Anxiety: Need advice

im 1000% sure u are having panic attacks. i used to get them in college. the mind is very powerful and can convince u all sorts of shit is wrong when everything is actually fine.

next time u start to get the chest tightness you need to start taking deep slow breaths .. in your nose, out your mouth ... and repeat to yourself that you are completely fine and that this is just a panic attack ... that nothing is actually wrong ... and that it will go away.

once you believe it, all this other shit will stop happening. i got over them, no reason you cant.

On August 08 2015 19:33 MARSHALL28 wrote: im 1000% sure u are having panic attacks. i used to get them in college. the mind is very powerful and can convince u all sorts of shit is wrong when everything is actually fine. next time u start to get the chest tightness you need to start taking deep slow breaths .. in your nose, out your mouth ... and repeat to yourself that you are completely fine and that this is just a panic attack ... that nothing is actually wrong ... and that it will go away. once you believe it, all this other shit will stop happening. i got over them, no reason you cant.

Just to make things clear, yes its VERY likely i do get panics attacks sometimes. The question is, is it just anxiety, or is there something wrong with my stomach and thats causing panics attacks.

Because as i said, the chest tightness is nearly always there.... it usually goes like this:
I'm fine for a few days, then i get small chest tightness which isn't a big deal. Usually i just ignore it. Then the next day, its worse, but i can still handle it easily. Then next day, its gets pretty bad. At this point i try all kind of breathing exercice, proffessionnal massages, etc. Nothing seems to work, except for hot showers.

Then usually when it gets REALLY BAD after 3-4 days, i sometimes get a full blown panic attack. After this, it usually start getting better the following days, and ill eventually be fine. It goes in a cycle like this for the last 8 months.

Also, its usually not too bad in the morning, and gets worse progressively during the day. However, i sometimes forget about it if i'm doing something fun like gaming.

just go see a shrink. you prob have a lot of unresolved issues fucking with your brain. And stress/anxiety really can have physical manifestations.

Meditation/walking/exercise can help with that stuff if you can do it consistently.

If the doctor looked at your throat and there was something there they would have found it, don't worry about that. It might be mono though.. I know first hand doctors can miss that and just prescribe antibiotics. If it's that, the only way to fix it is to get a ton of rest to let your body heal. They can test for mono though. Lay in bed.

Could be mental but I went through something similar recently and fixed it:

- Anxiety
- Heart palpitations
- Difficulty breathing, chest felt tight, felt like I couldn't get enough air during stressful situations
- Difficulty relaxing
- A doctor told me they could be panic attacks, she sucked though and I see someone else now.
- I also had a slightly elevated blood pressure of 145/85, over the next month of changes it became: 130/80 then 105/60 now 120/70, which are way better numbers.

Do you get enough sun? Vitamin D levels checked through 25 hydroxy D test? Have you had your thyroid levels checked? Just something to consider, might not be necessary. Are you getting enough sleep? Try to get more rest and take walks in the beautiful summer weather, it's very relaxing to your body, screens aren't.

It's important u cut out sugar and processed foods from your diet as they're very inflammatory. Eat mostly fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, coconut oil (for all cooking) and quality meat/fish. Eat more turmeric with black pepper together, it's delicious especially with coconut milk + stir fry and extremely good for you. Fresh garlic is great too. Cut out all other vegetable oils barring flaxseed oil which you can only use cold i.e. in salads or via chugging a few tablespoons. Cutting out out sugars entirely for a month helped me a lot, I also took 360mg of magnesium every day with food as it helped me to relax significantly more. Magnesium is awesome and if you're under stress you need more of it, try it out, it worked wonders with me. I ate way more omega 3 foods (anti-inflammatory fat) like organic flax seed oil (like 58% omega 3, yum) and more mackerel/salmon too. I also cut down omega 6 fats which are inflammatory. I had my vitamin D levels checked, it was low and i took 5000-10,000 IUs per day to raise it.. waiting on a test next week to see how it is now but I expect it'll be way higher.

Now I have almost no heart palpitations, never difficulty breathing and I can relax way better. I did other stuff too but that helped a lot I think.

most likely anxiety/panic attacks. I don't know how old you are but you're probably fairly young. Unless you have a congenital heart defect or other risk factors having heart problems that early is just super rare. Only other thing I would consider is maybe angina which could be why hot showers make it better as heat would cause vasodilation. But again assuming you are young and relatively healthy even that is rare. More likely just some heartburn with anxiety. The fact that you're also worrying about plane rides and having throat cancer is kind of a giveaway that you're just a really panicky dude. Take a step back and consider how likely it is for a young person to get throat cancer, or how likely it is for a plane to crash. Don't flip out over stuff that has <0.0001% chance of happening. Pause, take a deep breath, and rest comfortably knowing that if Dick Cheney can make to age 74 then you should at least be able to make it to age 50.

On August 08 2015 22:14 blackjacki2 wrote: most likely anxiety/panic attacks. I don't know how old you are but you're probably fairly young. Unless you have a congenital heart defect or other risk factors having heart problems that early is just super rare. Only other thing I would consider is maybe angina which could be why hot showers make it better as heat would cause vasodilation. But again assuming you are young and relatively healthy even that is rare. More likely just some heartburn with anxiety. The fact that you're also worrying about plane rides and having throat cancer is kind of a giveaway that you're just a really panicky dude. Take a step back and consider how likely it is for a young person to get throat cancer, or how likely it is for a plane to crash. Don't flip out over stuff that has <0.0001% chance of happening. Pause, take a deep breath, and rest comfortably knowing that if Dick Cheney can make to age 74 then you should at least be able to make it to age 50.

Wouldn't those tests have found out about angina tho?

Plane does give me a lot of anxiety, but i take the plane once a year, so i just deal with it its not a real problem, and is def not the reason of my problems

I don't believe in throat cancer anymore because of the CT scan and because it got better.

I am 28

Maybe anxiety and acid reflux? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease

I don't know shit about this topic, so yeah.

hm i cant really fully relate to this as i never experienced something like this in my life but what I did experience is having strange "medical" conditions that raised a fear of maybe having cancer.
my dad had lymph cancer and some of my lymph nodes are swoolen (still kinda small in general but i have several of them all across my throat. saw my doc and he did several tests and assured me that iam absolutely ok.

first of all: did you talk to your gf about this? i find that usually the most helpful ppl are those that know you and know how you react to things. she or your family might picked up on things that cause your anxiety or something. talk to them about your thought and conditions!
you saw a lot of doctors so personally I think your health is mostly absolutely fine (high percent chance) as usually the ppl that end up with severe conditions are these that refused to see any doctor for a long time (and my gf for example hates seeing a doctor and she has a strange conditions with her stomach and I needed to drag her to a physican). its good that u visited these doctors but the important question is: did it help you at all when they found out that you are ok?
since it didnt help your panic attacks you might not have benefitted from it too much (i had a huge relief after my physican told me that he is very sure that my lymph nodes are absolutely standart and nothing serious).

