Lived Experience Forum

[Ohok]

Alright, so I used to never have panic attacks, anxiety and constant thoughts about life.

im 27 and I think I’m close to the peak of my issue right now. 

I have freakouts every single day now. Sometimes I think I’m dying, sometimes I’m just thinking about the purpose of life too much and start to get overwhelmed.

when I start to freak out , it’s during the moment I become very self aware to the fact that life is fragile  and there’s nothing stopping me from dying that second. 

I also have a lot of astrology thoughts , thinking about the size of the universe all the time and trying to comprehend it. 

My problem is I cannot get my mind off of these toxic thoughts that start to make me panic. 

Its taking over over my life! 

I’ll be playing hockey (goalie) and I’ll start to have a small panic attack because I’m thinking too much about something or thinking I’m gonna die because my heart rate is up from playing for a while. 

Thiis only started to get bad over the last couple years and I can’t figure out why. I am really hoping that this doesn’t keep elevating and eventually ruin my personality. 

I really dont don’t want to take drugs to numb my mind. 

Things i I do to try to calm myself down: 

drive, play video games, watch my favorite tv, walk my dog etc...

i know that if I can’t solve this issue, I will develop too much stress and actually hurt my health.  Honestly my blood pressure has been rising every year, so I’m trying to fix that by trying to tackle this problem. 

[TAB]

Have you seen a professional eg a gp to talk about it @Ohok ? That might be a good place to get help. Okay plus chatting on here 😀

[eudemonism]

@Ohok thoughts about dying and wondering what the point of life is, when we inevitably die anyway, is something I've experienced a lot of.

Some days I think... What's the point of living and life? When we inevitably die anyway? What's the point in anything when we inevitably die?

Perhaps you have a need in your life which is not being met? And is manifesting into all this stress and panic attacks? Eude

[Tortoiseshell]

Hi @Ohok,

Welcome to the forums, I hope you find them a supportive space. That sounds really difficult what you are experiencing with your panic and anxiety. It must be really hard having these overwhelming thoughts that trigger such a physical and scary response. @TAB has made a good point that a GP you trust is often a great place to start in getting some support for anxiety. It's often good to book a double appointment so that you have space to talk about what you have observed that is impacting you. It sounds like it would be great to get some support.

Here are some discussions that also discuss panic attacks and how they've impacted people, and some suggestions from other forums members here by @melbournegirl, and here by @Queenie and here by @natureoflife. There are some great suggestions on there from other members. 

Take care,

Tortoiseshell

P.S. no pressure on members I've tagged to respond if you are not in a good headspace.

[outlander]

Hello @Ohok and welcome
Im sorry your sufferring panic attacks. They are dreadful arent they!
It sounds like you are trying to live your life to the fullest and this anxiety is giving you some challanges huh.
I would suggest having a talk to your gp. When anxiety takes over your life to this extent its time to get some help. Your gp can be a good support for you and also refer you to a psychologist who can help you explore your emotions, how to better control thrm and also identify why this is happening for you as in why now have you starting panicing about the fragility of life.

We are here for you of course too so keep talking to us here too and we can help guide you through the challanges of life.

[Ohok]

I feel as if I am becoming more self aware as I get older. Being Younger you’re unaware of the world and the universe. 

I think of things too deep for my own good. I think if every possible angle of my thoughts. It’s just the makeup of my brain. 

I need to find a way to distract my thinking 

[outlander]

@Ohok
its good your becoming more self aware, it can be really helpful.
sometimes you need to identify why it is you think the way you do. but if you dont want to seek professional help thats fine too.

[outlander]

these threads here might be helpful for you for some more ideas 

Coping 1

Coping 2

Coping 3

Coping 4

Coping-DBT

Coping-Writing

[Fredd50]

Hey Ohok,

Sorry you've been having such a hard time.

I agree sometimes we can get more aware as we get older and sometimes that can hit us and get us tied up in knots.

Sometimes there is stuff from the past too that comes up too..fears or somesuch.. that we can respond to with panic

But it is normal. I feel like that isn't said nearly enough. Crises, anxiety and panic don't make anyone abnormal. Virtually everyone had them at some point in their life whether they admit it or not.

I guess I what I wonder is what's been happening for you, leading up to feeling this way? 

[Fredd50]

Hey Ohok,

Sorry you've been having such a hard time.

I agree sometimes we can get more aware as we get older and sometimes that can hit us and get us tied up in knots.

Sometimes there is stuff from the past too that comes up too..fears or loss or somesuch.. that we can respond to with panic

But it is normal. I feel like that isn't said nearly enough. Crises, anxiety and panic don't make anyone abnormal. Virtually everyone had them at some point in their life whether they admit it or not.

Meditation is something I noticed wasn't mentioned yet, some soothing guided meditations can really help calm frightened nerves, or doing things that help soothe children - like getting a big trusting hug, and reassurance it will all be alright, a sensible trusted grownup to help process human feelings with who won't judge (or panic themselves), cuddling puppies..:-)

Sometimes we don't get that, or we have it and then lose it, that can make things trickier and I guess it's when people start advising seeing the GP, or a counselor - the idea is to try and find that sensible trusted relationship somewhere else, if we can't get it at home. But building new relationships takes time and discernment, and that includes professional ones. Good ones can really help, but bad ones not so much.

Being panicked is a lot like being a frightened child.. and those thoughts sometimes can come from the fear itself, just like kids think of scary things when they're frightened and need to be soothed. Grown ups get that way too.

Ultimately it's about feeling safe again. When you feel safe, the throughts settle down and it's a lot easier to make sense of things. But feeling safe is about paying attention to your feelings and what they say you need to feel safe. Thoughts... Well thoughts are less important than feelings when we're frightened, and can get distorted, that's a normal part of feeling afraid.

I guess I what I wonder is what's been happening for you, leading up to feeling this way? 

Cheers,

Fred