Anyone suffer from Anxiety/Panic?

Adam718 said:

About a week before my best friend was supposed to leave for Florida, he called me all excited and asked if I would want to drive down there with him, and that it would be really fun to road trip down there together since he needed his car there anyway (since he was moving permanently). I thought it would be really fun so I said yes.

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Road trips can be awesome! Love them myself.

but every time we tried to pull over at a rest station and sleep, it didn't work and we just couldn't fall asleep.

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I've had that happen too, you get back on the road and you feel sleepy again.

We've had about 2 esspressos, 2 cups of coffee and a few energy drinks each at this point.

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You were exhausted from not sleeping and you had all these stimulants? Not a good sign.

I kept having to stop to go to the bathroom, and then it happened... I started to feel a bit sick, so I stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom and tried to puke, but I couldn't, and then my heart started racing. I was having a full blown panic attack and didn't know why. I never felt so bad in my life. I was pacing back and fourth for 2 full hours before he calmed me down enough to get back into the car and lay back in the seat while he drove. I started to calm down, but still felt sick and nauseous.

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The exhaustion and stimulants could have caused the panic attack. That's not to say you didn't have anything on your subconscious. Panic attacks can be caused subconsciously.

I guess I was not built for a commute like this, and this resulted in my first panic attack.

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I wouldn't really put it that way.

It took me a few days to start feeling normal again, but I did feel normal again.

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Yes, that can happen. A panic attack is no fun and can leave you feeling iffy for some time afterwards.

The morning of my flight was the first time I experienced real anxiety to the point where I was actually shakey on my way to the airport, but it went away once I got to the airport but I still didn't feel as optimistic as I usually do. One the plane I felt some mild anxiety because I kept thinking about if this is the right decision, to leave NY and everything and everyone I know. Once we landed I started feeling a lot better.

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That can most definitely happen to anyone when making life changing decisions. Although you had somewhat of an idea what you'd be doing you were pretty much heading into the unknown and therefore the anxiety. At least that's what I think. Also, subconsciously you could have looked back at your previous journey which made you a little nervous about this one.

We were all sitting in the car with the windows open and talking to his friend, which was standing right outside the car smoking a cigarette. Then all of a sudden I got extremely light headed, and I have no idea why. We had just eaten a little earlier so I wasn't malnourished or anything. I felt like if I didnt get out of the car and walk around, I would pass out. I got really scared because I never felt shit like this before. I thought I was having a stroke or something. I was always a healthy dude and now I feel as if im going to pass out, so panic started to kick in as I urged my friends to take me to a hospital.

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You were in the car with the same people. Subconsciously you probably wondered into your previous experience which caused you to feel this.

I got to the hospital and told them that I was light headed, dizzy and feel like im going to pass out. They took my blood pressure, which turned out to be perfect. They checked my blood sugar, which turned out to be perfect. They even gave me a cat scan, which turned out to be perfect. They found nothing wrong with me, so they just gave me something to calm me down and we went home.

I got back to New York and went to my parents house. I felt fine for about 2 hours, then took a nap, woke up, and my head started to feel weird again as if im going to pass out. I got anxious again so my mom drove me to the emergency room where they gave me an EKG, did blood and urine work and checked my blood pressure again, but everything came out normal. They did the same thing the doctor in Florida did, prescribed me Xanex, but I hate drugs so I didn't take it. The idea of taking these drugs that calm you down and get you all groggy just freaks me out, and I don't want to depend on pills.

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It's a mental thing that sits in your subconscious. It's a good thing you decided not to take Xanex. They like to prescribe things rather than get to the root cause of the problem because it is easier and cheaper, plus they make money from the production of Xanex.

Sorry for such a big wall of text, but I wanted to get that out, and I also want to know if anyone here ever experienced panic attacks, whether it was one time or even if you get them frequently. I also want to know if anyone here ever suffered some anxiety, whether it was temporary and went away, or if you have GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) and if you can share you story about how it started and hopefully ended.

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There's nothing to be sorry for. It's great to express yourself as you can learn new things that you previously did not know. People will offer you their perspectives and in return everyone will learn a bit about something.

From the looks of it this doesn't sound like anything serious, there are various things that could have caused you to feel this way but from what you've written I can only assume it had to do with the changes in your life. After all moving to a completely different place and leaving loved ones behind is a big decision. It frightens some even if they don't know it.