Tough position.. I have a feeling that a psych is the best way to go (i heard from some ppl that it can be hard to find the one that you can really build up some connections with, so you might try some additional psychs). I have the feeling that its mostly your mind as your health seems to be fine. So try to calm down and try to see the brighter picture in which you have a very good life position (gf, job, nice pay, not too much work, some freetime). try to enjoy life.

let us know about ur progress

I used to have constant anxiety and sometimes panic attacks and that was very detrimental to me as a progamer... Then I started doing meditation 20 minutes every day and it all went away forever within the span of a week

just smoke weed

On August 09 2015 00:00 ClouD87 wrote: I used to have constant anxiety and sometimes panic attacks and that was very detrimental to me as a progamer... Then I started doing meditation 20 minutes every day and it all went away forever within the span of a week

Thats what i have. THe panics attacks arent a big deal, it happens like once a month and last for 2 minutes, i dont mind it that much (even tho its pretty intense when it does happen), but the near constant chest tightness is annoying as hell.

i should give meditation a try

On August 08 2015 23:46 punix wrote: hm i cant really fully relate to this as i never experienced something like this in my life but what I did experience is having strange "medical" conditions that raised a fear of maybe having cancer. my dad had lymph cancer and some of my lymph nodes are swoolen (still kinda small in general but i have several of them all across my throat. saw my doc and he did several tests and assured me that iam absolutely ok. first of all: did you talk to your gf about this? i find that usually the most helpful ppl are those that know you and know how you react to things. she or your family might picked up on things that cause your anxiety or something. talk to them about your thought and conditions! you saw a lot of doctors so personally I think your health is mostly absolutely fine (high percent chance) as usually the ppl that end up with severe conditions are these that refused to see any doctor for a long time (and my gf for example hates seeing a doctor and she has a strange conditions with her stomach and I needed to drag her to a physican). its good that u visited these doctors but the important question is: did it help you at all when they found out that you are ok? since it didnt help your panic attacks you might not have benefitted from it too much (i had a huge relief after my physican told me that he is very sure that my lymph nodes are absolutely standart and nothing serious). Tough position.. I have a feeling that a psych is the best way to go (i heard from some ppl that it can be hard to find the one that you can really build up some connections with, so you might try some additional psychs). I have the feeling that its mostly your mind as your health seems to be fine. So try to calm down and try to see the brighter picture in which you have a very good life position (gf, job, nice pay, not too much work, some freetime). try to enjoy life. let us know about ur progress

Yes my GF/family knows about it. I only hide this from co workers, and actually it doesn't (yet) affect my work. Just that i missed work once because i had really bad tightness one night and didn't sleep all night.

I absolutly see the bright future, i am in no way depressed, everything is perfect beside this.
The thing about the psychologist is, his job is to find out why i have anxiety. But i'm pretty sure that, if it is anxiety, it comes from the fear of heart related problems. And the psychologist can't really cure my fear of heart related problems, i think a doctor would be best for this, but doctors just like, do an ECG, then tells me to go home, and when i ask "does this clear me from heart problems", theyre like "no it can still be ur hearth, but unlikely". And when i google myself, u can see tons of case where people had a clear ECG and still had heart attacks.

oh ye i feel ya man. but!! if you google some shit and think about possibilities about getting this or that serious illness you will go numb at some point (iam glad i didnt study medicine bc iam sure i would have gone crazy by now). ye thats what i meant with the question if your physican made you a bit easier about potential serious problems.

the fear of real serious diseases or illnesses is definitely something that one has to take serious as well and iam sure if your open about this to your psych and a physican that you trust they will be able to work something out together.

for example when i told my physican about the lymph nodes and my fear that i might have cancer in my lymph system (that was before my father even got diagnosed with it) he took it very serious and tested everything very carefully and then talked to me after his results and the bottom line was that ofc he can not rule out something like cancer for 100% but that it is sooo unlikely that he is almost sure that is not cancer or some form of it. i was relieved.. as soon as my father got diagnosed i was worried as fuck again and went back to him and told him that. again he took it very serious and told me that he can perfectly understand my fear and that it is indeed good to come back after my father got diagnosed with it. he did multiple tests such as blood test for lymph cancer markers, general white to red blood cells in blood, ultrasonic investigation of my throat and so on. he even got a 2nd physican (that works their as well) involved to get his opinion on it and he basically shared his opinion that there is only a verrrry slim chance. i even went to another throat specialist, to get his opinion and he basically shared their opinion as well. so afterwards i told myself "ok there is a very slim chance and i can live in fear for the rest of my life or i can just accept that there is a .5% chance (or something) that i will get that cancer soon and a waaay higher chance that i wont the next couple of years and just enjoy my life. for me it was not a problem at all accepting that there is only a slim chance and i just forget about it in my everyday life and dont think about it most of the time. every now and then i still check my throat for new swoolen nods and shit but iam not too worried about it.

I dont know. I think the best solution is to seek out professionals that are specialized (maybe even in specific cancer types) and ask them and get investigations on your body until you feel comfortable enough accepting the very slim chance and enjoying life again. It is a bit like poker if you have the 4th-5th nuts in your hand on the river and now asking if you should make a play. if you always fear that your opponent has the 1st nuts you never make a play and almost always fold which is obviously not correct! (a bit like folding kings preflop bc u think the other guy only has AA in his hand which is simply not true). there is for sure a chance that it could be something serious but most of the time it wont so try to relax and dont think about it all the time.

Sometimes it helped me also to think about it that way:
If i really get cancer and die at worst to it, I'll just accept it as some kind of evolution. survival of the fittest and my dna obviously wasnt the best since it might had some cancerious mutations (most cancer is highly related to specific gene codes) so in the long run its better to rule that out instead of spreading that dna (greater picture and stuff).

On August 09 2015 01:49 Floofy wrote: Show nested quote + On August 09 2015 00:00 ClouD87 wrote: I used to have constant anxiety and sometimes panic attacks and that was very detrimental to me as a progamer... Then I started doing meditation 20 minutes every day and it all went away forever within the span of a week Thats what i have. THe panics attacks arent a big deal, it happens like once a month and last for 2 minutes, i dont mind it that much (even tho its pretty intense when it does happen), but the near constant chest tightness is annoying as hell. i should give meditation a try

Check this vid out, it explains in a simple way everything you need to know without doing much research. It's from a PUA so he will talk about getting better results with women aswell because it makes you become more present and aware, but what you need is an easy activity that reduces your cortisol level which is through the roof right now.

