Anxiety is Killing Me (Help)
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In this article, titled “Anxiety is killing me,” we will answer the question of if anxiety can kill you, we will present anxiety symptoms, panic attack treatments, and tips to overcome panic attacks.
You will also find some forums about the topic.
Can Anxiety Kill You?
Anxiety cannot kill you, although anxiety disorders, in particular, panic disorder can seem like killing you.
The reason is that panic attacks can start with sudden fear and last for a few minutes, or bring heart palpitations and shortness of breath, that remind about heart attacks.
Panic attacks make you feel out of control.
However, you should not get disappointed; there are some tips and treatments that can help you to reduce the severity of panic attacks.
Panic Attacks’ Symptoms
The symptoms of panic attacks can differ by their severity, as well as can differ from person to person.
Usually, they last less than thirty minutes.
On average, a panic attack lasts for ten minutes; some symptoms may last a little longer, however.
So that you differ a panic attack from a heart attack, you need to know panic attack symptoms, which are:
- Chest pain or chest tightness;
- Heart palpitations;
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea);
- Hyperventilation;
- Trembling;
- Nausea;
- Dizziness;
- Sweating;
- Lightheadedness;
- Tingling sensations;
- Fear of losing control;
- Fear of dying.
Panic Attack Treatments
The conventional treatments used for panic attacks are psychotherapy and medications.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy can help you understand your diagnosis and realize how the panic disorder affects your life.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is useful to reduce panic attacks and other anxiety disorders.
CBT can teach you new ways to react to situations that cause panic attacks and new ways to act in such situations.
Medications
Medications used to treat panic attacks are antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Antidepressants include SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, and MAOIs.
What about benzodiazepines, they are prescribed less often, because they can cause side effects, such as dependence, memory loss, and speech loss.
Anxiety is Killing Me; Tips to Overcome it.
If you cannot go to psychotherapy because of health condition, financial difficulties, or other issues, you can try the following tips, which may help reduce your panic attacks symptoms:
- Write down your thoughts and feelings;
- Practice breathing exercises;
- Practice muscle relaxation techniques;
- Practice aerobic exercises;
- Practice grounding techniques can help you to stay aware and present. You can take a minute to focus on what you are seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting (even if you are not eating something right then);
- Share your worries with a close person, who can be your relative or a friend. It can help you to realize that you are not alone, or maybe you will find someone who has the same or similar worries like you do, is also possible that vocalizing your thoughts, you understand that they are irrational;
- Avoid using caffeine and drugs, as they can increase your panic attack symptoms, and worsen the condition;
- Avoid reacting panic attack; otherwise, it will deepen and be worse than if you do not react. As soon as you feel the first signs of a panic attack, you should distract yourself with an activity, practice grounding, or another relaxation technique until the panic attack passes;
- Find out the problems causing anxiety and panic attacks, and try to solve them.
Anxiety is Killing Me; Forums
Blondie1992
Hi, my name is Melissa. I am 25 years old, and I suffer from anxiety, I was diagnosed in 2013 with anxiety. I just want to tell you how I feel and my story.
When I first got diagnosed with anxiety, I was so sick. I was living with my family at this time, I started crying for no apparent reason, and then the anxiety just got to me, every morning at 7 am I would wake up with a racing heart, and I was panicking it was like my 7 am was an alarm for me. When I would go in for a shower it felt like I was falling so my mum came to the bathroom while I had a shower, I was even scared to walk to the letterbox because I was thinking the worst if I were to walk to the litter box, however, I was on meds for it and I was feeling better with myself as soon as I felt better stupid me got of them. Now it is 2017 it is all getting to me but different symptoms, I have racing thoughts in my head, unwanted thoughts in my head like it will come and go I feel like I am going crazy. I just do not know what to do!
Rani1811
Hi there,
For the past few months, I have been having a range of symptoms, and I am scared it could be something serious. I do not mean to offend anyone on the cancer chat, which has been diagnosed, and I am deeply sorry and wish you all the best. I am just so scared of becoming ill and dying, and it is taking over my life! Please bear with me as this post is going to be a long one!
It started a few months ago in December when I noticed my right eye felt different, and my vision felt weird and blurry. I also started getting terrible headaches at the same time, like a clamp squeezing my head. I immediately went to my opticians and a minor eye injury unit, and everything was normal. I panicked myself into thinking I was going blind and did not believe what the opticians said. It got to the point where I was continually checking my eyes by covering each of them up and seeing what I could see. Ultimately I ended up stressing myself out to the point where I experienced depersonalization/derealisation feelings, and that was terrifying! Nothing looked or felt real, but thankfully, it went away after two weeks. I still had my awful everyday constant headaches and went back to the GP, where they said it was chronic tension headaches.
