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panic attacks? phobia? Help!!?

For the past 4 or five years (I am 22 by the way) I have had panic attacks and have many phobias. I am afraid to take any kind of medicine because i dont want to feel "weird" i wont take it even if i know it wont make me feel weird because im just still scared! I cant travel out of my town because im scared. I actually had to evacuate for a hurricane and teh whole trip i was panicing (I even had my entire family with me!) i dont drink at all (it will make me feel weird) i know this sounds crazy but this is just the tip of the iceberg. i dont want this to ruin my life! i am in a great relationship, in college, and my family and i are really close! I NEVER used to be like this untill my parents divorced and my dad left. i was so outgoing! I really want to have childern one day and if im like this i dont think i can do it. I have seen a doctor but i have no insurance so i stopped going it didnt help much anyway. Anyone experience this? Any suggestions?

Public Comments

  1. sounds like OCD. i have phobias too and i was told to confront them and realize that they are harmless. it is hard, but i am trying. you should too. good luck!
  2. If you have no insurance you can always go to a Community Mental Health clinic. You pay on a sliding scale and if you have no money they don't charge you anything. They will write your prescriptions there. You usually have to take them to a certain pharmacy and they will fill them for free. Look in your local telephone dire ctory or call information in your state and you should be able to find one so that you can get the help and the meds that you need. Good Luck
  3. I feel your pain, I am 45 years old and I have never had a drivers license, because I have panic attacks. I feel like Every car on the road is out to get me, and if we go through road construction, ( I am not even driving) I close me eyes till we are through it. My heart starts pounding and I start to breath heavy. I hate it. Just know you are not alone and maybe people like us should just get together in a room and chat about our feelings to people who understand.
  4. You really need to go to a doctor (a psychiatrist in particular). Might you have a form of post-tramatic stress disorder from unresolved emotions from the divorce or something? Really I don't know, but you really just need to talk things over. I use to get panic attacks and they are freaky scary. They prescribed me Buspar for a little while to get past them. The last thing you want to do is get on some medication for the rest of your life to dull you down to someone you are not. A doctor today offered me Effexor for stress (2 kids, husband travels all the time, under a lot of stress), but I'm not taking it because it's super addictive and has terrible side effects. If you want to have children, you can't be taking that medicine anyways. It's not really compatible with pregnancy. It would only be fair to your future children that you are a stong and stable person. I really hope for you all the best. Good luck.
  5. You're overly paranoid. Stop. I know that sounds mean, but I used to be like that. It is truly lame. lame, lame, and lame. What helps a lot...for me at least... Have your family and closest friends/gf/etc sit down with you. Tell them how you feel. Let them know exactly...EXACTLY what you think/feel. Get their advice. Get their opinions. listen to them. Listen to what they think. Listen to their opinions. Think of some of the things you'd like to do. Think of things that your family or friends usually go and do that you cannot. Think about it for a while. Until you're sure that you really want to do it. Have your family and close friends go with you when you do it. It's ok to be afraid at first. After you go and do one thing and realize that nothing will happen, do the same thing a couple more times, then move on to something else. Think of something else that you wish you could do. Something that you havent done in a while. Something that means a lot to you. Go and do it with your friends and family. Do this for a few months. Dont forget that it's ok to be afraid. After you go out and do things a few times, you will realize that it's LAME. You will realize that there is no reason for you to feel this way. You will realize that you shouldn't be afraid of so many things. You will even start to do things without your friends or family. Like a walk to the store alone. Something that small. I know that I make it sound easy, but you have to remember that I used to be like that too. it takes a lot, but once you get the guts to do it, you'll feel great. I can honestly tell you that you'll panic and freak out the first couple times....But then it gradually goes away. Whether or not you take my advice is all on you. But if I were you, I'd at least try. <3 I hope you come up with something, soon. You're missing out on so many things. I wish you the best of luck.
  6. I have had phobias and panic attacks. Since you don't have health insurance, I suggest you get in touch with local Mental Health Association or Mental Health Authority in your local area. Panic attacks are part of a larger grouping of psychological illnesses known in the mental health community as anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive complusive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and finally post tramatic stress disorder.
