i need help already!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-08-2007
i need help already!
4
Thu, 03-15-2007 - 4:10pm
okay,
ive already posted that i have major anxiety attacks...oh just wondering, whats the difference btwn anxiety & panic attacks? anyway, my boyfriend doesnt understand why i have panic attacks at all. he thinks i make them up and gets mad at me then ignnores me everytime i mention it which is totally not what i need. i need his love & support, but b/c this is happening to my mom but 10x worse, and he doesnt like my mom he gets all mad and says im turning out like her. my attacks are ruining our relationship, i need to get help now!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-11-2003
Thu, 03-15-2007 - 5:57pm
Hi. I used to get really bad panic attacks and still get them some, although not nearly like I did. I think that anxiety disorders in general do run in families sometimes, at least in mine, they have. I'm not sure the difference exactly between anxiety and panic attacks. I know anxiety, to me, is more like a general condition and my panic attacks are very acute, where I feel like I can't breathe, break into a sweat, am very weak, and usually have to lay on the floor until it passes. Someone else may have a better definition for it than that, but I think panic attacks are one of the things that anxiety can cause.
Have you seen a doctor yet about it? I was originally diagnosed with them several years ago and was given a phamplet by my doctor on ways to cope when a panic attack comes on. I also take Xanax when needed and was put on antidepressants for the general anxiety and OCD. Therapy also helps. Your therapist, if you have one, may also want your boyfriend to come in with you so that he or she can help him understand what is going on with you at that time, as well. Mine did, and it really helped my husband understand more about the OCD and why I did some of the things I did. He had been getting really frustrated before that, but after he realized what was going on in my head, he was more understanding, and appreciated that I was trying to get help for it because it was putting a strain on our relationship.
Another thing that I think helps is exercise. I had stopped exercising for a while and recently started going to the gym again. It helps me work off frustration and helps with my mental state as well.
I hope these suggestions help.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2006
Thu, 03-15-2007 - 8:45pm

Mom_Manda,


Though the war be not over, I am indeed winning skirmish after skirmish; battle after battle - for "if God b e with me, who can stand against me ?" certainly not these hells they call anxiety, depression, panic, and phobia. I mock them - paradoxical in
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Thu, 03-15-2007 - 9:24pm

I am sorry to hear you are going through this with your bf!

Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Thu, 03-15-2007 - 9:25pm

Hi! I am sorry to hear that you don't have the support you need right now. I am not sure if your bf needs educated or if he has difficulty coping with what he sees happening to you. Perhaps giving him printed material to read would help. If you see a therapist/psychiatrist/doctor, he could accompany you to a visit to get some info.


FWIW, anxiety is NOT an attack to me. It is a constant feeling that nags @ me in spells. Usually I have *what if* thinking. Racing thoughts that contain many fears & worries. A panic attack is intense & very scary where I fear dying & think I need medical help. Here's some symptoms that I have felt during an attack:


Harvard Health Publications: 13 Symptoms of Panic Attacks



A panic attack is defined by having at least four of the following symptoms:




  • Palpitations, heart pounding or a rapid pulse



  • Sweating



  • Trembling or shaking



  • Breathing problems, especially shortness of breath or a feeling that you are being smothered



  • A feeling of choking



  • Chest pain or chest discomfort



  • Abdominal discomfort, upset stomach or nausea



  • Feeling faint, dizzy, light-headed or unsteady on your feet



  • A feeling that things around you are unreal or that you are detached from yourself



  • Fear that you will lose control or "go crazy"



  • Fear of dying



  • Numbness or tingling in your arms, legs or other parts of your body



  • Chills or hot flushes


Between panic attacks, someone with panic disorder usually has persistent worries that a new attack will occur. These worries may cause the person to dramatically change his or her behavior or lifestyle to avoid the embarrassment of "losing control" or "going crazy" while with other people.