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Nervous

TSE

TSE

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
4,073
3,715
St. Paul, Minnesota
Before anyone tells me," Go see a doctor, we aren't professionals, blah blah blah" I will tell you that I am going to see a doctor later this week to diagnose this issue and maybe get some therapy for it, and just wanted some tips from people that actually experience this problem.

So I am 16 and have always suffered from anxiety, but ever since the beginning of this school year it has gotten severe. I get nervous over absolutely nothing, and worry myself to death all the time. I get panic attacks when I go to parties for the first ten minutes then after awhile it will die down and I will be fine. These panic attacks are ruining my life. My heart palpitates and half the time I end up throwing up. My stomach 75% of the time is feeling like there is butterflies in it for no cause at all. I have nothing to be stressed about, I get a decent amount of sleep (7-8 hours a day), I don't drink caffeine, I have a decent diet, and I get decent exercise.

What can I do when I have panic attacks? Are there any tips? Tomorrow I have German class after school, and I almost all the time enjoy it, but last week for no reason I got extremely nervous and threw up in the bathroom and asked to be excused. I am thinking that I am going to do serious running on the treadmill tomorrow after the school before going just to get rid of any energy, but that will probably not work.

I am pretty sure that I have what is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so I am going to a doctor later this week.
 
TSE said:
Before anyone tells me," Go see a doctor, we aren't professionals, blah blah blah" I will tell you that I am going to see a doctor later this week to diagnose this issue and maybe get some therapy for it, and just wanted some tips from people that actually experience this problem.

So I am 16 and have always suffered from anxiety, but ever since the beginning of this school year it has gotten severe. I get nervous over absolutely nothing, and worry myself to death all the time. I get panic attacks when I go to parties for the first ten minutes then after awhile it will die down and I will be fine. These panic attacks are ruining my life. My heart palpitates and half the time I end up throwing up. My stomach 75% of the time is feeling like there is butterflies in it for no cause at all. I have nothing to be stressed about, I get a decent amount of sleep (7-8 hours a day), I don't drink caffeine, I have a decent diet, and I get decent exercise.

What can I do when I have panic attacks? Are there any tips? Tomorrow I have German class after school, and I almost all the time enjoy it, but last week for no reason I got extremely nervous and threw up in the bathroom and asked to be excused. I am thinking that I am going to do serious running on the treadmill tomorrow after the school before going just to get rid of any energy, but that will probably not work.

I am pretty sure that I have what is called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so I am going to a doctor later this week.
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Go see a doctor, we aren't professionals. Good luck though. Seriously.
 
Until you have your appointment all I can say is when you do get stressed out and start having a panic attack, just start controlling your breathing. I have anxiety issues myself, not as bad as some, but it has effected me. I am to stubborn to start popping pills, so I am kind of left to my own devices.

If you smoke weed, I'd suggest stopping. If you don't, start, it may help, still illegal, but may help.
 
I've never smoked weed and I'm not going to just because I have problems. Depending on drugs is the last resort.
 
TSE said:
I've never smoked weed and I'm not going to just because I have problems. Depending on drugs is the last resort.
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Good, I would really try and stay away from any anti-anxiety drugs too. I am rather sure a doctor in this field would be more then happy to go another direction other then drugs. I would hope.
 
Anything run in the family? Panic attacks? Depression?

What thoughts go through your head when this happens? What are you getting nervous over or are thinking about will happen?
 
Yes. Anxiety and panic attacks runs in the family on my mom's side. My mom has never gone to the doctor though for some reason.

I am always thinking if I am feeling nervous about German Class like,"What if I get sick again?" or if I am talking to girls and get nervous, I don't really think, I just get sick. I never had a problem talking to girls or anything until this year.
 
When you go to parties do you show up by yourself? It's always easiest if you've got a friend with you just to talk to instead of standing there by yourself. It seems to me that a lot of the anxiety situations come from social situations where you may be self-conscious.

Take a deep breath.
 
i've never admitted to myself that i most likely had anxiety and depression issues until this week. since school started its been really affecting me to the point where i didn't go on thurs or fri. we have a lot of the same issues in common, and would love to know what kind of solution you may find after your visit. i wish you luck!
 
Wonder what the doctor will say, either try and treat or blame it on hormones?

To calm you down talking to people, let me tell you something that most people don't grasp until they are older. If you actually knew how little people are thinking about you, you would be surprised. Seriously.

