Posted by octiigon on November 16, 2003, at 2:40:51
In reply to Re: Chest pains and panic disorder, posted by sbx on November 13, 2003, at 16:41:33
Hello everyone... I'm a 19 year old male that has had panic disorder for as long as I can remember.
The initial cause was probably related to controlling OCD/(Borderline or Narcissistic- not sure which) Father- and an abusive meth addict step-father.... (causing of fear).
Instead of an "area" of pain- my whole upper body ignites in pains. Sometimes untill it feels like the "world" is crashing down and "reality" is collapsing on itself. Sometimes it got to the point of self-mutilation.
By the way, anyone else get some extremely disturbing dreams? I've had some that- to me- seem really psychotic.
I've been on several different drugs for panic disorder- but all of them altered the way I thought- not to mention I got bad side effects from them all- so I decided to do some extensive research- and my parents bought me some program that supposedly helps with panic disorder- I'll get the name of it later.
First- Exercise. Nothing has helped me more than exercising be it lifting weights or aerobic. I guarantee if you exercise five days a week- for even 30 min a day- you will feel a noticable difference. Exercising also seemed to level off your panic attacks- I only get pains in my torso compared to a full out feeling of loss of control of my self.
Second- AVOID Caffeine and eating lots of sugars. Panic Attacks are triggered by adrenaline- sugar and caffeine increase your adrenaline. I fully regret drinking caffeine lately, because it has had alot of negative affects on my anxiety levels. Having alot of sugar has the same effect. I stopped eating candy, and it too has had a profound affect on me (that is... when I follow that rule).
Eat a well balanced diet. For a period of time I tried my best to eat a completely balanced diet- and threw out all the junk foods. It also helped me smooth out those times where I would have otherwise been in a full fledged panic.Third- Engage in a relaxing activity in a relaxed environment. I personally am an artist and a writer- I use those things I do to help clear away the anxiety and sort of "lose track" of everything i've been worrying about. Also, STAY BUSY, staying active helps you with the pain- in that you don't have time to sit around- worry about everything or about getting a panic attack- Then getting a panic attack from worrying about getting one- Then compounding those panic attacks... etc... you get the point. It's just i've noticed you don't "feel" the pain as much when your actively doing something.
I know sometimes it can be hard to incorporate these things into our lives ( I know I have- I've gotten addicted to Caffeine due to Finals coming up- Something I will and am regretting. It worked for me and I hope it works for others out there who want to try a natural approach. Hope this helps.
poster:octiigon
thread:3295
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031111/msgs/280196.html