[Feeling crazy]

I started with anxiety/panic attacks last year when my family was going thru some serious enough stuff! I was new to anxiety and it krippled me, after some treatment with Xanax as needed I was able to defeat it and keep it at bay..only needing a Xanax occasionally over the last year! It has returned full force!! I hate depending on the Xanax because I'm so afraid of addiction, my doc prescribed me Zoloft 25mg and within a few hours of my first dose I was in a full blown panic attach, nausea and vomitting, racing heartbeat couldn't sleep or eat
Needless to say with 3 kids to care for I couldn't do another day of this! I stopped it and am still suffering with attacks and nausea...feeling hopeless!!
I went from handling my **** and everyone else's to can't even handling my own...

[kaliope]

hi feeling crazy
i understand how anxiety and panic can make you feel out of control. i deal with it myself on a constant basis. i have a couple tools that i use to manage it that are helpful. i dont like relying on benzos because of the addictive qualities. i am on buspar which is not addictive and i find it really helpful. i have two other techniques to help manage my anxiety and panic.

a way to stop panic attacks is to relax. it is physically impossible to panic and relax at the same time. you dont even have to really relax. just fool your brain into thinking you are relaxing. imagine as if you just did a meditation or had a massage and all your muscles have turned into limp noodles. just let them all go. this will stop the panic attack. you may have to do it a couple times over your first tries, but when i started doing this it ended the attacks

i have this thing called an anxiety meter that i visualize in my head. it goes from 0 to 10, 10 being the worst anxiety ever. so when i am anxious, i see where the needle registers on the meter. then i do breathing exercises until i get it down to a four. which is manageable for me. sometimes i see a knob on the meter and i will manually turn down the meter to four so i can calm down faster. practicing this enough, all i have to do now when i am anxious is say dial down, and i can calm myself.

welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

[Ruftin]

Hello and welcome to Psych Central Feeling Crazy!!! It's nice to meet you. You have joined a community of warm and caring members who will want to offer you support and advice. Yours is welcome as well.

Please feel free to contact any community liaison or moderator by left clicking on their name in blue to the left of their post if you need help navigating the forums. It will take some time for your first five posts to appear as they are being evaluated and then you will be able to join chats.

I'm sorry for your struggles. I would like to add to what Kali said in that it really helps to have a plan in place before you actually experience a panic attack. I actually came up with a way to talk myself out of a panic attack just like a friend would do for you if they were there by your side. I rehearsed it until I had it memorized and the next time I had a panic attack I was able to talk myself down. As time went by I no longer feared them as much and they eventually subsided all together. I hope this helps you in some way. You'll find we have a safe and supportive community. I'm glad you've joined us.

I look forward to seeing you around!!!

[Nimitri]

I understand the fear of becoming addict to the medicine, but have you talked about this fear with your therapist? With mine, they prescribed I think it was Vitalin and then it went for another three until I got Alzam. I could leave them fine, but having relapses I think is normal. Right now I'm having relapses of anxiety attacks somewhat mild and were two and half years with medicine and therapist, so there is nothing wrong that sometimes it came back, but besides the grounding technique, have you tried going to a Therapist in cognitive Behavoiral specialization? That helped me.

In grouding technique I use Ho oponopono and counting from 100 to 0 imagining writing in a green board with red chalk while chanting "I'm calm, relaxed and in complete health"

[nyancola]

im currently experiencing a second relapse. the first relapse a few months ago i came here and just writing and recieving support helped a lot. like ridiculously a lot. so hopefully these replies help some.

try to keep in mind youve gone through it before, and most importantly youve GOT THROUGH it before. you are capable of doing it again.

you sound like a strong person so try to find some comfort in knowing that. you are not hopeless. you can do this.