Hi..New with a question...????

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
Hi..New with a question...????
3
Tue, 09-26-2006 - 12:35pm

My major psych problem is recurrent clinical depression and anxiety just tends to pop up as a symptom of that when I need to start taking meds agains so I generally don't think about it separately. Hence, I've never posted here before. However, I have a question and I'm not even sure who to ask.

I'm having occassional strange "events" and I'm wondering if they could be a kind of anxiety or panic attack. I've had panic attacks before and I know what they feel like and these are different, but I wanted to know if any of you had similar experiences.

They are all a little different but all happen in a public place, like a store. I'll be shopping and something will catch my attention in an odd way and it will invade my imagination until some strange little passing thought becomes a series of intrusive thoughts and that builds into an almost paranoid fantasy that one part of me seems to know is wrong and another is very very upset by and I can't seem to break out of it. These episodes only last 20 minutes or so and I end up feeling really really silly, but at the same time they scare the hell out of me. Let me give you a more concrete example.

I was shopping in a Trader Joe's this past weekend. This is usually a pleasant thing to do. I leave my daughter home with daddy and I get to browse a bit and buy some fun stuff. While I was browsing, early in shopping, I noticed the background music. It was song I hadn't heard in a long time. It took a minute to place, and then I realized it was an album cut that hadn't gotten much radio play from a band that was popular when I was in college over 15 years ago. The same with the next song and next. All the songs they were playing had one thing in common, they were only popular with college students in late 80's. As I wandered around the store I realized that I was now a marketing demographic. Then products I looked at became sinister. Greek style yogurt. Did we all go to Greece? Gnocchi? Did we all make them with our dads? Why weren't they on the grocery store shelves when we were children. Lavash. Who else lived near an Armenian neighborhood for awhile when they were in their teens? What did they do to us....And on and on. I started having this weird feeling, not that I was being spyed on, but that my entire generation had been shaped, unbeknownst to us, to be perfectly predictable consumers of unique perishable goods to the keep the economy working correctly. That we couldn't have original lives....That we wouldn't be allowed to. I felt trapped in some strange "Brave New World" scenario. I almost started crying in the middle of the store. I seriously started to call my shrink to ask him if this was alright. Then I decided I could check out and go to the car to make the call in private. By the time I got to the car I felt incredibly silly. I was feeling like Aluminum Hat Woman, and that made me laugh a little, but it also made me scared right down to my toes.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Mary

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Tue, 09-26-2006 - 12:45pm
Hello, Mary. It's nice to see you;) I am not sure what you're experiencing. Although there are many components to anxiety/panic attacks, this is one that I am not familiar with. These things should always be reported to your health care professional to rule out side effects to meds or the combination of meds you are on. We can't diagnose you. I am bumping up a post of panic/anxiety symptoms that might be of help to you. Good luck & GBU! (((hugs))) jan



 

 


 



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Tue, 09-26-2006 - 4:10pm

Hi Mary, I have never heard of anyone on this board experiencing this.

Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-16-2006
Tue, 09-26-2006 - 9:44pm
I can relate. I think it is an obsessive type thought you are having. I have never been scared by this however cause I figure I just think too much. But, if you are on edge with anxiety sometimes there are obsessive thoughts that come into your head. As long as you are n ot having bad paranoia then don't worry. Sounds like you have a creative mind. Talk to your Dr. about it for reassurance