of that I have quite a few problems with stress and anger and I lash out quite a lot.
He’s so nice and would never ever say or do anything to hurt my feelings but I can’t help trying to pick little arguments, not bad ones.
I know he would be better off without me, but I really don’t want to loose him.
Half of the time I have no idea what I’m getting angry at and I just seem to take it out on him. I really don’t want to do it but I can’t help it.

So does anyone have any ideas how I can make him happier, or try and control my anger around him before I muck everything up!?!

Thanks in advance.
I forgot to mention, he already is on anti-anxity meds, and does see someone about his anxity. He’s been on them for years and slowly getting the dosage lowered.

I have had anger management and didn’t feel it helping, but I am starting it up again within the next couple of weeks.
Annddd

It’s a long distance relationship.
So I don’t see him nearly as much as I would like anyway.

Catch 22 – I have panic disorder to the point of not being able to go a mile from the house. I’ve grown a resistance to my meds and they do not sedate me. I have an appointment this wednesday to have a new med program prescibed, but I can’t make it to the doctor to get it. What do I do? Getting there will just have me be seen, but there is nothing that can take care of immediate attacks that occur en route or at the doctor. Just a slip of paper, "try this" and good luck making it back home, freak. My anxiety is high, my temper is bad and I’d almost prefer being shot than making this appointment.

I do prefer answers from people that understand or have experienced panic disorder as most that have no idea just say "be a man and take it." Not helpful in this situation.

would cause anxiety in any case?

I lost a great deal of money on the stock market yesterday, around 5% of all my savings. Whereas a small loss does not make me anxious, I know that had I not been taking antidepressants this type of loss would cause depressive symptoms such as insomnia (no sleep last night) and desire to drink water – the fight or flight response.

But now I am on antidepressants, which work for me, I have had this relapse exactly the same as I would have had in the past.

Is it likely to disappear in the next few days once I have got used to the idea of the loss, or could it disappear faster, or slower?

Thanks

i have anxiety and panic disorder.. i have all kinds of chest discomfort.. my doc saids its normal.. i just wanna know what kinds there are.. and is it normal to be very obsesive over things when you have anxiety

I’ve always had great anxiety, but lately I’ve been dealing with almost daily panic attacks. They’re very scary and have begun to prevent me from doing things. I’m going on a trip on Friday and am very worried about it.

Does anyone know any specific medication for panic attacks? I just wish I had something I could take when I’m having one that would help. I almost feel like that if I just knew I had something to take the panic attacks would become less likely. Thanks for the help.