I'm sure you'll be fine if you stop focusing on your experience. By focusing and thinking about the experience you're creating resistance towards it and by doing so you're only making things worse. You have to let go of it and you'll be fine. It's important that you don't drag the issue with you.

If you're still worried watch this video, it'll make a few things clear:

Adam718 said:

I don't take any pills, I hate drugs, but I honestly have no idea where to start with meditation lol

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Meditation isn't hard but it will take a lot of practice and patience. In the beginning you will need to force yourself to do it.

Meditation is much more than you may think it is, but it takes time to understand it. It can be very beneficial to all.

If you Google around you'll find more information, YouTube videos can be very helpful.

In fact I just found a really good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rAKMLHjFxQ

Check it out, it's worth it.

Dude contact a Doc...you need some help and you will be fine

Hey Adam718,

Yes I also have trouble with panic/anxiety, and there are others on the forum like us whether they speak up or not. You learn ways to cope over time, but even now I still freak out sometimes, just can't help it. Oh-well, such is life.

Good luck!

WorkHardL0veLife said:

So weird because the same thing happened to me, I used to smoke weed daily for a few months (stopped in January) Untill out of no where this really weird paranoia came about when i would smoke and my heart would start beating out of my chest and would get very anxious. Which the only fear i had was of the panic attack itself arising. Had to put that shit down. It turned from something i did for a good time to something i just couldn't handle anymore. Really weird.

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Same thing happened to me. Had smoked weed for years and all the sudden started giving me panic attacks.

I tried to smoke less but still had the attacks. Finally just gave it up.

To the op sounds like a variety of things. Stress due to money, relocating, and all that caffeine for sure could have caused an attack.

I've dealt with anxiety/panic attacks ever since I was 18. I'm 28 now. I had a good solid 5 years where I didn't have any panic attacks. I had forgotten what one even felt like.

I started smoking weed again as mentioned earlier and it's like it brought the attacks back.

Then once you have a bad attack it's like you fear having another one. It definitely can be a vicious cycle.

I think mine come from doing hard drugs for years when I was younger. Who knows really.

I stay away from all that now.

Read the first post, but didn't read all of the replies.

I would cut out the energy drinks. You said you're a healthy guy - if so, I think you're mistaken if you think it's healthy to consume energy drinks. Nothing healthy about them. Maybe it was just a once off, but seriously, you'll need to cut them out. Have had a few of my own friends having very bad episodes due to drinking too many of them.

I also would have made the same choice as you regarding the drugs. Personally, I would find out specifically what the Xanax is doing to work, and then try to replicate this by giving the body natural nutrients in the form of diet or supplementation that would give the same result.

For me, I use Ashwagandha. It's an Indian extract and it is an adaptogen - it works to get your bodies various functions back to a normal state. I believe, specifically, it helps to regulate cortisol (stress) levels. I feel with me, after taking a dose of around 2g per day, after a few weeks I start to pick up on subtle changes.

I do not get irritated as quickly as I normally would. I'm more patient, less aggressive. Generally, more calm.

For me, and for many others, it does a great job. I believe there have also been studies done that show supplementation with Ashwagandha increases testosterone levels. This may not mean it directly increases them, but through controlling (and bringing down) cortisol levels (which I believe inhibit testosterone production, or the effect of testosterone) it may raise T. levels indirectly.

In either case, there is a lot of information on this supplement out there - and it is, of course, a natural way of trying to alleviate your anxiety problems. There are other similar adaptogens out there, but I have not experimented with any others.

Hi Adam.
I had some serious panic attacks that ended up in depression few months ago - if you need some tips to overcome this - hit me up on PM. Had some great success recently with it.

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses! I have been gradually feeling better every day. At first I didn't sleep so well, but the passed week I have been sleeping fine through the night! Also, this is the first morning that I actually didn't wake up feeling nausea/anxiety, which is awesome. Also, I barely feel like I have any anxiety anymore. Also, I'm still on no medication whatsoever. Yesterday I felt some anxiety during the day, but towards the evening I felt great and took my girl out for dinner.

I think that anxious/panic phase is dwindling down and will soon be gone from my life, hopefully for good!

If anyone has had any struggle dealing with the same things you read on this thread, you can always PM me or Skype me!

This might sound plain jane but go outside and go running or walking. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. Also try taking GABA before bed. It will help give you a quality sleep. Most anxiety issues originate with sleep deprivation.