Severe Anxiety Disorder

[kitkat]

Has science made any progress in understanding severe anxiety disorders as to what exactly is going on in the mind and body of those who have periodic episodes of anxiety issues?

 

I have had anxiety issues since I was little which I self medicated by consuming chocolate or alot of sugar. I didn 't understand at that time what was wrong with me or if what I was feeling was out of the norm compared to everybody else. Later in my 30's I experienced the worst anxiety attacks which occurred about twice a year.

 

These attacks can last up to a week and my symptoms begin with:

 

1. Starts in my stomach feeling anxious

2. I get a metal taste in my mouth

3. Tingling sensations down both my arms

4. Flight or fight -adrenaline pump feels like it is stuck in the "on" position and can't close.

5. Thought processes are being controlled by thinking of imaginary catastrophic events that, I think, to keep the adrenaline pumping constantly

6. Muscles by this time are tight and my body feels like it is being pushed to the limit.

7. My speech is effected because my thoughts are on fast tract

8. Feels like I could easily die from a heart attack

9. Cannot be in a car or be exposed to any sudden stimuli since my fight or flee is already on full blast.

10. Cannot sleep at all the entire time which can last up to a week

 

I isolate during these attacks since I am afraid I would be locked up in an insane ward since my speech can't keep up with my racing thoughts. The part of conscious that identifies "me" feels likes it is being held as a prisoner while this disorder takes over my mind by torturing it with scary thoughts to feed its adrenaline rush. People that have been with me during these episodes, I want to say, I know I am acting strange but inside my mind I am okay, its just that I cannot communicate to you properly at the moment.

 

What is interesting to me is that during one of these episodes I started tapping on my leg which in a weird way comforted my nervous system. I thought of an autism person and perhaps this was very similar to what I was feeling during this attack. During these attacks I have to separate "me" from the mind altering illness where I literally have to fight for control back of my thoughts by thinking some thing pleasant and when I find myself slipping back into thinking catastrophic thoughts, I have to again gain control of my thoughts by concentrating on thinking of something that is soothing and calm.

 

It is no doubt a war going on in my mind and body and by the end of it, I feel that my body has gone through a train wreak and sleep is welcomed with relief. I have never taken medication for this since a physician had diagnosed me with having Depression and put me on meds that I didn't like plus I felt that was never my problem. I lost faith in the medical community and I been waiting for new advances in learning about chemical imbalances so more appropriate solutions would arrive before I am dead.

 

Does anyone have any new information of this disorder?

[fractalres]

Try taking Twinlab's Stress B-complex with beta-carotene... depending on how much money you have to throw at this, you may want to try L-theanine or GABA Calm. There's also propranolol, the dosage of which should be watched carefully to prevent hypotension.

[michel123456]

Too much caffeine?

[superball]

sounds like radiation poisoning, mercury poisoning.

[kitkat]

Too much caffeine?

 

 

I don't like caffeine.

[michel123456]

I don't like caffeine.

Never drink Coca Cola?

[kitkat]

Never drink Coca Cola?

 

 

Nope.

[michel123456]

I lost faith in the medical community and I been waiting for new advances in learning about chemical imbalances so more appropriate solutions would arrive before I am dead.

Maybe you should change your mind about the medical community before you die, and consult another doctor.

That was the serious answer.

--------------------------------

The other answer is that points 1 to 10 are the symptoms of making sex. But only twice a year?

Edited November 26, 2011 by michel123456

[PhDwannabe]

kitkat:

 

 

I can't make diagnoses over the internet for about a thousand different reasons, but I can tell you are describing a pretty textbook panic attack. Depending on some other experiences you may or may not be having that you didn't mention, it sounds quite strongly like panic disorder. I hope it is helpful for you to hear that the body of what you are reporting is extremely common in terms of symptom presentation--I've heard nearly identical things from many people. I can tell you that psychological science knows a lot about how this works, and psychological treatments for panic disorder are extremely efficacious, often resulting in something like 90% panic-free rates after just a few months of weekly one-hour sessions, and that these effects are typically durable, that is, they persist after treatment has been terminated (unlike the effects of essentially any psychoactive medication.) These treatments consistently beat pharmacotherapy in our best peer-reviewed literature.

 

I can't consult with you in-depth about your difficulties, but if you'd like, I can try and help connect you to a psychologist who employs empirically supported interventions for this in your area if you'd be interested, or supply you with more information if I can. Feel free to send me a message whenever you'd like. That you should also consult your physician for whatever testing he or she might feel is appropriate also goes without saying, but it sounds like you've got some reservations about that, and any competent mental health professional I'd look up for you would tell you the same, and perhaps give you some information on "how to talk to your doctor," or speak to them directly. At any rate, get ahold of me if you'd like.

[kitkat]

kitkat:

 

 

I can't make diagnoses over the internet for about a thousand different reasons, but I can tell you are describing a pretty textbook panic attack. Depending on some other experiences you may or may not be having that you didn't mention, it sounds quite strongly like panic disorder. I hope it is helpful for you to hear that the body of what you are reporting is extremely common in terms of symptom presentation--I've heard nearly identical things from many people. I can tell you that psychological science knows a lot about how this works, and psychological treatments for panic disorder are extremely efficacious, often resulting in something like 90% panic-free rates after just a few months of weekly one-hour sessions, and that these effects are typically durable, that is, they persist after treatment has been terminated (unlike the effects of essentially any psychoactive medication.) These treatments consistently beat pharmacotherapy in our best peer-reviewed literature.

 

I can't consult with you in-depth about your difficulties, but if you'd like, I can try and help connect you to a psychologist who employs empirically supported interventions for this in your area if you'd be interested, or supply you with more information if I can. Feel free to send me a message whenever you'd like. That you should also consult your physician for whatever testing he or she might feel is appropriate also goes without saying, but it sounds like you've got some reservations about that, and any competent mental health professional I'd look up for you would tell you the same, and perhaps give you some information on "how to talk to your doctor," or speak to them directly. At any rate, get ahold of me if you'd like.

I have talked to a therapist about these episodes and I have during my younger years been in counseling for various issues so much so that when I go to them, I know as much as they do in functioning thinking and they end up asking me, "How can they help me?" I have also studied as much as is available on the internet but I am still waiting for them to discover how to measure chemical imbalances in the brain. I have learned to separate the "me" thinking from the disease "me" of thinking that is necessary to feed the adrenaline pump to remain open continuously during these episodes.

I can describe it as perhaps a metal toxicity that starts in the stomach - where is adrenaline dispensed from? - this pump feels like it is jammed or something like that- I don't know. I am hesitant on taking drugs since I am sensitive in that it may cause other reactions. I am not stressed prior to these events that I am aware of so counseling is not going to be effective in this situation.

[michel123456]

It is a little bit like asking your neighbour or the lady at the supermarket.

It can be many things from very benign to more complicated (I was thinking of thyroid disorder) but anyway you cannot expect much from any forum over the net. You should go and get a proper medical advice.

[PhDwannabe]

I am not stressed prior to these events that I am aware of so counseling is not going to be effective in this situation.

With all the respect I can give to your knowledge of yourself, that is not a critical distinction. This is not about being "stressed," indeed, that's not the way disorders like this work. And to nitpick terms which you probably don't use in such a technical sense, I'm not talking about counseling--I'm talking about psychotherapy.