On August 09 2015 01:49 Floofy wrote: Show nested quote + On August 09 2015 00:00 ClouD87 wrote: I used to have constant anxiety and sometimes panic attacks and that was very detrimental to me as a progamer... Then I started doing meditation 20 minutes every day and it all went away forever within the span of a week Thats what i have. THe panics attacks arent a big deal, it happens like once a month and last for 2 minutes, i dont mind it that much (even tho its pretty intense when it does happen), but the near constant chest tightness is annoying as hell. i should give meditation a try

Do you know what your blood pressure is? I've had ECGs too and mine lasted <30 seconds, it's hard to capture your problem in that timeframe. It's pretty much to detect absolute emergencies and clear cases of dysfunction.

If there's 1 thing you should try it's to supplement magnesium from a good brand every day with food. Most people are deficient in magnesium and it helps to relax your whole body, improve mood (reduces anxiety), dilates arteries to increase blood flow, promotes a normal heart rhythm and regulates blood pressure. The type I take has magnesium citrate, lactate and malate. It's cheap to do and you should feel the effects immediately or within a few days.

You are having panic attacks, I had them too and It was hell I also thought that I was having a heart attack and I made exactly the same questions. Anyone who has had them strongly related with what you said, so take our advice.

There is nothing wrong physically with you relax!, go see a psychiatrist, they will prescribe you anti-anxiety meds, ideally he will give you one box to make you feel better right away of traditional meds (benzodiazepine or Clonazepam) those meds cause dependence though, so ideally he will prescribe you the "new generation" anti anxiety medication that helps you release serotonin those start working after 1 month of usage and you will probably have to take them for at least 6 months.

As soon as you take your first med and the chest pressure is gone you will love me.

Dont feel bad for having no real reasons to be anxious and dont hide it from people close to you, if you are feeling anxious let them know, trying to conceal it only makes it worse.


btw your panic attacks didnt bother you that much because they were mild ones, people who get severe ones faint and it can happen you while driving etc, anxiety is greatly underestimated

On August 09 2015 03:33 Baalim wrote: You are having panic attacks, I had them too and It was hell I also thought that I was having a heart attack and I made exactly the same questions. Anyone who has had them strongly related with what you said, so take our advice. There is nothing wrong physically with you relax!, go see a psychiatrist, they will prescribe you anti-anxiety meds, ideally he will give you one box to make you feel better right away of traditional meds (benzodiazepine or Clonazepam) those meds cause dependence though, so ideally he will prescribe you the "new generation" anti anxiety medication that helps you release serotonin those start working after 1 month of usage and you will probably have to take them for at least 6 months. As soon as you take your first med and the chest pressure is gone you will love me. Dont feel bad for having no real reasons to be anxious and dont hide it from people close to you, if you are feeling anxious let them know, trying to conceal it only makes it worse. btw your panic attacks didnt bother you that much because they were mild ones, people who get severe ones faint and it can happen you while driving etc, anxiety is greatly underestimated

Meh ok, I would try what I told you before delving into the territory of addictive drugs. One thing I have to say though is that if you have a serious condition they might help by making your body re-experience a sense of calmness and make it start to get used to it again. I had the same thing when I tried MDMA, was depressed for a long time and couldn't really smile much to other people, but after that experience I realized that being positive leads to better results and that inevitably changed me afterwards.

Do whatever works of course but again, I would be careful before taking any substance.

From my perspective, having gone through almost exactly what he's going through and having solved it with a cheap magnesium supplement it's ludicrous to suggest seeing a psychiatrist, resigning to their care and taking drugs that may have side effects.

Totally Ludicrous to go to see a specialist doctor and get medications to treat his condition, yeah what a daft suggestion... better go get your supplements and probably stop eating gluten too while you are at it.

Start working out again. Heavy Squats and Deadlifts are a form of meditation.

On August 09 2015 03:33 Baalim wrote: You are having panic attacks, I had them too and It was hell I also thought that I was having a heart attack and I made exactly the same questions. Anyone who has had them strongly related with what you said, so take our advice. There is nothing wrong physically with you relax!, go see a psychiatrist, they will prescribe you anti-anxiety meds, ideally he will give you one box to make you feel better right away of traditional meds (benzodiazepine or Clonazepam) those meds cause dependence though, so ideally he will prescribe you the "new generation" anti anxiety medication that helps you release serotonin those start working after 1 month of usage and you will probably have to take them for at least 6 months. As soon as you take your first med and the chest pressure is gone you will love me. Dont feel bad for having no real reasons to be anxious and dont hide it from people close to you, if you are feeling anxious let them know, trying to conceal it only makes it worse. btw your panic attacks didnt bother you that much because they were mild ones, people who get severe ones faint and it can happen you while driving etc, anxiety is greatly underestimated

When i said my panics attacks don't bother me, its because it doesn't happen often. It actually is fairly intense and feels exactly like if i was having a heart attack, so its no fun, but something which happens once a month isn't a big deal (and yea, i don't faint ever from it). But i had one once at my job, and i essentially had to leave which sucked....

The doctor/psychologist doesn't seem to want to give me meds because they say my anxiety isn't bad enough and that it should only be done for severe cases.

There is one doc who prescribed me benzodiazepine for SEVERE cases when i really need it. When i take that, the chest tightness doesn't exactly go away, but it helps a lot with sleeping and removes other symptoms i could have.

I'm going to give 2 examples of times where i think it really leads to believe it is anxiety

1) When they did the echo, at some point, i decided to look at the screen. Everything was fine, and then, on the screen, suddenly a red explosion appeared on my heart.... then the tightness suddenly got worse and i had a stabbing pain....

2) when it gets really bad and i go to emergencies.... it usually gets a bit better once im there


That being said, i don't understand why the plane doesn't make the tightness worse.

On August 09 2015 03:50 ggplz wrote: From my perspective, having gone through almost exactly what he's going through and having solved it with a cheap magnesium supplement it's ludicrous to suggest seeing a psychiatrist, resigning to their care and taking drugs that may have side effects.

I can try magnesium because its obv cheap and not dangerous, but i kinda doubt a defiency in magnesium is causing this... i checked what kind of foods has magnesium, and i take plenty of those. still worth a shot i guess.

On August 09 2015 05:19 GoTuNk wrote: Start working out again. Heavy Squats and Deadlifts are a form of meditation.

Thats gonna sound really stupid, but everytimes i try to do intense physical activity again, the chest pain intensify a lot and i start to get dizzy

Last time i tryed to do jogging i got really light headed.
I try to do walking every single day recently but it isn't doing much for me yet.

But yea, both the doctor and psychologist strongly suggested i get more active.

btw why is there so many of you who can relate? Is it possible this condition is more frequent among competitive gamers or something?

Hey I don't know what is wrong with you but I want to throw out that a very real possibility is that some of this is a physical result of things that started as all in your head.

Like, people can create habits or ways of thinking that can physically effect their bodies (make their muscles tight, make them repeat movements, even make things that are normally autonomous behave differently).

