panic disorder panic attack &pregnate

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2003
panic disorder panic attack &pregnate
2
Mon, 04-24-2006 - 11:05pm

oh my,

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Mon, 04-24-2006 - 11:33pm

It's good that you thought of us, Heather. I hope we can help in someway. I know that for me, the belly breathing & positive thoughts help. I remind myself that this is just a temporary feeling. I have experienced it before. I made it through, I will make it through again. It's just a feeling & it can't hurt me. Noone ever died from a panic attack. I say these things in my mind over & over. With the breathing it's a form of self hypnosis & results in relaxation. I have found that not fighting & allowing the fears to wash over me works the best.


I am very happy to hear that you're one month into the pregnancy. I may have shared before that the hormone changes worked to my advantage & I was practically anxiety free for both of my pregnancies. I'm not sure what your feelings are about taking meds, but it is an option. Maybe you can think of it that way. If the anxiety/panic continues to be more than you can cope with, you & your dr. can come up with a plan. I hope that you're avoiding stress as much as you can. Exercise is a great stress buster. It increases the endorphin levels(feel good hormones) in our bodies. It will give you a sense of balance & peace. We started the Mind Body Community Challenge on iVillage today. Please consider signing up. Each day you will be guided on a technique to help in getting balance in your life. Here's the link:

 

 


 



iVillage Member
Registered: 05-13-2004
Tue, 04-25-2006 - 10:23am

Dear Darlene,

I know exactly how you feel. I've been there before. Anxiety is very difficult to cope with, but being pregnant at the same time is so hard. I have been able to move past my anxiety condition with the help of a wonderful program that I found on the internet. The program is designed by a doctor who is about the most knowledgeable person that I have ever encountered in my struggles with anxiety. The way you are reacting to your anxious feelings is very typical of somebody who suffers from anxiety. Your post is full of scarey "what if" thinking. Every time one of these "what if" thoughts occurs, you are causing your body to react fearfully by releasing more adrenaline into your system which in turn causes more anxious reactions. It's the fear-adrenaline-fear cycle. You must learn to interrupt this cycle. The next time you begin to feel anxious symptoms coming on, you must react in the exact OPPOSITE way that you are right now. Instead of becoming frightened and adding fuel to the fire with "what if" scarey thoughts, take your hand off that pump!!! Take a deep breath. Keep your mind neutral. Allow the thoughts and feelings to come. DO NOT RESIST THEM. Welcome them in. They cannot hurt you. LET THEM COME! If you do not add any fuel, you will be amazed to learn that these episodes will move through you quite quickly and end. I am not telling you to try to ignore these feelings because that approach does not work! You must acknowlege them, allow them to move through you WITHOUT RESISTANCE. It takes a lot of courage to try this approach but you will be amazed to see you have the power to stop these attacks COLD when you interrupt the cycle that has simply become a bad habit on your part. Your level of success with this technique depends solely on your level of ACCEPTANCE. It is so empowering that once you master this and begin reacting the right way to anxious feelings - you will be wanting these attacks to come so that you can use this skill over and over again! Once you master it, it will always be there for you for the rest of your life - you will never have to rely on any safe place, any safe person or any medications.

If you would like to talk more you could contact me at tlcjr60@hotmail.com I do not check in on this board often as I find it to be a very pro-medication arena - which is fine if that is the approach that is most comfortable for an individual. However, in your case I think you will agree that medications are not ideal at this time since you are pregnant. As you know, taking any medication during pregnancy poses risk. SSRI's in particular have not been around long enough for scientists to fully understand the long-term effects of these medications on the unborn fetus. There are some older medications around of the tricyclic antidepressant family that are better understood in this regard (desipramine, amytriptyline, etc.). Your doctor is best to advise you. However, you should be aware of all treatment options available to you so that you may make an informed decision.