Anxiety & Panic Community

Hi Kylie,

You are not alone in this. and i have heard more and more people are having bad anxiety to the point they isolate themselves from others. I am 44 and have had some tramatic things in my life, but about 5 years ago I began having panic attacks so severe I thought I was dying.. I had gotten on antidepressants and medication for about a year and got off because I am just not a big person to want to take medication. I thought I had gotten better, and not sure if it my age and also some female things going on at 44, but I began having them again mostly at night.. I wake up feeling this bone chilling cold going from my head to my feet and extremely dizzy and faint and I eventually have a bad upset stomach.my heart is like flickering instead of beating and at times it beats so loud I hear it in my head. My breathing gets slower and its almost where you feel as though your body is shutting down.. I have called 911 twice. You feel stupid after but during it feels like you are dying. I have never been a big drinker... and and definatly a lightweight.. I get joked by my friends that they say I am no fun because I dont drink much.. But I have never been the type to need alchohol to have fun.. but I have noticed that when I do drink that I have extreem anxiety and now those cold faint feeling throughout the day... I wondered if it is all in my head and make myself calm down, breath deep but it just seems to be getting worse and thorughout the day.. I just wonder is there something in our environment, food, etc sparking our nervous systems to react in such a way? I have always been a "tough" girl and I have been through more than most people read about in their lifetime... just want it to go away and enjoy the rest of my life..I am a christian and pray alot and trust God, and do so in the midst of a panic attack.. but for some reason I still get them.. and I am not to shallow and I do beleive that God gave man the wisdom and knowledge and we have doctors to also help in treating and healing us.. I just want to figure this out so it will go away. So anyone with any suggestions I would welcome them.

Dear Kylie. It's the alcohol stupid. Quit drinking and you'll quit having those mean anxiety attacks. It's that simple.

yes yes i get this same exact thing. i really hate it too. it doesnt happen everytime jus sometimes and i feel better when i down some water before i go to bed so i'll have some kinda rehydration back. but i think it is related with when your brain gets dehydrated as well as the rest of your body. i dont know if u know but ima say anyway that of course when u are dehdrated your organs can not function at ease they are all goin into overdrive and stressed and then that makes absolutely everything else in your body screw up. all the signals to your brain to signal things in the body to help put everything in overdrive. does this make sense? anyway therefore everything is stressed and causes anxiety times a million especially when u already have anxiety bc i know i do and i dont take anything for it bc i feel like i can handle it myself and i do well. but the night before when u are drinkin try downin some water between drinks even its a little bit and then before bed and make sure u dont start drinkin on an empty stomach. jus try that out and see bc it helps me.

Hello Kylie yes I gotreally hungover in tahoe last weekend and started to feel dizzy sweaty palms hard to breathe. Felt like passing out. What freaks me out my stomach hurts amd upset so when I checked the symptoms it says brain tumor so pretty scared. I'm back home and still have stomach issues and heartburn. Now today I feel like I have one and loosing my mind. I had this same feeling a year and a half ago

YES! every morning after i drink i get panic attacks!!!!

Hi Kylie, I suffer from extreme anxiety disorder and panic attacks, I used to drink (have not had a drink in three years), but when I used to drink, I would experience the same symptoms that you have explained in your blog. I thought I was going to die, I would have severe chest pains, my legs, arms and chest would go numb and I would get all tingly, I thought I was having a heart attack,and these symptoms would last for days and then I started to see a Psychiatrist and begin doing research on the effects of alcohol and anxiety disorder and panic attacks, and what I found out is that drinking is one of the worse things that you can do for this disorder, so I stopped drinking all together, (and it sounds like you have cut back) and my anxiety and panic attacks got better, I still suffer from them and am on treatment, but my suggestion is to try and stop drinking for a while and see if you notice a difference. I don't have the answer on why this happens, or if it happens to everyone or just some of us. But I know I that when I drank, my hangover's were really bad and could not shake it for days and I would be miserable for days sometimes weeks, and I suffered all the symptoms that you described. I hope this helped a little bit. I would like to be there for you and try and help, as I understand.

Kylie, I started having these symptoms a couple months ago! I am a 22 year old college student and have been drinkin for about 3 or 4 years! When i was in high school i went to doctors because of anxiety and they told me it was because my adreno (spelling) gland doesnt work therefore my body freaks out when i should be having an adrenaline rush! I got it under control in high school with a mild steroid that the doctors prescibed (only took it for 2 years)! Now all of a sudden its back and I can normally control it most of the time except after I drink! Drink gatorade or pedialite it helps with your electrolites!!! TONS of water and eat salty food which helps hold the water in your system! It is not a cure but it helps a little bit!

Guys I have been reading posts and I feel like that right now! And yes it is due to chemical imbalances in the brain. I have usually been fine but I had my first painck attack the day after a festival about 2 months ago and ever since I have had tinges of it. I felt so bad. The usual symptoms..... sweaty palms, panicking, felt like I was going to die. I have found there is nothing you can do apart from sit it out. Or if you are brave and have a strong gut (lol) drink some vodka or sumfin. If you get pissed again it helps the feeling go away. Something strong does the trick. I know as a nutrionist that is really bad for you but anything to ease the anxiety really helps. It just calms the nerves. And you can sleep without wierd thoughts. Appart from that method i havnt founf anything else that helps appart from not drinking. During the week i dont drink at all and i dont get any problems. I hope this helps post helps because i know how bad it feels being in that state. Oh and another trick..... bananas....... they are full of the chemicals needed to replenish the lost chemicals in your brain and therefore will help with the anxiety. Eat them as soon as you wake up. Well, its good to know your not alone with this feeling.

Be Well,be careful,and cut back a little,The sugars in alcohol and the soda or tonic or other mixers in drinks I read vcan be part of the problem.Can send a person right into an out brake real easy .Remember to stop and breath .

