Panic attacks

[Beebers111]

I’m hoping someone can help.

I’ve started to have panic attacks late at night. My thought patterns are spiralling and I’m having horrendous thoughts of all the things that could happen.

I won’t go into all the horrible details here but I play out scenarios in my head of who will die and the funerals. The dc getting sick, society collapsing really awful apocalyptic type thoughts.

I spoke to my gp via email and he issued me with some sleeping pills, however just taking one isn’t working and I don’t want to keep taking them.

Am I allowed to go and see my gp and get help?
I’m ok in the day, working from home and I’m volunteering to keep busy etc but at night when everyone is asleep I’m up for hours.

Thank you

[whatacrazytime]

Sorry your going through this. Could you maybe listen to some audio books or meditation on you tube help give your mind something to focus on at night? Have you spoken to anyone in real life apart from the gp? Could you maybe give your gp call and speak over the phone?

[pocketem]

Seeing the gp in person is unlikely to add anything to what they could gather on the phone. They'll get their information by speaking to you, not by doing a physical examination. If sleeping tablets aren't doing the trick they may consider an SSRI next line or online CBT

[WarriorsComeOutToPlayay]

Something that might bring a little comfort and will help you sleep is a weighted blanket.I was highly skeptical but it has really helped me

[Andorra155]

I have been prescribed propranolol in the past for panic attacks. Might be worth you looking into and speaking to your doctor about.

[SignOnTheWindow]

@Beebers111 I'm sorry you're feeling like this. I can really empathise - my panic attacks have just come back after 3 years of having none.

My go-to exercise is to find a task that requires enough concentration to stop my thoughts spiralling, but that is not so demanding that I can't concentrate on it because it's too difficult. For me, that means cryptic crosswords and popular fiction. My daughter, who is also suffering, likes sewing and embroidery.

[SignOnTheWindow]

Ooh, yes, @WarriorsComeOutToPlayay - we've both found a weighted blanket very soothing, too.

[ClareVH]

I would advise NOT going to your GP. Stay home. Just to give you some perspective, I am not someone who suffers from health anxiety, but I am really struggling right now. Everyone who appreciates the enormity of it is suffering. You are not alone.

You must just reduce the risks as much as you can: stay home, wear a mask & gloves if you have to go out, stay 6 feet away from other people, wash your clothes and shower as soon as you get home.

Just a tip, I wear white canvas sneakers for work. Due to the nature of my work (I work in a lab), I put my sneakers in the washing machine every time I wear them. Although they are just supermarket sneakers, they have lasted. You could get some online then just sling them in the washing machine along with your other clothes.

[ClareVH]

Oh, and I would absolutely take the sleeping pills. This pandemic won't go on forever, then you can stop taking them.

[Pishposhpashy]

ClareVH

I'm sure you mean well but your advice is likely to make anyone with anxiety feel a lot worse. There is absolutely no advice to say you should strip off and shower if you've been outside, unless you are a medical professional working in close contact with covid 19 patients.

OP, I know how you feel, I've been having awful panic attacks too. This is a shit situation. What has helped me is remembering that it is a temporary state of affairs. It will get better.

Additionally, statistically the risk is low. Even if you are in your seventies with an underlying health condition you have an 85% chance of survival. My cousin and his wife who are both frontline NHS workers have just had it and it was no worse than a very mild virus for both of them

[Slurpy]

Could it be worth you trying some app based CBT? Woebot is good (and free), it might help you reframe your thoughts a little.

[beachbreeze]

OP, I find that sleep hypnosis videos on YouTube are really helpful. I've had sleep panic attacks and insomnia for the past 15 years, and those videos have helped me more than anything else I have tried.

[Hannah021]

Im sorry your anxiety flares up at night. Your fear of covid is unlikely to be resolved by visiting a place ill and covid patients go to.

I too have anxiety, but only once in my life i experienced a panic attack, and i felt i was dying. I hope what you are experiencing is anxiety and not panic attacks

[AnxiousOverCovid]

I have been getting the same thing. All that helps me is going on my phone long enough that I am so tired I fall asleep right away. Not the best approach but it is all I have.

There are also mindfulness and meditation videos on Youtube designed to listen to as you fall asleep but I find they make my anxiety worse as they encourage you to focus on your breathing and then I start panicking that I am breathless.

[ClareVH]

@Pishposhpashy, apologies, I just thought it might help the OP to feel in control by taking some positive action. Sorry, I don't mean to make anyone more anxious.

[copperoliver]

Try kalms, camomile tea, rescue remedy pillow spray and lush sleepy lotion.
Also distract yourself by reading, tidy up anything like that.
Avoid stimulants, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol ,all these things will not help.
The state the world is in will also add to everything. X

[Beebers111]

Thank you.
My children have gone to visit their father and I’m petrified I’m never going to see them again.

[BrieAndChilli]

I’ve been playing logic puzzles /sudoku until I fall asleep. I try to stop reading news/mumsnet straight before bed as it fills me brain with coronavirus thoughts!