Horrible anxiety - fight/flight/freeze

[horribleanxiety]

I had major medical trauma, which left serious physical damage and caused PTSD. On meds and cared for by a cardiologist.

I have developed anxiety. Sometimes it is just anxiety, sometimes it can be arrhythmia driving the anxiety. I have beta blockers and Xanax.

Sometimes when I am speaking to people, even a friend casually, I sort of tense up and feel like I am going to pass out. The feeling starts at the back of my neck. If I walk off I feel better, so fairly sure this part is psychological. I guess it is fight/flight/freeze, but in an inappropriate setting.

Anything I can do?

Doing stretches and breathing exercises every day.

You need to work out what your trigger is for this

use grounding exercises

treat PTSD

Have you had EDMR for PTSD?

The best thing is to tell your brain to stop it ( stupid l know) and push through.

Long and bitter experience of LC anxiety here.

Also, hypnosis really really helped me.

Thank you for all this. Looking into EMDR and practicing some self talk/use of pressure points as a distraction. Just a bit afraid of my brain 'fighting back' and escalating the feelings...

In case it helps anyone else reading this, I carry a frozen water bottle in my bag as a bit of a safety net in case of a fast heart rate. Also meds in my bag and another small pouch in my jacked pocket, plus a tablet barrel on my key ring. Got stuck without them once and it was really scary.

@Shakeyourbaublesandsmile Please may I ask what is meant by finding my triggers - I am really keen to learn any way to combat this? It can be with a friend or someone in authority. I can't seem to identify a clear trigger. It may be a bit deeper than this, for example when things are more stressful with medical appointments or at home.

Look up vagus nerve eye exercises. Speak to your brain and tell it it’s safe.

Put your hand on your heart when you do this. It feels very calming. I do this all the time when I’m anxious.

I had a medical issue that left huge anxiety and was put on proprananol - 40mg twice a day. It honestly changed everything from panic attacks, palpitations, stress headaches - all gone and the ability to not care as much about inconsequential things. I wouldn't be without it now.

@6thformoptions I will ask if a swap is possible. On Nebivolol, also have Xanax.

External Triggers can be explicit or implicit, the latter are harder to identify. A trigger is related to a feature of the trauma. Smells, visual, sounds position.

Internal trigger maybe a thought, flashback, intrusive memory, physical or emotional feeling.

You can often spot patterns

You don’t necessarily need EMDR people often goto to this as a first resort it’s not always indicated

I did some work with a therapist around noticing my body, getting grounded in the present moment and that helped me notice when anxiety was building up. I had some exercises that helped draw me back to the here and now (usually the present moment is actually ok if I can focus on it)

After a while I started to be able to notice the start of a stress response, and I realised that the trigger was usually something that had happened (or a thought I’d had) about 15 sec to 2 mins before.

And the strange thing was that when I could pinpoint the trigger, the anxiety just dissipated. It was like it was all just a way to get me to pay attention.

Not a quick solution by any means. I highly recommend working with a therapist.

Thank you so much. This is all really helpful.