Kylie,

I have been experiencing these symptoms for a few years now. Anxiety runs in my family, and I never really had an issue with it until a few years ago. I had lost my job and was having trouble finding a new one. I was afraid I couldn't pay the rent. I felt out of control and I was drinking more than usual. I have been a beer drinker for over 10 years, mind you. I never had an anxiety issue about being hung over, or sober, before this stressful period. Thankfully, I got a job and it worked out. A few months later, I visited a doctor and cried in the office explaining how I was scared that something's wrong. He ran a physical and I was fine, he said my liver was alright too. I thought this would help ease my fear. Not entirely. So, I went to a Psychiatrist and she explained to me, that anxiety attacks kind of snowball over time, unless you control them. Once you start to have them you are programming the fear into your own head. We addict ourselves to it, even though it scares the hell out of us! A lot of people think that they are having a heart attack, and go to the E.R.. She taught me an exercize to handle it. Put your palms on your belly, fingers laced, and think of a nice relaxing place, then, inhale and hold for 10 seconds and release and exhale slowly. This breathing exercise will also help to calm you down. Similar to Yoga, which could help too. Try to take control of the situation. You are very capable of scaring the crap out of yourself, if you are trying to. The mind is very powerful and underestimated. Go the other way with it and focus on empowering yourself by not allowing this little terrorist into your head! Just remember that this will pass, you are fine. So, you had a bit too much fun. It's okay. I have also cut back on my drinking since, and it helps.

You are not alone! I have the same occurance after only 2 drinks and no hangover. It gets to the point where I get stressed out just thinking about having a drink! All I can tell you is the more drinks you have the worse off you are. Try to limit the amount of drinks you have and drink only when you are able to be home the following day this way you won't subject yourself to the horrors of your co-workers seeing you in full blown attack mode which only makes matters worse (I know from experience how upsetting this can be.) Just know that you are not alone in this and that there are PLENTY of other people out there going through the same thing. Take care Luisamarie

Dear rocket, I think you are rude and lack empathy. those of us who have been there know better than to judge others, that includes calling them "stupid."

I am a self medicator and was binge drinking and never getting a hangover, I would drink to pass out. Since my brain cancer, I had stopped drinking totally and then some things hit me that made me feel the urge to drink again. I am learning that this coping mechanism of mine is not a good thing. It makes me lose sleep, can trigger a siezure, can interfere with my medications, and I do things that I regret later on and make my anxiety worse because I feel like I failed to stop a bad coping skill.

Sometimes drinking just feels too right at the time and I guess a drink is not too bad, my problem is if I start, I do not stop until I pass out or worse!

yes, i know where you're coming from. i very rarely drink now- (about 4-5 times a year) compared to before where it was every other night for about three years. I'm only 21 now. but when i get a hungover my thoughts race, i feel extremely depressed and often think about things that terrify the hell out of me, which then makes the anxiety even worse..my hands tingle then i start thinking I'm going to have a heart attack or Ive got an under lying heart condition. its really bad, i hate myself and i cant handle my emotions and my nerves are really bad i cant even explain it but its a different reality.. i usually feel so anxious and unable to sleep as i panic about stopping breathing in my sleep , it sounds so silly but when you suffer from bad anxiety I'm sure you understand. my breathing scares me, i tend to feel lightheaded,warm ,breathless, shaky basically unable to hope with anything. i hate myself when i drink, its my worst enemy. I'm not an alcoholic but a few years ago i was heading that way very quickly,. i think i used alcohol to feel confident and to forget about any stresses in my life at that time, i made a lot of mistakes and wasn't a very nice person to be with, i was aggressive and hateful, i was my worst enemy when drunk but it was really the drink. so i think my anxiety is made even worse with my memories and associations with alcohol that i had in the past. along with generally being an anxious person at the best of times when sober. i seriously suspect i am alcohol intolerant, i can never really tell you a time when i actually felt happy when drunk, I'm always arguing or crying. which to be honest only brings out the worst in me.. sober, i.m sensible, caring and try to be a good person the best i can... seriously if you feel really made when drunk or hungover and think its your body's way of saying it cant cope with the crap you put in it...to me alcohol is too socially excepted and contributes to a lot of illness, liver failure and mental illness,. i think its a drug that should be used in moderation and if you cant do that, leave it well alone...

hi, the first full blown panic attack i had was after a night of drinking. Thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest I couldnt breathe. months before after drinking I was having milder anxiety . I went to the doctors he said to stop drinking. I did. I was an experienced drinker and it always worked for me, but, it seemed something had changed. After the panic attack the anxiety was always there.I didnt have a panic attack untill ten years later and four kids and a very bad marriage. Found out my husband had been having affairs for 12 years. Became very depressed. I had a nervous break down. Three months later, my real hell started with panic attacks every night for eight months almost completly house bound. I would not do pills. I wanted to understand what my body was tring to tell me. I found a program called"anxiety and depression" by Lusinda Basset This program really helped me. I got my life back. I still have anxiety but now I have tools. I know panic is scary as hell. When I got this program the first thing I heard was that panic attacks wont kill you. This was coming from a women Lusinda, who was house bound for five years. I had a couple of panic attacks after that but she had said if it happens any where any time STOP! relax, dont fight dont say to yourself OH MY GOD WHATS WRONG WITH ME! just let your body use up the adrenaline. As soon as you make the panic less scary less threating you WILL get your power back. Try to avoid caffeine. Dont go to long without eating. I would drink milk with every meal (calming) If your a vegen or not, eat alot of black beans with meals loaded with protein and it will calm you. If you drink coffee try to stop. After a week you will feel so much better, more in control. I wish you the best of luck, take care