In turn, this ends up exacerbating the original problem.

Just something to think about.



(what I am saying is not to be dismissive of the possibility that something that is physically real now has built upon something that once existed only mentally).

On August 09 2015 05:38 Floofy wrote: btw why is there so many of you who can relate? Is it possible this condition is more frequent among competitive gamers or something?

It's common in modern society to have way more recurring stressing factors than we were built to handle genetically. If you forcibly relax your body and your mind through techniques or pharmaceuticals you will simply release the built up tension. From my experience being overly anxious is common to many people in various degrees.

Yeah man, I have had all these problems, and muuuuuch worse. I tried meditation and exercise to get better and all it did was wear me out, and the meditation made me groggy and depressed. I fucked myself up by exercising the shit out of my body and meditating an hour a day for a year, it didn't fix my core psychological issue, it was just running from it. I would advocate a very light exercise program, with healthy but not too restrictive diet. Be easy on yourself and your body. Love yourself man

I would make sure it isn't physical, sometimes there are freak things that are, but it does seem like it is ruled out for you by the way you describe it.

I found out the hard way that the symptoms of a panic attack are deep shit. There is no way around it, there is an issue in your life that is causing this. Medication can help. But, you still have to uncover the root of the problem.

If you do meditation, I would advise seeing a psychologist (not a cognitive behavioral therapist) and try to find out why this is happening. Then, have meditation with an actual teacher in real life with other people. Meditation is NOT TO RELAX YOU. Meditation is to be present in reality. Meditation is some cool shit, you can bring up the fears in the subconscious and face them. Some beginners get severe panic attacks right away from meditation because they are actually doing it right!

So I guess if I could give you a tldr, I would just say find a way to be easy on yourself and nourish and love yourself. Find out what is causing you unhappiness and use all the support you can that can be provided. You don't have to be alone.

On a side note, it makes me angry that we don't talk about these problems with people in our lives. We have to see psychologists. If we could share our problems with friends and be more vulnerable maybe life wouldn't be so damn hard. It takes guts, but really share your problems in depth with people that are close to you. Tell them everything. Look at the people that want to listen, and the ones that don't. You can learn a lot from that.

I have found out that so many people have taken antidepressants and have had anxiety attacks and have gone to psychotherapists and they never shared the problems from a early point. Its a fucked up society where we don't prevent these problems because we are so emotionally .... errr... whats the word..... stunted? Scared? And its not really our fault because we were never taught.

Lots of good advice ITT, but I notice you didn't mention your diet(unless I skimmed past it).

Definitely make sure your protein/fat/fiber/nutrient intake is optimal, get some UV rays everyday, exercise. Medication does help a lot of people, despite the stigma.

Even something as trivial as a heated plastic bottle can release BPA and possibly affect your hormones and your brain/body.

I really think it comes down to making +EV decisions every day, even though that is difficult sometimes.

Try Cannabis

Baal's post is great and you should take his advice and pretty much ignore all others. There's nothing wrong with meditation, eating healthy and exercising, but those things are not substitute for medication.

I don't understand the fear for antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. If you take em like your doctor tells you to they are completely safe. If you get side effects from those you simply quit taking them and try another medication until you'll find one that works for you.

On August 09 2015 05:19 GoTuNk wrote: Start working out again. Heavy Squats and Deadlifts are a form of meditation.

the main thing people get by heavy deadlifts are heavy back injuries :D

On August 09 2015 11:10 spugru wrote: Baal's post is great and you should take his advice and pretty much ignore all others. There's nothing wrong with meditation, eating healthy and exercising, but those things are not substitute for medication. I don't understand the fear for antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. If you take em like your doctor tells you to they are completely safe. If you get side effects from those you simply quit taking them and try another medication until you'll find one that works for you.

Many people wouldn't feel so at ease trusting doctors. Remember that traditional medicine cures symptoms not the cause, and it does so by substituting them with other symptoms.

On August 09 2015 13:20 ClouD87 wrote: Show nested quote + On August 09 2015 11:10 spugru wrote: Baal's post is great and you should take his advice and pretty much ignore all others. There's nothing wrong with meditation, eating healthy and exercising, but those things are not substitute for medication. I don't understand the fear for antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. If you take em like your doctor tells you to they are completely safe. If you get side effects from those you simply quit taking them and try another medication until you'll find one that works for you. Many people wouldn't feel so at ease trusting doctors. Remember that traditional medicine cures symptoms not the cause, and it does so by substituting them with other symptoms.

As said both my the psy i saw and my doctor think meds is bad idea at my age and since its "not bad enough". I can see other docs, but then they say it has to be my family doctor to prescribe meds.

On August 09 2015 07:08 asdf2000 wrote: Hey I don't know what is wrong with you but I want to throw out that a very real possibility is that some of this is a physical result of things that started as all in your head. Like, people can create habits or ways of thinking that can physically effect their bodies (make their muscles tight, make them repeat movements, even make things that are normally autonomous behave differently). In turn, this ends up exacerbating the original problem. Just something to think about. (what I am saying is not to be dismissive of the possibility that something that is physically real now has built upon something that once existed only mentally).

Thats possible man. WHen this all started, i think its almost 100% sure it was anxiety. I think it was actually caused by playing too much CS GO and being really hardcore on it (like getting your heart to beat faster because you play very intense). The symptoms i had back then really pointed out to anxiety. Now they changed a bit, and its mostly chest tightness, along with some left arm pains, and occasionnal panics attacks like once a month.

On August 09 2015 10:40 goose58 wrote: Lots of good advice ITT, but I notice you didn't mention your diet(unless I skimmed past it). Definitely make sure your protein/fat/fiber/nutrient intake is optimal, get some UV rays everyday, exercise. Medication does help a lot of people, despite the stigma. Even something as trivial as a heated plastic bottle can release BPA and possibly affect your hormones and your brain/body. I really think it comes down to making +EV decisions every day, even though that is difficult sometimes.

Diet could matter because i noticed it often comes back after i take things like a big a starbucks cofee lol. Maybe just random.

All in the head. Practice general wellness and you'll be "cured."

On August 09 2015 05:38 Floofy wrote: btw why is there so many of you who can relate? Is it possible this condition is more frequent among competitive gamers or something?

It is because almost everybody can relate, people just don't talk about it. My sister's a psychologist so I may be biased, still I think medication should be last resort and you don't seem to be in that bad a condition. I agree with psychologists who say medication is needed only when anxiety is so intense it stops you from functioning normally like not showing up to work.

I will tell you what worked for me. I had anxiety problems because I faint relatively often, and since anxiety gives the same symptoms as fainting (dizziness, blurry vision, light-headiness, etc.) it got scary all the time. I thought I would faint whenever I had 2 seconds to think about it (in the metro, in any possible waiting line, while driving, etc.) What kind of cured me was being thought the science behind anxiety. More precisely, to understand that those anxiety feelings I had were the result of previously thoughts.

