# Why Does Anxiety ALWAYS have to come back?



## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

Just when life is going well, the anxiety comes back. I'm having such a hard time going out by myself these days, to work, or the grocery store, it's getting pathetic. Just want to hear some similar stories and I'll write more. thanks! Mel


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## AlmostFamous (Apr 11, 2004)

My theory is that the first anxiety attack is so traumatizing that your body tries to relive it somehow. I'm not sure why. Like I feel I test myself to see if I can control it. It's like you have hypnotized yourself into reacting this way to certain situations because one time you did and now you always react that way. Not that it's in the realm of being as horrible as a war experience, but it's almost like post-traumatic stress.Mine comes out of nowhere sometimes. You're not pathetic!


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## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

thanks almostfamous....so, anyone have suggestions what to do about this?


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## AlmostFamous (Apr 11, 2004)

Well for me the first thing I do is try to get to the root of the anxiety and address it because there usually is a reason for it. Even if it's a silly reason. Sometimes I can talk myself down, sometimes I can't. When I can't calm down or I can't figure out the root, I reach for the Ativan.


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## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

wow, today i went to the bank by myself, the drive-thru.


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## editor (Jun 20, 2004)

Hi Mel,My personal opinion is that it is something of a red herring to think that anxiety will "disappear" completely and that we can all live anxiety and fear free lives, as some books would have us believe!As no doubt you know, feeling fear is a natural human response. We are programmed to feel it and our bodies deal with any perceived threat accordingly. Years ago when we were all living in caves and bonking woolly mammoths on the head for our meals, we understood that we could either "fight or flight" - fight the mammoth and end up with a meal; or, run the hell away as fast as our legs could carry us if IT chose to have *us* for dinner.







Whilst we don't have to worry about an immediate "fight or flight" response caused by mammoths anymore, we do have a whole set of different "threats" that can make people become so highly sensitised to their environments, that an anxiety response occurs. Sometimes there can be a direct trigger - a traumatic event - relationship breaking down; burglary; personal attack (physical or verbal abuse); ill health. At other times, we stress out over work worries, money issues, our actual environment creates stress...think about just travelling to work! Long drives, stuck in traffic jams; delayed trains.. on and on and on....People who become sensitised to such things (for whatever reason) can, if it is left unchecked, end up on a very slippery slope to ending up practically housebound. Anxiety never goes away; some anxiety is *good* - it can give you a positive thrill, for example, it can spur you on in a job interview, or in an exam. The flip side is you can be so sick with nerves, so highly sensitised to certain situations (yes, even going to the supermarket; even thinking about leaving the "safety" of your own home)that you can't go anywhere at all. If you recognise yourself here, then it is a good idea to try and build a good support network around yourself so that you can deal with it successfully. It *can* be done with the right help and support - not necessarily drug support either. I suggest building a network around you because this is very difficult to treat just by yourself, when an anxiety response is so bad that it starts to impact on your life.Many, many people are trying to live their lives coping with anxiety. Many are too embarrassed to "admit" to feeling so bad, and many still will go to very ingenious lengths to "cope." Unfortunately, "coping" very often leads to avoidance of the very situation where anxiety was first experienced. Or, as I said, anxiety will escalate. One day you might be fine going to the supermarket; the next, you might end up totally stuck, unable to go in. Unable to even *think* about going inside. As Almost Famous said, if you've had a panic attack at some point, you may be trying to avoid the very physical sensations themselves. This is understandable; panic attacks (and however they effect you) are not very pleasant. Many people automatically assume that there is something very physically wrong with them, and that they may even die as a result of having one. This is just a *thought* - the result of oversensitised thinking; panic attacks will NOT harm you. There is a range of things you can do to try and help yourself. I suggest the following, which you may or may not find useful







1)think about going to the supermarket. What is it about that trip, that is causing you to feel anxious? Is it the drive? The shop itself? Running out of money? Needing the toilet whilst you are there? Think about it and see if you can write down what it is that is causing you to be anxious. This in itself, can be very hard to do, but try. 2) think about your life in general: are you under any other stress at the moment? The answer here may not be immediately apparent, so have a good hard think about it. 3) have you been unwell lately? Certain physical conditions can make people have an anxeity response. Have a chat to your doctor and ask for a physical if you think you might need one. 4) start to build trips up *gradually.* Make a plan: the first day, plan to just put your coat on, never mind leaving the house!







The second day, make it out of the front door, and so on, until you are comfortable going to the store. You may find that you have to repeat these steps many times before you can go to the store, in a lessened anxiety state. If this happens to you, don't worry! You'll do it when you do it. The key it seems, is to do "little and often."5) Learn relaxation techniques and use them.6) Learn distraction techniques, and use them.7) Keep a diary of where you go, even if you only end up sitting in the store car park. This will serve as a progress diary. See if you can get hold of the books / audiio programmes by Claire Weekes. Also, a book(audio book) by Susan Jeffers called "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway." Don't beat yourself up about what you can't do; appreciate yourself for what you have been able to do *today.*Getting better is *very* hard work; don't underestimate what you achieve.


