Does anyone out there get gas stomach Attacks and then also panic attacks-I get them side by side.i Used to get back ache--but now I get it in the stomach...

Hey Steve, First of all stop beating yourself up! That was one of the things that I kept doing to myself till a friend told me to stop and has helped. I know how you feel because I too felt like that in the beginning. You read my post and how I was feeling. I felt like I was going crazy and not there. I felt like my mind was all jumbled up and clouded. For months I couldn' think, much less feel anything!! I was just caught up in my fear and my panic. I like you felt dizzy and dioriented all the time. That was one of the worst feelings ever! I wouldn't want to ever go back there again! I felt like I was a zombie for about the first 2 months of my panics. And that's cause I wasn't even on any medication. I did take some medication for a while but I haven't anymore. The medication was just producing more symptoms. So I myself got it into my head that I was going to beat this!! And I have come a long way from that day! I'm glad because that is such a horrible feeling!!! I too used to party and drink alot. When I first got sick I would blame myself for all the drinking that I had done and how it could of hurt my body. I blamed the anxiety and panics partly on it. My life was just not going anywhere. Yeah I graduated from college and stuff, but I felt like a failure still for not being able to find a job right away. I felt like I had gone to school and worked hard for nothing. I put a lot of stress and guilt on myself. Like you I felt let down with like and how it was going. I didn't like myself anymore. I had been drinking, partying to get away from life. That was the only time I felt like my worries would dissapear. When it finally all caught up to me was when everything finally blew up in my face. Out of nowhere I just one day felt sick and a week later I totally lost it and got the panics and agoraphobia. It was so bad, I felt that I would never get out of what I was feeling and experiening. I would get better and then I would get setbacks, which really made me give up at times. But no matter what I somehow got myself up again and tried. Just when I thought I was getting better I got panic again and this time around went into depession for about a week and a half or two. Those were the hardest time. All I would do was cry. And I was not the type of per

Hi Barbara, you should be happy for yourself that you graduated college. All I've been doing for the past month is laying in bed thinking negative thoughts too & having all these memories of my past & thoughts that keep popping up & what I could have done in life, where I should be & where in the world I'm gonna be years from now. I drank ALOT when I was younger, but I always socialized, had fun, & was able to function. I always dreamed of going to school to produce music .(Music is my life) but I kept putting it off cuz I was just working (VERY HARD) but basically p**sing my money away. Then 5 years ago.....WELCOME TO PANIC & AGORAPHBIA WORLD! I lost my job because I couldn't stand it anymore, was being yelled at by & even told by my ex-employer quote "You can't function!" I've been on disability for my condition for those past years which is really DEPRESSING the hell out of me.(really something nice to tell people especially music producers and classmates!)I feel like such a loser. I quit drinking cold turkey last November & went to college trying to keep the big lie in(my situation, medication & my SYMPTOMS!, why I didn't drink or party ) for a semsester to try to get an AS in MUSIC PRODUCTION ,14 credits rididng 2 city buses a week to get to campus taking at least 6 hours a day just getting there & back because I don't own a car(I could just imagine panicking while driving) dropped the music courses & kept only 6 credits...I went for an Office program fall semester & dropped it the 1st day because I told myself I cannot do this anymore, changed my e-mail adress because a couple of my old classmates used to IM me(younger fresh outta highscool & healthy like almost everyone else!) because they kept asking me when I was gonna work & how was the new campus,etc. Now I'm back in my old neighboorhood more agoraphobic then ever .It's not really as much that I'm scared to get out. its even worse because everybody knows me here, & are probably thinking to themselves what is up with him?! ANytime I walk by someone I ignore them & panic, To top it all off one of my old girlfriends from highschool is visiting from outta town right across the street from me which I haven't seen for years!(with her boyfriend I guess)(from my pre-panic HELL days when I was pret

I am glad to report that I am feeling much better about being depressed. It helps me when I get on here and talk to people about what I am feeling and going through. I don't really get seriously depressed. It's just that somedays I get fustrated because I never got out of this illness. I just don't understand why this happended to me. I have had this panic and anxiety before, it had been like about 5 years that I had not been ill. Before I had anxiety and a little panic but never this bad with agoraphobia like I have now for the past 4 months. Ever since I was in my last semester of college on the verge of graduating and losing my job and having to start looking for new employment I got sick outof nowhere! I used to drink alot too. Sometimes I feel that was another reason I got sick too. But as for being depressed, I am not anymore. I guess I just feel fustrated and like I never got anywhere. I don't get sickly depressed, I just get down but I get back up myself. I know that with work I will get out there someday. I know I just have to be positive and not give up hope. But everone has days when we feel sad and sorry about ourself. :) But I am better now. You would think that I could help myself out more since I graduated with a Psychology major, my friends get mad at me for that. They tell me that I SHOULD be able to get through this on my own. I have in the past but this time around it's been harder.

Hi Barbara. It's great that you do get out. What I was alluding to was a step by step plan, such as sitting outdoors for ten minutes each day by yourself, and gradually increasing the distance and time outside, rather than making it dependent on someone else's availability. If your cousin shows up, that's great, but I would encourage you to have a baby step program. Improvement comes in baby steps, and can be continual. Hang in there. It can be done. Are you receiving therapy for the depression?

Thanks for your advice. I had been very positive since I started this program that is how I finally got out of the house. I haven't been out completely though. I just basically go to my cousin's apartment and I've been to a couple of stores for a very brief time though. I haven't been out much lately. When I do try and get out, I will be fine but then out of nowhere I start having that panic feeling start to creep out. I am usually fine if I start to ignore it and challenge it but I still get down about not feeling better. I wish I could just be the way I was before! I guess I feel like I'm giving up since I haven't totally gotten out there and living life. But I have been trying to go out on little outings. My cousin is very helpful. She is the only one I am able to go out of the house with. When I try to go with my sister I get really anxious and my chest starts feeling heavy, and I can't breath. That is why I only go out with my cousin to her apartment. But overall I have tried getting out and I am following this program. I guess I just get depressed because I want to get out there and live life and work and do something with my life but this illness has been keeping me here.

Hi Barb. How about challenging those negative thoughts? It's easy when feeling down to let sefl-pity take hold. We have to fight against that by examining our negative thoughts and turning them off, then turning them into positive or constructive ones. What is your plan for getting our of the house? Are you following the panic program?

I had been doing well trying to get out of the house and trying to face my fear but I still sometimes feel like I am getting nowhere! I feel like life is passing me by and I have not accomplished anything. Today I started getting sad and depressed because I started thinking about my life and about how I have missed so much. Summer has come and gone and I have spent the whole time here in my house due to my illness. I feel like I am never going to be my old self again. I used to be outgoing, going out all the time with friends and just basically enjoying life. Ever since I got sick I have just been holed up here in my room and my house. I sometimes wonder if I will ever get out of this house! If I will ever be normal again. If I will ever get out and get a job ( I had just graduated from college), get married and have kids. I am 28 years old, I feel like I haven't accomplised nothing!! I know I have been trying to help some of you guys out, but I do have my ups and downs too......can anyone help me out and give me some advice. I'd appreciate it.