Does anyone else experience this pit of anxiety feeling in their chest when they wake up? How do you cope with it or get rid of it? I've tried meditation and tried to distract myself but when my anxiety is bad it always comes back.
Courage1984 I am so sorry you had a bad night! Just know that its okay to have ups and downs!! They happen. I feel like at least once a week I get those moments where I keep saying what if I never get better what if I am stuck like this forever. But remember what you said to me before?? You are living proof that you have gotten over this before and you can do it again!
Hello everyone,
I am on session 4 and I am having some trouble on what to do for my exposure plan. My biggest anxiety comes from me focusing too much on my breathing and worrying that I will stop breathing. I am not sure what steps to take to expose myself more and to get over this? I was hoping someone can give me some advice.
I constantly fear that something may be wrong medically and worry that I am not getting enough air for example.
Thanks so much. This did help alot. Honestly for me it's very similar. I just constantly find myself worrying about my breathing and thinking omg it's going to just stop on its own or thinking it isn't deep enough. Then I hyperventilate which leads to a panic attack eventually. Some days I don't hyperventilate and it's just the constant catching myself thinking and trying to control my breathing. I will try the exposure to forcing myself to hyperventilate and hope that helps.
Do you find yourself constantly thinking of it? I'm so afraid I'll be doing this for years and years if not forever! I hope not.
I hear you! I always wish it was different. For me I think why can't I have a fear of something else and not breathing something that clearly has to happen 24/7!I hope everything is okay I'm sure it is. Youre heart rate was probably way up from panicking mine does that sometimes too. Just breathe and try and stay distracted until your doctors apt although I know thats extremely hard to do.
I'm doing okay. Still focusing on this damn breathing and feeling down about it but trying hard to push through.
Also you are normal! So many people go through these things. But I totally get that feeling of why aren't I normal. I get it alot and then I try and remind myself it happens to alot more people than we are aware of.
Yes I have. I have been seeing someone who sort of helped so I am starting to see someone else this week. She doesn't do CBT though and does more talk therapy though so I'm hoping it helps. I'm sure I can talk to her about these exercises though.
Ugh I hear you! It's at 530 tomorrow. Today I feel kinda up and down. I've noticed most of my panic attacks happen while driving. I guess I tend to focus more on my breathing when I'm alone in the car and then I start breathing quickly which triggers that numbness and tingling in my legs and arm and then of course an attack. I've been doing better at managing them and telling myself don't be afraid it's happened to you before it'll pass but it still exerts so much energy and makes me so upset that I still have to feel this way.
Tell me how it is when you finish it!
Ugh I agree!! When I am not panicking I can easily tell myself all these wonderful things like not to think of these thoughts and how I am perfectly fine and bla bla bla lol but then once I am in panic mode its like I completely lose hope.
I noticed the other day that the past week and a bit my panic attacks mainly happen when I am driving alone. I wonder if it is because when I am driving alone I am so focused on my breathing and its harder to distract myself. Yesterday while driving my thighs and arm got sooo numb and tight and tingly that it triggered a panic attack and I felt I couldn't breathe. I kept reminding myself though that clearly I am breathing or I couldn't possible be driving.
Thanks I will definitely let you know how the apt goes. I hope well. I also started yoga last night and it was helpful. At first it brought on some anxiety because the instructor was asking us to breathe in and out on certain poses and I felt I wasn't breathing in "enough".