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## AlmostFamous (Apr 11, 2004)

2) think about your life in general: are you under any other stress at the moment? The answer here may not be immediately apparent, so have a good hard think about it. <<<I agree. There must be a root.


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## Dux (Nov 14, 2004)

Hi! I am new here. This site is so huge, and there are so many forums,Iwonder if I'll ever get to read it all.I am posting to this thread because Panic is a very large part of my IBS-D.I never have one without the other.It is almost impossible for me to tell which comes first, the panic, or the 'd'.Also, my symptoms are periodic.I can go for months and have no symptoms at all, then out of a clear blue sky I find myself hyperventilating and gasping for breath as I rush to the bathroom, or the phone rings and suddenly I have to go.I think my doctor thinks I'm nuts, but he did give me a drug called Lomotil, which really helps me.I take Buspar for the panic, but can't say that it makes that much of a difference.I am so glad that this site is here, and this forum especially. Most people don't understand about panic and anxiety, at least not many. It's great to be able to actually sit down and talk about it.


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## AlmostFamous (Apr 11, 2004)

Welcome Topaz!


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

Hi Topaz,Have you tried Xanax when the D comes on? Stops mine every time.


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## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

today, i goto the psychiatrist my girlfriend is coming with me, hopefully we'll beable to get through to my doctor to do some serious med changes. this is no way for me to live, nor for her. wish me luck. mel


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## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

it's great to finally have a psychiatrist who listens to me and i feel is on my side. she ended up having me stop the wellbutrin that was added to my morning cocktail about a month ago, since it may be causing more anxiety. as well, she increased my tegretol to 1000 mg a day and increased my klonapin to morning and night doses with 2 prn's instead of one. i hope and pray that such a simple med change as this is all i need along with hard work on my end. thanks for listening. mel


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## Dux (Nov 14, 2004)

Hi California123;I used to take Xanax when I was having major panic attacks a couple of years back.It helped the panic, but I don't recollect it affecting the 'd'. I take Lomotil for the 'd' when it hits me and I take Buspar for the panic.I honestly don't know which comes first, the panic or the 'd'.Sometimes I think it's the panic, because on some level I know I'd going to flare-up.Other times, I think I get the 'd' because I'm going to have a panic attack.I've given up trying to figure it out.I can go for months and have absolutely no symptoms at all, then wham! there I go again.I've read so much stuff here the past couple of days,it's all getting mixed up in my head, but I saw somewhere someone said to keep a food diary.I never thought of that before.I have chronic GERD, so it might help that too.


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## rrobin (Sep 8, 2004)

Hi Topaz - I use Buspar too it really helps me I take 40mg a day tho. Anyhow I wanted to give you the link to a printable food diary. It 's a PDF. http://hopkins-gi.nts.jhu.edu/multimedia/d...o_399_IB-14.pdf It's from this page if the PDF does not load. http://hopkins-gi.nts.jhu.edu/pages/latin/...se=43&lang_id=1 Eric from posted it. He has a website about IBS www.ibshealth.com------------------------------------My story: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...c;f=17;t=000155


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## Dux (Nov 14, 2004)

Thank you very much Greeen; it was very thoughtful of you to give me the food diary information.I just can't get over how helpful and supportive everyone is, and there are so many of us! I had no idea.There are almost thirty thousand members of this organization? I am totally stunned.On one of the other threads, something that a member was discussing triggered a memory in me, which may be the first time I had digestve problems!My Grandmother used to say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears.I was certainly ready when I came across thi site, and I've already learned so much. It is truly wonderful.


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## mdjb6169 (Oct 29, 2004)

there are so many more answers we can find amongst one another, that in the doctor's office we would never find.


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## Dux (Nov 14, 2004)

I agree. I have never been the least bit comfortable with talking about my health issues, and was even somewhat reticent(and probably still am) about discussing them here. I have had some very negative experiences before, when people just didn't understand. I have experienced some very hurtful comments when I spoke about having panic and anxiety,so I tended not to discuss them outside my family.Being able to communicate with people who totally understand and empathize is almost overwhelming in it's significance to me. It is empowering. I feel as though a burden has been lifted from me.


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## Guest (Nov 25, 2004)

Isn't it disgusting that in 2004 we haven't learnt that anxiety/panic attacks are just an illness same as asthma etc. I had a hideous time in 1984 with terrible panic attacks at the grand old age of 22. Even my relatives were ashamed of me, I felt a total failure and am really only now starting to feel that, actually, I'm not a bad old bird. My very close friend's daughter went through the same sort of grizzly experience 4 years ago, and many of our friends would not talk to my friend out of embarrassment. Its just an illness for gawd's sake. I now feel very much like this about IBS. I have just taken an advice/based partime job and thought that I'd much better be open and honest cos lets face it - there are days when you need to use the (one and only) toilet rather more than most. We don't need to drone on about IBS/ anxiety and any other condition but lets be honest then I think we can all face the future with a little more optimism.Sue, Manchester


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