Sudden panic anxiety
Hello, I am new here and this is the first time i'm actually telling anyone outside my family about my struggles. All my life, I have always struggled with traveling, as I used to get car sick a lot. This kind off developed into a fear of getting sick while traveling. I grew out of this for a couple of years, but then it returned x10. Last summer I had my first panic attack on an island 4 hours away from my home country, with no way of getting back home. After 4 days without it ending, I ended up in hospital as I couldn't manage to eat or drink anything during this time. When I got back home, I started therapy and they gave me a panic disorder.
The last 8 months I have not felt anything like the panic attacks I had during that summer, until exams were coming up. I have never had an issue with exams before, but now I got a huge reaction. I had strong anxiety 3 weeks beforehand, during this time I can barely eat, and literally everything in the world seems like the most difficult task. On the day of the exam I threw up in full panic mode but pushed through as I always try to do. The same routine happened with my second exam.
Now I have a travel coming up in two weeks time and already I'm starting to feel my body processing. This will be the first trip by airplane since the disaster last year. I am terrified and I'm sure I will have some really bad days in not too long. I have no idea how to deal with this, does anyone here have any tips for me? I always travel or do things no matter how bad the anxiety gets, but it's awful everytime and often the worst before the events are going to happen. My doctor recommends me to start on medication for it, but I don't like using meds as a way to cope with symptoms. Any good tips out there?
@22WithAnxiety,Hey seems like you really are having a pretty tough time with your anxiety.Well,so I will tell you how I understand the causes behind these:
•Firstly it seems to me like your anxiety is basically stemming from the need for control.If thats the case, you will always unintentionally be worried if "things are indeed in control".But when you let go, you will then be thinking "Am doing my best,and I accept things can happen".When I say things can happen,I mean disasters,failures, illnesses,and what not.Frankly,I feel the most important thing is "you do what you can,and leave the rest"Such an attitude will help you free yourself to ENSURE A SPECIFIC OUTCOME,rather you will be focused on doing your best with a free mind......I agree developing such an attitude aint easy.You can if it will be convenient buy a book named "What to say when you talk to yourself-by Shad Helmstetter".It will teach you how to change underlying beliefs such as the need for control for eg,and this controlling mentality paralyses anyone who has it.....
•As for exams, you could ask yourself;Have I prepared well ? Am I doing my best ? Is the anxiety again induced by a need for ensuring a particular outcome ?? So maybe you have a specific goal and at the same time,a belief that "Any outcome other than that aint an option" which in turn maybe making yiu anxious with uour brain constantly telling you "Will I 100% get that outcome ?" ... Most important thing is "you do your best,and leave the rest"
And oh,as for traveling sickness;one thing I would recommend is to travel with door glass open.Because from experience I can tell you that "Being seated in a car with door-glass closed and also car-air freshners such as ambi pure for eg;both gives me headache.So maybe that will help....
To sum it up ppl who don't have disabling fear of aeroplane disasters doesn't have a sub-conscious mentality that 'they should 100% not be involved in an air-crash". Rather they focus on doing their best and leave it at that.So don't worry;am confident a change in mentality wil help you deal with these things....Hope this helps :)
@Ismail12
Thank you for your reply. This whole anxiety ordeal is something weird. I've struggled with traveling my whole life, yet we always called it "traveling fever" until the actual diagnosis last summer. I would most definetely agree on the fact that a lot has to do with control. I've never liked changes that much, whether it's a new sports team, the thought of moving etc etc. I like things to stay on the same track and follow the same path. I do however struggle with finding exactly what it is about traveling that triggers my panic mode so much. On the travel day, I always wake up with high pulse and a heartbeat i can feel all the way out to my fingers and toes, which has to do with my subconsciousness working a lot. I'm in no way scared of traveling places, as I love going on vacations (i have been going almost every year my whole life), but I'm terrified of the travel itself. By that, I don't mean the transportation method itself, as I have never been afraid of flying. Maybe it has to do with me being terrified of waking up on the travel day, feeling every symptom that I always do, or terrified of throwing up in the queues (security lines, baggage drop etc), which has happened more than once before. I agree on the fact that I have to learn to accept it, in the way that I have to convince myself that "okay, if I get sick or feel terrible, that's okay".
When it comes to the exams, I am a perfectionist, always been, probably always will be. From what I have come to understand about my anxiety, if I feel anxious about something, everything else becomes a struggle during that time. It's like temporarly getting agoraphobia, but the second the anxious period is over, so is the agoraphobia. During my exam period, I lived off 2-3 pieces of bread a day, as I was constantly feeling ill, I could barely go to the store, barely do the little things that has never been an issue before. I was terrified of not getting the result I wanted to get, although I knew I had prepared myself the best I could and had good control on the material. It's just like the whole system goes on lockdown. That anxious period lasted for a little over 3 weeks. During that time, I had 2 good days only where I was able to eat somewhat reasonable amount of food.
Again thank you for your response, I really appreciate it. Hopefully I can have more good days than bad leading up to this trip. I am traveling with close relatives, so having them with me will hopefully help as well.
@22WithAnxiety
Hello you are welcome.So I guess ultimately its how you see it...
• Seeing a change as bad or that which is to be avoided means you will have higher stress than normal as you have programmed your mind " Change is that which needs to be avoided at all costs " Though sometimes life situations necessitates change...Of course even with attitude that " Sometimes change is needed in life";there will be anxiety;but its normal and is less than one that occurs with " Change should be avoided at all cost attitude" Yes we all hate discomfort,but some levels of discomfort is inevitable after all...
So as for traveling,it seems to me like again its related to how you see the discomfort that occurs as a result of standing in queue,the security checks and etc.Like remembering that all these are done so everyone is safe will help to an extent,and again any process anywhere is done for a good reason.....
And in exams,maybe its the attitude that "Anything less than that which I aim for is a catastrophe" I guess is keeping you worried.But an "I may or may not get as exactly as I aimed;but I will prepare myself as well as I can" attitude will maybe help you prepare and write exams with a free mind;and that probably should help you do better than the attitude of "Need for certainty"...So your aim is same in both cases except that in latter you accept that anything is possible and thus freeing your mind to focus on preparation and bringing anxiety to normal levels.....
And I want to clarify that I didn't mean its ok to be ill or face severe anxiety.If anxiety is affecting your day-to-day life or if its making you sick;of course there is something to sort out and can't be left that way....And true traveling with relatives will help as long as you have a reasonable outlook on the security checks and all procedures as being "part of the traveling experience for the greater good''.... Hope this helps and again if the anxiety is at bothersome levels and nothing works, maybe its time for consulting a Therapist....