This is very important. You don't think about, and fear, your health problems because you feel something in your body, you rather feel something in your body as a result of thinking about it at the first place.

Healthy person: FEELING - THINKING - REACTING (then may or may not feel stress)
You: RANDOM EVENT - ANXIOUS THOUGHTS - STRESS RESPONSE - REACTING (always stressed)

I suggest reading about psychological treatment of anxiety (cognitive therapy), it is magic. The single sentence that helped me the most was the following:

* The [anxious] patient believes that worrying is a useful strategy to adapt to his new problem. *

Isn't it? Stop worrying, problem vanishes. Sounds stupid, but once you understand that worries come FIRST, not in response to anything, you will find there is no basis for worry in the first place.

Really hope that helps, good luck with this, you are far from alone in that.

EDIT: Oh btw I felt chess pain and all that shit too. Stress is a really nasty drug.

caffeine could be a significant contributor. i feel much more calm when i stop, however i'm an addict so i always come back.

On August 09 2015 05:28 Floofy wrote: Show nested quote + On August 09 2015 05:19 GoTuNk wrote: Start working out again. Heavy Squats and Deadlifts are a form of meditation. Thats gonna sound really stupid, but everytimes i try to do intense physical activity again, the chest pain intensify a lot and i start to get dizzy Last time i tryed to do jogging i got really light headed. I try to do walking every single day recently but it isn't doing much for me yet. But yea, both the doctor and psychologist strongly suggested i get more active.

So it seems your body can't physically handle stress?? Your doctor should check that out. Also if you get dizzy with exercise you might lack proper stretch capacity in your cardiovascular system.

One part of the adaptation to heavy lifting, is developing massive vein and artery flexibility to resist the high inside pressure from lifting. Many of our novice lifters who progress too fast develop dizziness at some point during excertion because their body hasn't adapted to their new strength (it goes away after a while).

Yea but as i said in november 2014, i was doing fairly heavy activities
Now a simple light jogging cause dizziness. i don't think its what you said

On August 09 2015 16:18 Floofy wrote: Yea but as i said in november 2014, i was doing fairly heavy activities Now a simple light jogging cause dizziness. i don't think its what you said

Getting dizzy with minimal exertion it's the clearest symptom something is phisically wrong with you, that's what I meant.

On the contrary, getting dizzy with minimal exertion after being told by doctors your body is fine is the clearest symptom that something is psychologically wrong imo. That's what anxiety does, causes dizziness for no reason.

You are overly aware of your body signs. You start to jog, feel your heartbeat, wonder if it's OK. Wonder if you are dizzy, think you feel something, get anxious, get really dizzy.

It's just what anxiety does.

On August 09 2015 18:20 Graisseux wrote: On the contrary, getting dizzy with minimal exertion after being told by doctors your body is fine is the clearest symptom that something is psychologically wrong imo. That's what anxiety does, causes dizziness for no reason. You are overly aware of your body signs. You start to jog, feel your heartbeat, wonder if it's OK. Wonder if you are dizzy, think you feel something, get anxious, get really dizzy. It's just what anxiety does.

I am no doctor or expert on this, but i would tend to agree with Graisseux.

I regularly climb long stairs, or make love, and that is all fine. But small jogging gets me dizzy, its weird.
But there is always a part of me which has a doubt like "maybe its actually the heart". =/

Floofy wrote: September 2015, i get hired permanently...A few days later, i get some weird pain in a weird spot in my throat.

Pretty sure you just found the first known side effect of time travel.

Caffeine can worsen anxiety and panic attacks, as can consuming a high sugar beverages devoid of nutrition.

I'm not anti caffeine or sugar, but these are mood altering chemicals(that I'm currently addicted to despite knowing the research).

Benzos are great, they work better than anything I've tried for anxiety, but they are a tool/bandaid that probably shouldn't be used long term due to possible health consequences(but they still have a lot of value). Benzo addiction and tolerance is a real thing at doctor prescribed doses.

You didn't mention alcohol and drug habits, which can also play a role obviously.

tl;dr

you should consider tight chest, shoulders and biceps +bad thoracic spine mobility as a culprint

Yeah man,

Some good posts in here from ppl who have experienced similar. I am another one.

It looks like you are talking to doctors: good... or bad. I mean, for me, it was good for me to talk to some doctors but i went through 2, 3, 4 doctors before i found one i liked. For me, i had to make sure to understand the general practitioner is a general practitioner. The psych med doctor is the psych med doctor. The therapist is the therapist. The clergyman is the clergyman (respek for good ones but i am not a religious fellow. Does not mean they are incapable of being smart, caring, loving, understanding, peaceful). The friend is the friend. The mom is the mom. The dad is the dad. etc.

Do not be afraid of therapy. I was, then i got honest, open-minded, and willing to change, and grow, and improve. It has helped tremendously. It took some time. I went through 2, 3, 4 therapists before i found one i liked.

For me, i tried so many things. I tried drugs. All sorts of drugs. I tried all sorts of escape. I tried all sorts of expression. For me, it all stemmed back to the shit i was suppressing and repressing. All sorts of shit. All sorts of pressure that was building up. Certain avenues lead to relief but it can also lead to other suppression and such. It can be just kind of like driving around, crashing around blindly following all these roads to desires and relief and they all just lead to other roads and other roads and i was just driving around lost. Highs and lows. Depression and (false) ecstasy. Hell, even chasing Molly and flashing lights and sonic bliss got me closer to God for a song or two but there was always the crash, the hangover, the pain.

Anyways, everyone's story is slightly different but many have similarities. Again, i can only speak from my experiences but at the end of the day after everything i went through i had to and i have to continue to treat the mind first. Bandaids only work for a time. They are only aides, that aid in healing. For me, i was in denial and suppressing and repressing my feelings for so so so long. Like i was always in a stage of grief for something. Always carrying some form of shame, apathy, anger, guilt, pride, FEAR. 100 forms of FEAR. 1,000 forms of FEAR. 1,000,000 forms of FEAR. For me, there was never a way to think myself out of fearful thoughts. That just keeps me in a state of worry to anxiety to panic to despair to FEAR to FEAR to FEAR. I have to figure out ways to change those feelings and the thoughts naturally evolve to courage and acceptance and LOVE and JOY and PEACE. Love and gratitude overcome fear and pride.

Be honest and aware of feelings and thoughts. Be accepting of all the wide ranging feelings and thoughts. Let go. They are just feelings and thoughts.

i o e n o

Hang in there Floofy, the hardest step is awareness and honesty and it seems like you are there. It can and will get better.

That looks like 100% anxiety panic attacks. By all means you should check your stomach, so you can clear any health related problem.

