Here's a question

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-28-2003
Here's a question
7
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 10:27am

Do you ever feel pretty normal, and you are walking along perhaps at the store or in a mall, or maybe you are out to eat with a friend, and suddenly you feel that 'disconnected' feeling, or that slightly dizzy off-balance feeling that sends you into anxiety mode or even worse, a panic attack?


What do you do to cope with this when it happens?

Jennifer

"Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evi

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2005
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 11:54am

I am a long time lurker/occasional poster and this question just made me come out of hiding! I thought i was the only one who experienced that feeling! i will be sitting somewhere, happily enjoying myself and allof a sudden i will feel a wave come over me and I just feel "disconnected" or something. Its hard to describe. I just feel out of it. Spacey... just weird.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 12:15pm
I know exactly what you are talking about. The anxiety coming from what seems like nowhere is one of the most frustrating things about it. I always get mad because I feel if I could know why I'm panicking then I could beat it better. A huge source of anxiety for me is being in a situation where it would be hard or embarrassing to get out of. I dropped out of college for this reason. I would start to think "What if I have to leave the room? That would be embarassing." Then I would get nauseous and think "What if I just throw up everywhere? I would die of embarassment." It would escalate and I would leave. It happens to me in a lot of social situations. I'm getting better by telling myself that no one really cares as much about what I'm doing as I think they do and if they do care then so what. I need to care a little less what others think about me and a little more about what I think about myself. There have also been times where I've had to leave an entire cart of groceries at the checkout for fear of vomiting or passing out. That hasn't happened in a while but I also refused to leave the house alone for a couple of months for fear of those things while driving. I was convinced something would happen and I would injure my son in the car. It's ridiculous I know. I have never passed out in my life and I only vomit when induced or when I'm extremely sick. The best thing I've found to deal with these things when they happen in public is to simply ask myself "What's the worst that can happen." Then I REALISTICALLY think about what could happen. I know that I won't pass out and I know that I won't vomit. The flushed feeling is being embarassed in advance for something that most likely won't happen. The more I talk to myself about how ridiculous it is to think something will happen when it's never happened before the better I feel. The biggest turning point though was when I actually did start to care less what others thought about my actions. I actually sat through a high school basketball game without sitting in the aisle where it would have been easier to leave. I didn't panic although I did have to talk to myself a little. Ok, wow, didn't mean to write a novel! Just know you aren't alone and keep trying different things until you find what's right for you. The whole "what's the worst that could happen?" thing is something I read on an anti-anxiety website and it works for me a lot. You have to be realistic when you do it though. HTH a little.
Robin
Mommy to Lukas Lee
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 12:33pm

I am sure that it's my anxiety. It happens everytime I walk into Walmart. I am put off by the lighting, the size of the store, the people, the smells & what seems to be a motor running. It vibrates. I feel that things aren't real. That I'm not really there. That the world is on a tilt. My mind races. I become convinced that the new merchandise smells may be toxic & I'll be poisoned. I can't catch my breath. I have to belly breathe & think positively to ward off the panic. If the conditions are right, any one of these sensations can set off one of my *spells* totally out of the blue anywhere I might be. Just like you, Jennifer, something can remind me as I sit in front of the pc & that's all she wrote. It's very scary, but I have learned that it won't harm me & I have found comfort in knowing others have these feelings, too. HTH (((hugs))) jan


P.S. The illness you experienced may be the trigger for today. You may be more stressed out than you actually are aware of.


 

 


 



iVillage Member
Registered: 05-16-2005
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 12:58pm
I have to answer yes as well.you hit the nail on the head about your reality feeling askew.sometimes i still feel like no one understands and they cant possibly no what i am talking about,that i am the only one who feels this...cuz its just so darn strange.I had that feelin hit me when i layed down lastnight,i just ignorned it but i will say i had to fight that panic feeling it caused,reminded myself i have been experienceing it for many years,it never hurt me before and wont now.sometimes it just hits me boom and its gone and i never give it another thought.when i 1st experienced it years ago,i thought surely to god i was losing my mind,my reality was distorted,but they say our mind does that letting us know to slow down our mind is tired. the key for me is to just ignore those feelings and keep busy.I was surprized with myself last night,i just layed there and fought it off,usually i jump up and get busy.i talked myself out of it lastnight.I will say the more i pay attention to it the worse it is.

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-28-2003
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 2:41pm

Thanks everyone for all your responses.


I think my just getting over being sick is playing a role with mine acting up like this.

Jennifer

"Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evi

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Wed, 03-22-2006 - 2:52pm

(((Jennifer))) You WILL get there again.

Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2006
Thu, 03-23-2006 - 2:32am

Jan,

I thought I was the only one with the Wal-Mart issue! Walking into large stores like that - even the grocery store sometimes - just throws my brain askew. Some days it's really bad and then some days it's barely anything at all. Now that I'm learning all these new things, I guess that on the days that it's bad it's probably a sign that I'm already fairly stressed out and should take some "me" time to decompress.
~Meghan