Is anybody awake. Im in a bad place

[TheGruffalosbitch]

anyone?

I'm here ! Not sure if much good but a hand to hold till someone useful comes along

Cant guarantee I'll be here for ages, but for now I'm awake. Whats up?

Panic attacks, really bad ones, I had hypnotherapy a few days ago and I think its brought everything to the surface

Its dawned on me that I dont like being by myself. Im reliant on my dh and dm. Dm is going to hospital next week so I will be by myself ( with my 2 young dc's)

I think my sub-conscious wants to be like this because then I will be rescued, dh will take the week off work to look after me then I wont have to face my fears

Have you got any relaxation cd's? The therapy, was it talking about things too? Not sure what hypnotherapy includes. I was seeing a therapist and found that for a few days after seeing her, everything was worse! The flashbacks would be more and stronger. But they did ease off.

it was just hypnosis but i think it brought things from my subconcious forwards. I cant relax at all, im pacing up and down, lots of adrenaline but exhausted at the same time

The subconscious can be a horrible thing sometimes!! It is a big possibility that this is whats happened. Did you have to speak about the reasons why you get panic attacks for them to do the hypnosis?

i always thought my panic attacks were triggerless, Ive now realised they are centred around being alone and not being able to cope

I'd recommend for the future, a meditation cd. I got told by my GP to get the one I have as I have anxiety. Mindfulness - see if anything comes up in google with that and if not, I'll look for the name of it when I get up :) I've found it a great help, although only usually hear the first 10 mins because then I fall asleep lol. I have it saved onto my music player and have used it when feeling stressed too, was changing the bed sheets whilst listening and it still helped :)

It probably has bought the feelings to surface then. What about setting yourself targets? Being alone for 10 mins etc and working up from there? I could find a format that I was given by my therapist, where you write how you felt and other things. I really found that helpful as it made me think about what I was feeling etc

thanks guys, Im just exhausted and no my kids will be up soon. I dont know what is should do about next week, face my fears or be rescued again to the detriment of others.

Ive done a mindfullness course, i just cant relax enough to put anything into practice

Argh I just lost my post. I get exactly the same panic attacks for the same reasons. Whenever my DH goes out and I have to deal with my DCs by myself. This creates big problems, not only because of the panic attacks, but because I resent DH leaving me which causes problems between us.

In the short term, can you distract yourself from your anxiety by watching some comedy? I watch something like Father Ted or The IT Crowd - it distracts me enough that I stop thinking about it, and the fact that I smile and laugh makes me feel much much better. If I'm actually with the DCs and feeling overwhelmed, I will (after making sure they're fine - usually in front of the TV or drawing if I'm struggling) shut myself in a room, and either listen to music, go on mumsnet, or watch comedy clips on Youtube.

For some reason, watching comedy really helps relieve the panic.

In the long term, are you having any treatment for anxiety? I've tried a number of ADs for anxiety and depression - although they didn't touch my depression, both citalopram and sertraline massively reduced my anxiety. I also have oxazepam which I take when I start to feel panicky. Even the very fact that I have the oxazepam in my bag means I'm less likely to have a panic attack. If you haven't been to the doctor's, it might be a good place to start. It's not a sign of weakness to take a tablet to treat a disease. That's all that depression and anxiety are - a disease like diabetes that requires treatment and management.

Can you plan next week so that you have something to do every day? Whether it's go and visit a friend, have a friend come round to you, go to a new park you've never been to before etc. Sometimes we'd just end up going to a pet shop and looking at the fish - it was enough of a break during the day that I was able to break the day up into parts to get through it.

Also have you tried writing down the worst case scenario you can think of while you have a panic attack? Actually writing it down can help fix down the worry or the fear so you don't have to revisit it again and again.

I hope some of it helps - I have every sympathy, I really do. I work full time because I find it much easier than looking after my children alone.

Just a quick one to say I'm exactly the same. Panic constantly - peaking into panic attacks - when alone with DS (16 months). Heartbreaking stuff.

I agree with Arana. Breaking up the day.

Not been on ADs.

Gets worse around period and have recently discovered that just one glass of wine the night before can influence things.

Have started jogging - that helps. Perhaps more that I'm 'taking control' more than the getting healthier theory. Maybe a bit of both?

Caffeine is an absolute no no for me too.

Also agree that being at work less of a panic! I do still have panic at work but it's less so in that I'm not responsible for DS. Is anyone else the same?

Also anyone feel quite badly done to that spending time with your children is supposed to be a joy? Not panic filled?

One more thing - I tend to relax the moment DH comes through the door. Anyone else like this?