I had the same problem not too long ago so it is fresh in my mind. Overcoming it is a bitch sometimes but if you do the right things you should be fine very fast. You need to realize there is nothing wrong with you and it is just the mind playing tricks.

I triggered my anxiety when I had this 2 day cocaine binge and at the end of it, my chest got tight, my left arm went numb and I freaked out big time. Basically for the next 4-5 hours I had this chest pains all the time and they got worse and worse. I thought I was going to die any moment. It was a terrible experience and I even visited the ER. After it was clear it was nothing wrong with me physically, I continued to have this chest pains recurring over time and every time I started to give them more reflection, they got worse.

So what helped me was realizing there is nothing wrong with me and trying to keep my mind occupied with different things. If I got the chest tightness I will go and make some high intensity training and get a cold shower. It would make me feel good immediately . I was having a good diet and lots of sleep. I guess meditation can help also.

Relax about that and you will overcome this problems in no time. I have and so many other people so you can do it, too.

Good luck .

On August 10 2015 12:25 goose58 wrote: Caffeine can worsen anxiety and panic attacks, as can consuming a high sugar beverages devoid of nutrition. I'm not anti caffeine or sugar, but these are mood altering chemicals(that I'm currently addicted to despite knowing the research). Benzos are great, they work better than anything I've tried for anxiety, but they are a tool/bandaid that probably shouldn't be used long term due to possible health consequences(but they still have a lot of value). Benzo addiction and tolerance is a real thing at doctor prescribed doses. You didn't mention alcohol and drug habits, which can also play a role obviously.

I rarely take any alcohol. I mostly do on vacantions, but last time i went, i didn't notice any difference from it, except the problems were less bad while drunk.
Never took any drugs.

I rarely take caffeine, but i do take big juice things from Jugo Juice and Starbucks coffees sometimes, and yes, i think i usually got worse after taking those.

Benzos help, but they don't fully make the chest tightness go away.

On August 10 2015 16:08 dogmeat wrote: tl;dr you should consider tight chest, shoulders and biceps +bad thoracic spine mobility as a culprint

Explain? i sometimes feel something weird in my lower back and back too, and i tend to have a really bad posture. Maybe it can matter

On August 10 2015 17:05 RiKD wrote: Yeah man, Some good posts in here from ppl who have experienced similar. I am another one. It looks like you are talking to doctors: good... or bad. I mean, for me, it was good for me to talk to some doctors but i went through 2, 3, 4 doctors before i found one i liked. For me, i had to make sure to understand the general practitioner is a general practitioner. The psych med doctor is the psych med doctor. The therapist is the therapist. The clergyman is the clergyman (respek for good ones but i am not a religious fellow. Does not mean they are incapable of being smart, caring, loving, understanding, peaceful). The friend is the friend. The mom is the mom. The dad is the dad. etc. Do not be afraid of therapy. I was, then i got honest, open-minded, and willing to change, and grow, and improve. It has helped tremendously. It took some time. I went through 2, 3, 4 therapists before i found one i liked. For me, i tried so many things. I tried drugs. All sorts of drugs. I tried all sorts of escape. I tried all sorts of expression. For me, it all stemmed back to the shit i was suppressing and repressing. All sorts of shit. All sorts of pressure that was building up. Certain avenues lead to relief but it can also lead to other suppression and such. It can be just kind of like driving around, crashing around blindly following all these roads to desires and relief and they all just lead to other roads and other roads and i was just driving around lost. Highs and lows. Depression and (false) ecstasy. Hell, even chasing Molly and flashing lights and sonic bliss got me closer to God for a song or two but there was always the crash, the hangover, the pain. Anyways, everyone's story is slightly different but many have similarities. Again, i can only speak from my experiences but at the end of the day after everything i went through i had to and i have to continue to treat the mind first. Bandaids only work for a time. They are only aides, that aid in healing. For me, i was in denial and suppressing and repressing my feelings for so so so long. Like i was always in a stage of grief for something. Always carrying some form of shame, apathy, anger, guilt, pride, FEAR. 100 forms of FEAR. 1,000 forms of FEAR. 1,000,000 forms of FEAR. For me, there was never a way to think myself out of fearful thoughts. That just keeps me in a state of worry to anxiety to panic to despair to FEAR to FEAR to FEAR. I have to figure out ways to change those feelings and the thoughts naturally evolve to courage and acceptance and LOVE and JOY and PEACE. Love and gratitude overcome fear and pride. Be honest and aware of feelings and thoughts. Be accepting of all the wide ranging feelings and thoughts. Let go. They are just feelings and thoughts. i o e n o Hang in there Floofy, the hardest step is awareness and honesty and it seems like you are there. It can and will get better.

Actually i think thats problem, i might be in complete denial. In my mind, i have no fears except from heart related problems (i do fear that), and the plane. When the therapist ask what stressed me, i'm like.... nothing other than this bullshit i can't get rid of.

I mean my job is a stupid job at governement where i do nothing a good part of the day where i'm essentially protected, i don't see how that can possibly be why i'm stressed. (even tho i tend to want to be very productive).

Then, everything is fine with GF, family, etc.

I guess i do spend most of my time playing competitive games and/or gambling, maybe that stress my mind, even tho i consciously feel perfectly fine (a bit like when i have to talk in front of a crowd... i am consciously 100% fine with it, but my body gets anxious).

I think if it is anxiety, health issues is the culprit. I've always had some fear of heart problems, so when i really had symptoms which mimicked a heart attack, i panicked.
THe first panic attack, i essentially shaked for like 2 hours.

Nowadays, when i have a panic attack, the second it ends i'm laughing at it and i stop shaking 10 seconds later....


Anyways, i bought ggplz's magnesium. No idea how long it can take before some effect, but i thought its worth a try.

Thanks guys for the replies i'm still surprised so many people had the same problem (assuming it really is anxiety ).

Again today, i started worrying it could be my heart, and i started having really intense squeezing feeling in my left chest. Really felt like something heart related.

Indeed, fascinating topic and a lot of different angles. I'd say talk to a doctor about that squeezing feeling but you already have. If you feel it's serious though obviously do see the doctor again. Good luck, keep us updated on how you're doing and I sincerely hope the magnesium helps you. Magnesium does help you relax more, you'll feel more calm and less anxious generally, i took a combination of 3 types of magnesium (mentioned earlier) from a good brand and about 360mg per day, split it up if you like. When you're stressed your body needs more magnesium so that can explain why you might have a deficiency even though you think you're eating enough through diet.

I had this. I found many possible causes and then cured it. Let me explain.

I had nearly all the same reasons. Lets just say I had INTENSE shit going on in my life. Was basically depressed. Mass tabling poker, paying my way to live, but not a comfortable living.

I have always had a perfect heart, and then all of a sudden I was getting heart "hiccups" that would wake me up at night. There was little pattern to it so I was really scared. Even felt I couldn't breath some times.