People think too much and/or and think about themselves a lot. Kind of a odd thing, because people don't think about others much. Realize this is true and you should see some comfort.

For example you fall and people laugh at you. Embarrassing, sure. But think of when you have seen it happen to others or seen something else embarassing. How long did you think about it? 15 seconds, a minute tops?
 
Wirelessly posted (Nokia 5800 Tube XpressMusic : Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; U; Series60/5.0 Nokia5800d-1/21.0.101; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)

I'm rarely useful at the best of times. What do want me to say about this? :p

See a doctor. Until then, go smoke some weed. Don't agree? Well that's what doctors are for. ;)
 
Maybe you should really try Yoga and some Meditation tutorials/classes, the benefits can be pretty amazing.

Also, get some 'Rescue Remedy' - I've had panic attacks/anxiety attacks in the past, but once I tried all these mentioned above, they subsided dramatically.

http://www.rescueremedy.com/


I hope this helps, I know it can people a lonely experience, but the only person that can stop them, is you (as you started the process in your head)!

Don't get into prescribed drugs just yet, not until you've tried a more natural way out of your situation.

I hope this helps...

Good luck TSE

P.S.
This is also worth checking out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUCPVx3hieg
http://www.panic-anxiety.com/
 
Especially if you had it in your family, listen to what your doctor tells you. Things to pay attention to:

  • What is the exact type of problem?

    There's a wide range of psychiatric problems, from anxiety disorder to depression to bipolar, and only a good doctor can diagnose which it is.

  • What will control it?

    I myself have a clinical depression problem, and it's kept under control with Wellbutrin. I'm much better when I'm on it.

    Some people have a problem with taking medications. Believe me, if I weren't on mine, I wouldn't be celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary. I made things hell around here before I recognized I had a big problem and got treatment. I think my wife would have left if I hadn't gotten help.

    (It helped me that my psychiatrist explained the biological nature of these psychiatric disorders, in my case a lack of serotonin. No one really knows why, but it's real and it has to be dealt with. It helped me a lot knowing that there was a physiological reason for what I was going through, and that I was not "crazy".)

    The mistake a lot of people make is to go on one drug, say that they don't like how it makes them feel, and go off the drug. I had to try three drugs before I found one that worked without noticeable side effects. You may have to be that persistent, or more so.

  • Evaluate your situation.

    To my surprise, the place I was working for was a big part of the problem. It was maddening, a place designed to ensure frustration and failure. Yes, the drugs helped me deal with it. But...when I left the place to take another job, everybody in my family commented on how much happier a person I was. Even though I was on the same medication all the time, my previous environment was making it that much harder for that medication to help me.

    Maybe your school situation is the same. I realize you are in high school and don't have much in the way of flexibility, but it's something to remember for the future, when you're in college for example. If taking too many classes is making it difficult for you, take fewer. So you graduate in five years instead of four. It's better than suffering through panic attacks.
And finally, try what people are recommending: deep breathing. Take a deep breath. Hold it in for 30 sec. Let it out very slowly. Do this several times. Don't think about anything, and relax your muscles while you're doing it.

Best of luck to you with your doctor's visit. You're doing the right thing.
 
It's good that you're going to see a doctor, but allow me to offer another option/alternative.

How about getting involved in something that really exposes you and forces you to become comfortable in front of people? - theater, an improv comedy troupe, debate/speech club, or Model UN? I've never had problems with anxiety attacks or the like, but I never used to be comfortable in front of a lot of people or giving speeches in classes.

I joined the improv comedy troupe at my high school and it literally forced me out of my anxiety - you're forced to think on your feet in the heat of the moment and there's the challenge to make the audience laugh. Perhaps it's something to consider. :)
 
If you were in California you'd most likely walk out of that doctors office with a script for medicinal marijuana.

Anyway, stop over-analysing things (easier said than done). Just take a deep breath and live in the moment. When you start down the path of worrying about the past or future you will start a snowball effect, bit if you just live in the moment you can avoid that. It's not easy and takes practice, but it does work.

