[SingDanceRunLife]

What was this?

I had an English test today, and during it, thinking about it, and thinking about a bunch of other stuff...I had a million and one thoughts racing through my head at one time....I couldn't concentrate, and I started worrying like whoa about every little thing and I felt like I needed to escape and just get out of there. I want to run away and cry.

Why?

[Cthomas]

Have you ever had a panic attack? sounds like the beginning of one. Dosent matter what triggered it just that it was it.

Are you ok now?getting any better? Do you have anxiety issues? or bipolar?

Hope you are doing better. Sometimes things just happen for no reason. the more that you try to overanalyze the more you may become anxious so try to calm down a bit. Then put it into perspective.

Colleen

[SingDanceRunLife]

I've never had a full out panic attack before. I've been like I described in my post multiple times though.

I have depression, my therapist thinks I have OCD (getting screened at next session - Thursday), and I think I might have GAD or something.

I'm doing much better now. Thanks.

[pegasus]

Hello!

It's the 'fight or flight' mechanism within us, a little of this helps us to perform well otherwise we just wouldn't care how well we did. Too much of it and it can lead to a panic attack. It could be the test/exam situation brought this on.

You could ask your T to teach you some relaxation and breathing techniques to help you.

I'm glad you are feeling a little better now.

[Perna]

Did it start at the beginning or just in the darn middle? I use to walk into my exams at university, sit down, look at the questions and have to will myself not to get up and run.

Did you keep working and it slowly went away? Mine would do that as I got feeling a bit more comfortable with the questions and the thinking started to flow a bit easier and I knew I could answer something at least.

[Cthomas]

Glad you are ok now....keep posting if you end up feeling bad again ok?

Colleen

[SingDanceRunLife]

Perna - It started in the middle...When I was just starting the second of two essays. I sat there trying to calm myself down for awhile, I even considered walking out (well, "going to the bathroom"), and was just staring, not doing anything for awhile...Then my teacher came over and told me not to zone out, then she [nicely] shook me and said "Wake up!" In all honesty, that made things worse for a bit, especially since about half my class looked back at me. So yeah.

You might want to consider your diet as well. Avoiding caffine. Eating blueberries and other known brain foods and drinking lots of water throughout the day.

Panic attacks, test and other anxieties are triggered by poor nutrition. Short and rapid breathing can be calmed down by focused breathing exercises.

Hope you find a remedy to your anxiety. Can be very exhausting and emotionally draining if left unattended.

Take good care........ be good to your body.......

[SingDanceRunLife]

I hardly consume any caffeine...No more than 2 caffeinated drinks a week. So, that's no problem. I don't drink a lot of water though (I really don't like it).

Before my test, I ate pretty well I think. I had some hot chocolate, a hot dog, some juice and a granola bar.

I can talk to my T at my session on Thursday about anxiety stuff. She already wants me to take an OCD screening thing, so obviously she recognizes I have some sort of anxiety because otherwise she wouldn't have said that.

Good you have someone to talk to about this and someone who is looking at the bigger picture.

Coping with anxiety is a bit of a game of hide and seek. Learning to read your bodies responses to stress and food and sleep and everything else that contributes to our mental wellness. Learning specific skills and habits and sometimes changing thought patterns and other behaviours.

You might want to see if your school has any supports for people with anxiety and stress issues. When I worked for a college we used to run regular workshops and relaxation sessions during test times. We also had peer and Elder support services for one on one buddy supports.

The sooner you get a handle on your stress and anxiety the easier it will be to manage it when under extra pressure.

Wishing you well.....

[SingDanceRunLife]

Thanks.

I have the second half of my exam today...And I really don't want a replay of yesterday. Any suggestions for that?

Don't let yourself think about yesterday. When thoughts of yesterday come to mind, acknowledge them but state that today is a new day and you are prepared.

Take a few minutes before the exam to have a quiet walk. Talk to yourelf about staying calm and focus on your breathing to make sure its long and steady not short and quick.

Eat some fruit and drink water before going in. If they let you have water in the exam then sip on in during the exam to keep your mouth wet and to remind you to breath.

Just some off the cuff ideas for you to try. If you start to get distracted with racing thoughts, acknowledge them but then refocus yourself again on the work at hand remember to breath.

Hoping things go better today for you. Then find someone in or out of the college to talk to about stress and anxiety management. There are some good resources here on PC too. A great self help manual that has a section on anxiety that is helpful. I'll try to post the link here to save you hunting around.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I actually just got home from the exam, so I didn't get to read your post beforehand.