The doctors didn't care, I had a monitor for a bit but didn't even get called back about the results. I looked on the internet, and chest/heart palps generally are no cause for concern.

I wasn't getting sun, I was low in vit d and magnesium, so I supplemented. I think everything helped but I suspect the true cause was a hyper active sternocleidomastoid. From holding a mouse

I was getting intense heart burn as well but I was also chewing tobacco.

I found a study where a mom was getting all these same symptoms and eventually even passing out. They recognized it was from carrying her infant with one arm while doing things like cooking food.

My belief is that the tight overactive neck muscle pulled my neck/spine out just a hair. And this caused my entire nervous system to go crazy and waky.

I had to do many things to get things back to normal and it took a few months to see improvement and then bout about a year before I was comfortable things were fine.

Neck stretches, yoga type exercises. Walking regularly to make your standing muscles strong. Reading about posture etc.

Every so often I can feel a terrible headache or have nerve pain in my foot or arm, or hot or cold, and if i just move my neck to right way a very soft release (click) and its all instantly gone.

I think my anxiety, breathing, depression, palps etc...all had very much to do with this. But as you can see its a complex problem that requires a complex solution (multiple variables), so don't get upset if you don't see a clearly defined issue with a clearly defined solution. Work at a bunch of small improvements and give it time and consistency!

On August 11 2015 16:38 diggerflopboat wrote: I had this. I found many possible causes and then cured it. Let me explain. I had nearly all the same reasons. Lets just say I had INTENSE shit going on in my life. Was basically depressed. Mass tabling poker, paying my way to live, but not a comfortable living. I have always had a perfect heart, and then all of a sudden I was getting heart "hiccups" that would wake me up at night. There was little pattern to it so I was really scared. Even felt I couldn't breath some times. The doctors didn't care, I had a monitor for a bit but didn't even get called back about the results. I looked on the internet, and chest/heart palps generally are no cause for concern. I wasn't getting sun, I was low in vit d and magnesium, so I supplemented. I think everything helped but I suspect the true cause was a hyper active sternocleidomastoid. From holding a mouse I was getting intense heart burn as well but I was also chewing tobacco. I found a study where a mom was getting all these same symptoms and eventually even passing out. They recognized it was from carrying her infant with one arm while doing things like cooking food. My belief is that the tight overactive neck muscle pulled my neck/spine out just a hair. And this caused my entire nervous system to go crazy and waky. I had to do many things to get things back to normal and it took a few months to see improvement and then bout about a year before I was comfortable things were fine. Neck stretches, yoga type exercises. Walking regularly to make your standing muscles strong. Reading about posture etc. Every so often I can feel a terrible headache or have nerve pain in my foot or arm, or hot or cold, and if i just move my neck to right way a very soft release (click) and its all instantly gone. I think my anxiety, breathing, depression, palps etc...all had very much to do with this. But as you can see its a complex problem that requires a complex solution (multiple variables), so don't get upset if you don't see a clearly defined issue with a clearly defined solution. Work at a bunch of small improvements and give it time and consistency!

Thanks man, posture is actually very possible. I'm sitting all day and not with a very good posture.

So today i went to see a new doctor, who told me he is 100% sure it isn't the heart, and that he is sure its anxiety. He didn't really have a solution tho. I asked him about the pills and he said its only as a last resort when you essentially can't function normally because of the anxiety (which isn't my case).

Here's what i'm going to try:
#1 Magnesium
#2 Vit D
#3 30-60 min physical activity per day, at least 5 times a week
#4 attempt to keep a better posture
#5 see a psychologist.

Hopefully it go better from there.

Maybe strengthen core with planche and stuff for better posture?

Sounds good. You can obviously take the posture thing way further, likely correcting anterior pelvic tilt and strengthening glutes. I'm working on that myself atm with squats/deadlifts and forming better posture habbits. Get up out of your chair and walk around for at least 1 min every 20 mins. If you're interested in knowing some neck stretches for times of tension here's some i regularly do, took screenshots from a youtube vid + made a few notes. Vid @ bottom of spoiler.. .I keep a whole bunch of these stored on my phone for easy viewing
+ Show Spoiler +

Source:

Worth getting a vitamin D (25 hydroxy D) test to see where you're at right now. Be sure to take vitamin D with fatty meals or you won't absorb it. Best form is D3 with 5000 IUs 1-2 times per day, which is also written as 125 µg or micrograms (mcg). D2 isn't absorbed as easily by the body so try to avoid getting that.

I have to disagree with the LP posters who proposed the diagnosis of panic disorder. I have dealt with panic disorder and have had much different symptoms from yours. It's not even close to what you're experiencing. You only mention physical symptoms at random times, nothing which triggers panic attacks or comes from them, which is present in all panic disorders. I'm not a doctor and I won't attempt to diagnose your anxiety disorder (if you have one), but it's very clear to me it's not panic disorder. You do seem like a bit of an hypochondriac though.


Btw, you mentioned Ativan and how it didn't really solve your problem. I was given Ativan at the dentist a couple times, because I know the dentist triggers them for me, and I have to sit still and avoid feeling nauseous during surgery, and surely enough it was absolutely impossible to get one on Ativan. As such I had no physical symptoms at all, since it prevented me from panicking, and I only ever got symptoms from the actual panic attacks or their onset. You mention still having discomfort even though you rarely ever have panic attacks, which just doesn't make any sense for a person suffering from panic disorder. Also, and just fyi, your most overwhelming symptom seems to be chest tightness, which I have never experienced. For me it was always a rise in body temperature, nausea and feeling faint that were predominant.

On August 12 2015 23:26 Loco wrote: I have to disagree with the LP posters who proposed the diagnosis of panic disorder. I have dealt with panic disorder and have had much different symptoms from yours. It's not even close to what you're experiencing. You only mention physical symptoms at random times, nothing which triggers panic attacks or comes from them, which is present in all panic disorders. I'm not a doctor and I won't attempt to diagnose your anxiety disorder (if you have one), but it's very clear to me it's not panic disorder. You do seem like a bit of an hypochondriac though. Btw, you mentioned Ativan and how it didn't really solve your problem. I was given Ativan at the dentist a couple times, because I know the dentist triggers them for me, and I have to sit still and avoid feeling nauseous during surgery, and surely enough it was absolutely impossible to get one on Ativan. As such I had no physical symptoms at all, since it prevented me from panicking, and I only ever got symptoms from the actual panic attacks or their onset. You mention still having discomfort even though you rarely ever have panic attacks, which just doesn't make any sense for a person suffering from panic disorder. Also, and just fyi, your most overwhelming symptom seems to be chest tightness, which I have never experienced. For me it was always a rise in body temperature, nausea and feeling faint that were predominant.

I agree i do not seem to have a panic disorder.