A few weeks later, I started experiencing dizzy bouts, but almost like when you are drunk and feel unsteady, this happened till the point I fell over! I also started realizing my memory was not as sharp, and I could not pronounce certain words like consistency! I went back to the GP and told them about this, and he said it was stress, but I insisted a blood test (FBC, glucose, iron, vitamin D, thyroid, kidney, and liver) everything came back normal except my white blood cell count was borderline and liver enzyme level was quite high. However, I felt fine until now.
Now for the past two weeks, I have been experiencing headaches again, but they feel different to my tension headaches, joint pain in my wrists/fingers/ankles/knees/hips/elbows, constant unsteadiness, pain in left side of neck (also neck lump), pain in left shoulder/arm and back, burning/tingling feeling in arm/shoulder/chest/upper back along the spine, shortness of breath and coughing.
I went to the GP, where he said I had sinusitis due to my nose being blocked and anxiety and said I should visit a chiropractor. The second GP I went to referred me for an ultrasound on my neck and also said I have anxiety causing my symptoms and said I should visit a physiotherapist for my pain and also gave me a leaflet for counseling. I do have a vitamin D deficiency that the GP said could explain my joint pain, but I just do not believe that all my symptoms are being caused by anxiety, and I think it is essential to explore the other medical possibilities before blaming anxiety.
I am so scared that I might have a brain tumor that may have spread to my neck/lungs/bones as my shoulder and arm hurts on and off, and I get a weird tingling burning sensation on the same arm. It could just be health anxiety since it got triggered due to my eye problem, and I just cannot seem to focus on anything else besides how I am feeling, and I am continually googling, which comes up with all the stuff I have mentioned above. I just need some reassurance and advice on how to deal with this. I am only 19, and I am not ready to die or accept death, and these symptoms have become debilitating. I am crying almost every day, and I feel stuck and trapped.
Recommended books and sources
- My Anxiety is Killing Me: A Poetry Collection
- Your Thoughts are Killing You: Take Control of Your Mind and Close the Door to Depression, Anxiety and Those Fearful, Worrisome Thoughts Forever (Anxiety is Killing Me)
- Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me (Anxiety is Killing Me)
- Panic Attacks: What They Are, Why They Happen and What You Can Do About Them
- Understanding Panic Attacks: and Overcoming Fear (Anxiety is Killing Me)
- HFNE “Trump Anxiety Disorder”
- HFNE “Depression and Anxiety Service (TALKWORKS)”
FAQs about the topic “Anxiety is Killing Me.”
Can you die from severe anxiety?
You cannot die from severe anxiety, even though a panic attack can feel like a heart attack.
You can reduce panic attack symptoms by psychotherapy, medications, practicing some relaxation exercises, as well as doing some healthy lifestyle changes.
How do you calm down anxiety?
You can calm down anxiety by:
– Avoiding using caffeine and alcohol,
– Quitting smoking,
– Practicing relaxation techniques,
– Practicing physical exercises,
– Going to yoga classes,
– Using aromatherapy, Aroma candles are also used for aromatherapy. Check the Best Candle for Anxiety.
– Drinking tea for anxiety,
– Setting up daily goals – If you set up daily goals, and write them down on a paper, achieving each goal, you should tick it, as it can make you feel better and a little satisfied;
– Interacting with people (close ones, or meeting new people by joining a social club, or a sports club).
What does a panic attack feel like?
Panic attack feels like sweating; dizziness; a chest pain or chest tightness; heart palpitations; shortness of breath (dyspnea); hyperventilation; trembling; nausea; lightheadedness; fear of losing control; fear of dying; or tingling sensations.
Can anxiety make you dizzy?
Anxiety can make you dizzy and the opposite. Dizziness caused by anxiety feels like lightheadedness and an in motion.
If you tend towards anxiety, dizziness and anxiety can interact and worsen anxiety symptoms.
Does anxiety worsen with age?
Anxiety can worsen with age if it is untreated. If you do not talk to your doctor to get some medications, and do not go to psychotherapy sessions, and do not avoid the situations and do not quit your habits that make you anxious, it is natural that anxiety disorder will worsen.
However, you should start treatment, as untreated anxiety can cause other mental and physical health problems.
Is anxiety genetic?
Many researchers claim that anxiety is genetic; however, anxiety can occur under environmental factors, even if in your family, nobody has or has had anxiety.
More studies are needed to find out more information about the link between genes and anxiety disorders.
Conclusion
Summarizing the article, “Anxiety is killing me,” we can say that anxiety cannot kill you, although the symptoms of anxiety disorders can make you feel like having a heart attack or dying.
Nevertheless, you can meet a professional doctor or psychologist to treat anxiety.
If there are some issues not letting you go to a mental health professional, you can try the tips that we suggested above; they can help you reduce anxiety symptoms.
Please feel free to comment on the content or ask any questions in the comments section below.
References
Take Control of Your Anxiety Today: Personalized Counseling with BetterHelp