  7. All this advice is good. Panic attacks are always short in duration. That's the most important thing to remember about them. Going for a jog (or exercising on the treadmill) helps a lot to get rid of the excess adrenaline generated by the fear. Slow deep breathing will also help, but you have to develop it as a practice, something that you do every day when you aren't panicking. Counting your pulse rate also helps. In fact doing almost anything helps to get your mind off your fear. Phobias can be dealt with through therapy, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. People desensitize themselves to the phobia in small steps (think about an airplane, think about getting on it, think about flying, take a step towards the airport, etc.) There are medications that can help to, but by far the best thing is meditation and therapy.
  8. This isn't a physical thing, you need a psychiatrist. This could be a funky way of not dealing with your father's abandonment. If there is a way to "cure" yourself, you should try it. No drugs, nothing to make you feel weird, just you talking it over with a trained professional. Also, read a book called "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About" It changed my life. I had panic attacks, migranes and allergies until I started taking the advise in this book. It's been MONTHS and no panic attacks, the migranes have all but quit and my allergies are gone. I swear by this book, try it, you don't have anything to lose but the things you hate anyway.
  9. I know how you're feeling. I started getting panic attacks about a year ago and after 6 months of it, I finally went to my family doc because I felt there was something physically wrong with me. He put me on anti-depressants and it did help for a while but I started gaining weight. The weight would not come off no matter what I did. That made me depressed more than anything because I've always been able to control my weight before. Long story short, I decided I wanted to come off the drug and while I was doing that my psychiatrist put me on Klonopin while coming off the anti-depressant. It worked wonders and my doctor told me it wasn't addicitive. Well, guess what? It is. I'm going through hell right now trying to come off of it. I feel like I'm right back at square one. I'm seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist but it doesn't help me much to be honest. I really don't have advice to give... but you are not alone.
  10. I'm not sure what state your in but try social services about getting medicaid. If you have a mental disorder they shouldn't turn you down. the only way the panic attacks and phobia's become managable is with medication. Without meds I wouldn't be able to go grocery shopping.
  11. I think we were separated at birth. Seriously. I am 27 and had my first panic attack at age 9. Of course, I didn't know what what happening to me at the time. As a pre-teen I started drinking alcohol and continued on a daily basis until I was 15 and put in rehab. I discovered through doctors that the reason for that was to self-medicate....basically to cover up my anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Luckily, I was saved and saved myself. I have been clean and sober for the past 11+ years. Everytime I was put on new meds I was scared to death to take them...I'd call the doctor's office back 15 times to MAKE sure I was taking the right dosage, at the right times, and checked to make sure my "symptoms/side effects" were normal. I have learned enough now by going to doctors/psychiatrists/outpatient/inpatient therapy that basically I create symptoms in my head because I worry. I have created panic attacks due to worry...I have HUGE anticipatory anxiety problem. I have so been there and still struggle with it everyday...but at differing levels...being on meds now I don't have NEAR the problems I have had w/o medication. I suggest seeing a psychiatrist. I know you don't have health insurance, but I am sure you can find a low cost/no cost clinic in your area. Just open the phone book, ask around and make some calls....just take it baby step by baby step and you will get there. Your mental health is SOOOOOO important to your overall well being. Please reach out for the help you need so that you can have a well and pretty adjusted life! You are worth it, no matter how hard it may seem to overcome. I have to tell myself to face a fear every day. Once you do something you fear, the scary-ness fades! Good luck to you and take care of yourself. By the way you are not crazy......there are TONS of people out there like us. (That's something I have to keep reminding myself of when I get down and feeling like an outcast, or I'm weird or I get envious of people who do not have anxiety/panic problems.
  12. You really need to open your mind to medications or some kind of counseling. I have had panic attacks in the past. Try to evaluate the stressors in your life, and what you can do, if anything to change them. Talk to your doctor about an anti-anxiety med. Try Celexa, I have experienced great results with this med.
  13. hypnotherapy can help you and get rid of the panic attacks
  14. I seriously hope you find a good therapist to help you resolve some issues you have. See a psychiatrist about your issues. You have some abandonment issues, and it will probably take both medication and therapy for you to overcome this. You seem to have a medication phobia, as well. Many, many things to try to overcome. It won't be easy, but you can do it. I have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and I have taken many different medications for this and still am. Paxil, Prozac, Xanax and Effexor are some of the medications currently available. Many more are out there, though. Some of the pharmaceutical companies offer assistance to people with low income or no insurance, check them out. You, however fist of all you have to get a diagnosis from a doctor before you can get a prescription.
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