Your phobia is dentist. My biggest phobia, by far, would have to be the plane. But when i took the plane, nothing happened other than feeling anxious (as ive always been taking the plane). At that time i did have the chest tightness... it didn't increase or decrease. 3 days later during my vacantion, it was still there. Then, the next morning it vanished, no idea why. That being said, i remmeber that when they did my echo, i looked at the screen, and at one point, i saw the heart explode, made me get a bit anxious and the chest tightness suddenly did a sudden pain.

However, i do occasionnally get "panic attacks". What happens is, i get like, fed up with that constant chest pain, and then it amplifies so much that it gets REALLY INTENSE and i think i'm dying of a heart attack. then 10 seconds later, i shake a bit, and then i still have the tightness. Many times when that happened, i went to ER, and heart test all came negative.

Yesterday i saw another doctor, told him most of that stuff (you cant tell a doctor EVERYTHING they wont listen after 2 minutes), and he also said its anxiety.

The psychologist didn't seem to think it was anxiety, but she said it could be that. She advised me to first see my doctor again to make sure it isnt a stomach issue, and She encouraged me to find the common factor between all of my panics attack. I told her i already knows its constant chest tightness that makes me panic, but she told me to try anyways. I honnestly can't find one... One time was playing video games at my GF's parent's home. One time was at a family party during chrimas. One time was simply watching the UFC with my GF. One time was at work (and nothing special was happeing at work). And i think i had another time where i was at my home doing something random on the computer.

i'm gonna try anyways the things i said, and the pharmacist gave me some sort of naturel med called "relaxen" which im gonna try, can't hurt.

I think most people with anxiety don't all have the exact same symptoms tho.

On August 12 2015 23:26 Loco wrote: You do seem like a bit of an hypochondriac though.

I've always been an hypochondriac but it never caused me any problems

It's not that my phobia is the dentist. My issue, more generally, is when I find myself in a situation where I have no control, and where I have lost my freedom to act as I want to. More specifically, where escape seems impossible, or is socially problematic. If I don't feel free to be able to escape from an unpleasant situation, I panic.

And yes, symptoms in anxiety sufferers vary, but they all come from the anxiety, which is caused by something in the environment. Yours comes from a pre-existing feeling of discomfort in your body. You become anxious because you are fearful something is wrong with you, because it starts with physical pain, not the environment. I think if you have anxiety, it's hypochondria related, and it's clearly not the anxiety that is causing these chest problems. Hard to know exactly what is. Get a second opinion for everything so that you have peace of mind, and adjust your diet and exercise routine so that you can feel as strong as possible to combat your hypochondria. Without a sense of control over your well-being you will always be fearful that something might be wrong with you, which will make you anxious and contribute to the discomfort. If you know for certain your organs are not in danger from doing the necessary tests, and if you are taking care of your body and you feel strong and resilient, I'm sure it will subside.

One potential common factor to consider is that your GF might be triggering anxiety on some level. Do you fight a lot or cause each other undue stress? Do you have feeling of mistrust/resentment towards her? Do you often feel you have to worry about her? Sometimes we're put in situations where we feel forced to act certain ways that feel unnatural.. especially around family and work to "save face". It could be something to think about but if it is that then talk with her about it. Everything should be calm at home. No need to actually answer any of those highly personal questions here btw, you can though if you like.

Personally I dislike flying too because if something was to go fatally wrong I'd likely die in a way I'd have little control over, I'd be dependant on the crew + random factors. Yes, it's one of the safest forms of travel but that doesn't stop me vividly imagining the plane exploding mid air 4-10x per flight. I seem to want to look out the airplane windows and get fascinated by the height, most people on the plane seem oblivious that inches from us there's an environment quite foreign and lethal. I just fly anyway when it's necessary. One thing to consider trying is to buy a more expensive flight next time. There's a lot of subconscious power behind paying more money for something higher quality or more safe etc... I feel way more anxious flying a cheap airline like ryanair and basically cba doing that anymore.

On August 13 2015 07:26 ggplz wrote: One potential common factor to consider is that your GF might be triggering anxiety on some level. Do you fight a lot or cause each other undue stress? Do you have feeling of mistrust/resentment towards her? Do you often feel you have to worry about her? Sometimes we're put in situations where we feel forced to act certain ways that feel unnatural.. especially around family and work to "save face". It could be something to think about but if it is that then talk with her about it. Everything should be calm at home. No need to actually answer any of those highly personal questions here btw, you can though if you like. Personally I dislike flying too because if something was to go fatally wrong I'd likely die in a way I'd have little control over, I'd be dependant on the crew + random factors. Yes, it's one of the safest forms of travel but that doesn't stop me vividly imagining the plane exploding mid air 4-10x per flight. I seem to want to look out the airplane windows and get fascinated by the height, most people on the plane seem oblivious that inches from us there's an environment quite foreign and lethal. I just fly anyway when it's necessary. One thing to consider trying is to buy a more expensive flight next time. There's a lot of subconscious power behind paying more money for something higher quality or more safe etc... I feel way more anxious flying a cheap airline like ryanair and basically cba doing that anymore.

Na man my GF has nothing to do it. Beside sex being not the best everything is perfect. I also had 1 attack at work. Thanks for the suggestion tho.

So many of us can relate because this is hard to talk about because you/I/we are/were being irrational so when you talk to anyone about it you get funny looks and people think less of you, or at least thats how we feel.

Think of it like this, 99% of people know whats up with poker because of all the shit they read. 1% of us actually have a clue whats going on, so you can pretty much ignore the other 99%

Same with this, the doctors know what is up. Go to see them, if there is anythng physically wrong with you, THEY WILL KNOW, They are the professionals, they have all the equipment and knowledge to find out. Its their job and by and large they do a fantastic job of it. If there is nothing wrong with you, you HAVE TO take them at their word.

Example, if I was an amateur poker player and I asked Ike Haxton for hand advice, and he gave it to me and I disagreed. If we assume Ike has no reason to lie (whihc we can presume for doctors) should I take his advice or just ignore him and think I'm right? Obviously we just take Ikes advice.

So when you have done this, keep yourself busy, get sunlight, go out of your way to spend time with people. If this pressure doesn't go away then consider seeing a specialist about anxiety.

I suffered from this for a while, the only way I got out of it was when I realised MYSELF that there couldn't be anything wrong with me due to passage of time/doctors imputs/differeing symptoms it must just be anxiety and i pushed myself to get on and just get over it. If I was suffering for another 6 months or so I would have definitely gone to see a doctor.

It is obviously extremelly common, that is why everyone who is responding is sure you are suffering from the same thing as us. We know what it was like and we just want you to get over it as soon as possible.

Anxiety is an illness, you can beat it by yourself but if you are just 'waiting' to feel better you wont you need to be ACTIVE in combatting it. If you are not it will spiral down and you wont beat it by yourself so go see a specialist. Your minor panic attacks will get worse if you don't try to beat them.