However, it was OK.

Since I didn't want a replay of yesterday, I went through it as fast as I possibly could and then got the heck out of there.

Oh, and by the way - I'm not in college. I'm a high school junior.

yea.... i figured I was too late for you. Glad it went well just the same. It might be a good idea to let your teacher and counsellor know what is going on for you right now.

Being so young you want to make sure you get a handle on this kind of thing right away. It may be nothing or it may be something you need to learn a few simple coping skills to manage.

Have you told your parents about it or hand a chance to talk to anyone else about it.

Glad you okay. Take care.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Talking to my parents...Uh, yeah...Not exactly the easiest thing for me to do.

In all honesty, regarding my teachers and whatever, I'd much rather not talk about what's going on with me. I don't want people to know that I'm depressed and I guess have anxiety issues. That's not how I want to be seen, and in my mind, if people know that, that's what they'll think of. I know that's not right, and it's probably a stupid thought...But I can't help it.

I will talk with my T though, especially since I'll have a perfect opportunity with the OCD screening and all tomorrow.

I understand where you are coming from. I forgot you had a T and a screening coming up. Your in good hands by the sounds of things.

Still it would be good if you had at least one person in your school that you could confide in. I had a teacher in school who knew my story and he was very helpful at times. But I understand the worry of gossip and such.

Sorry you can't talk to your parents. Perhaps that can change. Take good care........ let us know how it goes with the screening.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I do have one teacher that I could probably tell (my English teacher)...The only problem with that is she's really good friends with my physics teacher, and I wouldn't doubt that she would say something (I know they've talked about me in the past - my physics teacher told my English teacher about a breakdown I had in class). So, I'm not sure.

I'll certainly update!

[SingDanceRunLife]

Update will have to wait...I didn't get my session today.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Gah!

Every time I start thinking about Fame, I start to panic. Great.

I have a session tomorrow though, before the show. Maybe that'll calm me down some.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I...feel...like...crap.

[Kiya]

Honey, that's not brain food!

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
SingDanceRunLife said:
Before my test, I ate pretty well I think. I had some hot chocolate, a hot dog, some juice and a granola bar.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

You might try eating things that are actually good for your body =) like fruit, protein (not processed and unrecognizable as food like hotdogs) like a nut butter, granola cerial (instead of a bar which has added sugar), eggs and toast.... something that your body and mind can really feed on.

=) kiya

[SingDanceRunLife]

See...I go to school more than half the time without eating a thing...Therefore what I ate before my test was pretty good.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Did the OCD screening at my session today. Yes, I have it.

Hi there... sorry I've been missing your posts lately.

So how do you feel about the screening? What's the next step for you? Will you be seeing a specialist to discuss treatment? Have you talked with your parents about it?

You are not alone with the poor eating habits. Its like an epademic. So much processed food disrupting your growth and playing havoc with your mental and physical wellness.

Do yourself a great favour.... eat well. It is the most important foundation to any treatment plan you and your doctors can design to help you cope and recover from the effects of OCD. Get rid of the processed foods. Lots of foods you should avoid and lots you should get extra to help combat the effects of the disorder. See if you can be refered to a nutritionist for some diet advice.

Much about any disorder can be traced to poor eating habits and mal-nourishment. Maybe ask for a full physcial work-up to see where your vitamin and other nutrition levels are at. Take nutritional supplements if you can't eat enough of the foods you need to improve your health.

Our body fuels our brain so when a disorder hits it becomes that much more important to take care of your body. Eat well and exercise regularly are the first steps towards recovery no matter the name of the disorder.

Here for you......... feel free to talk through your feelings. Take good care.........

[SingDanceRunLife]

The screening was fine...It was pretty much just talking. T asked me about habits and how I feel about them and whatnot. What's next? She asked me to get this book, Brain Lock...It's some book that's supposed to have ways to help with OCD. I picked up a copy earlier today, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet.

I don't care so much about foods affecting growth...I've been done growing for like 3 years. But yeah, my eating habits are terrible...Although, that will change after this weekend. The only reason I've been eating so badly is because I've been constantly running from place to place...School, choir, rehearsal, clubs...Everything. But Fame is ending, so I'll actually have time to eat real food! (I'm actually super excited about that, I've especially been missing dinner).

I'm working on the exercise front. I'm going to sign up for some dance classes. I would've before, but Fame took up my life and basically all my time outside of school so it wasn't possible.