But hey, maybe you're like Wesley on "Wanted".
 
synth3tik said:
Good, I would really try and stay away from any anti-anxiety drugs too. I am rather sure a doctor in this field would be more then happy to go another direction other then drugs. I would hope.
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Um, stay away from weed, yes, but keep your mind open about the anti-anxiety medications. They changed my life! If your brain is producing too much of the "fight or flight" chemicals at inappropriate times, medicines like zoloft can really, really help keep things on a more even level. I take a very small dose daily, and this has been the best year of my life (while simultaneously being my worst). I am able to step back from the stress and figure out a way around the problem, and in addition, help others be more calm. My work performance has improved greatly, too.

To be honest, though, it took having to go to the ER during work because I couldn't breathe to identify the real problem. It takes a few weeks for the meds to start working, but in the mean-time, the doc may give you a small number of "emergency" pills to take if you find you are having an attack (lorazepam). I'll be frank - some of the side effects that occur when you first start taking zoloft are pretty awful, but they go away. The benefits more than outweighed the temporary discomfort in my case.

You'd take antibiotics or vitamins if needed, right? Anxiety meds are really not much different, as they basically just correct a chemical imbalance.
 
All I can suggest (as I've gone through this myself) is find out whats causing the problems and nip it in the bud. The doctor offered me beta blockers to stop my heart racing but they just fix the physical side of attacks. Don't rely on them either, the first thing the specialist told me was (just in my case mind, I doubt it's applicable to everyone) this was beatable without medication.
And he was right.

Just some minor lifestyle changes to aid myself into relaxation more, and introduce some new things into your life (in my case it was running and painting).

My piano teacher recommended Rescue Remedy too, she swore by it when performing at concerts. Another recommendation was Kava Kava, but that's a lot stronger than RR though not as strong as a beta blocker.
 
With all due respect do you recall the last time I posted a response? You're a prolific poster when it comes to medical advise. Take the advise of others and it is good that you're seeing a doctor. However, I seriously recommend you finding a forum with members with similar issues. You seem to be comfortable discussing things like this openly and I believe another forum where members can relate better may be in order. Don't seek advice to "cure" yourself online, but if it helps talking about it online then go ahead, I would just look for something more specific.
 
synth3tik said:
Good, I would really try and stay away from any anti-anxiety drugs too. I am rather sure a doctor in this field would be more then happy to go another direction other then drugs. I would hope.
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Agreed. Don't take pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary. Do whatever it takes to avoid this route.
 
Anxiety and compulsion based mental illnesses are best treated in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a skilled counselor who will push you to challenge your internal beliefs that produce the anxiety or compulsion in your life. However, if your situation is physiological and hereditary then using a psychotropic medication could be indicated. However, I would recommend doing therapy, support groups, etc. first and if nothing else is able to help then seek out psychiatric help that would include medication management.

What Jessica has suggested to you about seeking out other online support groups or forums that are more focused on this topic is good advice. We enjoy having you here TSE and while there are some here who can relate and others like myself who are professionals in mental health, we are not adequate substitutes for a genuine support group that is focused on helping you vent and cope with these issues.
 
mscriv said:
Anxiety and compulsion based mental illnesses are best treated in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a skilled counselor who will push you to challenge your internal beliefs that produce the anxiety or compulsion in your life. However, if your situation is physiological and hereditary then using a psychotropic medication could be indicated. However, I would recommend doing therapy, support groups, etc. first and if nothing else is able to help then seek out psychiatric help that would include medication management.

What Jessica has suggested to you about seeking out other online support groups or forums that are more focused on this topic is good advice. We enjoy having you here TSE and while there are some here who can relate and others like myself who are professionals in mental health, we are not adequate substitutes for a genuine support group that is focused on helping you vent and cope with these issues.
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CBT is excellent, and the whole idea is to be in therapy to work through your issue, then move on...it's not open ended, indefinite talk therapy.

I've had issues with panic attacks, the best thing to do is just remember that everything is ok. Take measured breaths, counting to 5 or 10 for each in-out-in-out. Concentrate on breathing normally, don't take super deep breaths but don't let yourself get breathless either.

If you feel panic starting, just calm down and remember everything will be ok, then breath and try to figure out what happened before you began panicking. Were you nervous about an assignment? Did you worry you'd pissed off a friend? Try to focus on rationality.

When you have a panic attack it triggers your fight-or-flight instincts, that's why your body starts freaking. If you take the time to calm down it should help you get it under control, though meds like xanax can help too. Most important is to speak to your doctor and see what he/she suggests.
 
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