anxiety/panic attacks

Deep breathing and focus on your surroundings is the way I got through acute panic attacks.

Take a few minutes out when you are feeling an attack coming on. Focus on your breathing...taking deep breaths in and out, nice and regular.

Notice the way you are sitting. Relax your muscles so you are comfortable but not floppy. Focusing on your breathing will help your muscles to relax.

Now notice where in the room you are. What can you see? Describe what you can see in your head, for example I am in a computer chair, on the OHBaby forums, in my office at work, my computer is dusty...my desk is wooden etc.

Now notice your smells. Right now I can smell the porridge I just finished.

What can you hear? I can hear some clients in the other office, the keyboard as I type, my breathing because I have a stuffy nose.

Go through your 5 senses like that, making sure you describe everything fully in your head - this feels stupid at first but observing your environment properly and in depth takes your mind off the panic you were feeling a few minutes ago. Remember to keep controlling your breathing and paying attention to your body - if you feel like you are tensing up again, start the process all over from scratch. If you get thoughts intruding about whatever it was that made you panicky in the first place, focus on an object and describe it in your head using your senses.

This may or may not help with the anxiety you feel in general - it might pay to google relaxation techniques. But this was the way I was taught to manage acute panic attacks and eventually it really worked for me (I do it subconsciously just walking around these days). Hope this helps!

You could try rescue remedy when you are having an attack, but to try and prevent the attacks from happening make sure you are eating properly, keeping hydrated, exercising and getting enough rest.

Deep breathing and focusing on relaxing, and when you are feeling panicky close your eyes and try and imagine you are somewhere you feel safe and happy - maybe at the beach in the sun or something.

Is it your health or your babies health that you are worried about? Or just everything? Maybe try writing down your concerns so that you can actually put things in perspective.

Ohhh that's tough! I have panic attacks about barfing on the train, only way I can deal with that is drive to work instead (and pay for a park when I can't get a bosses one), so avoiding what freaks me works for me!
Did you have this with your first 2?

Yeah me trying not to think of the labour part... that's what has stopped me having kids for the past 10 odd years and I never thought I would get past the fear of labour!!! At least you have got through it twice already, you know you can!

Freckle if you pm me your email I can send you an mp3 track if you like? We have a brilliant relaxation techniques one from the counsellor, not great when you aren't in places to listen to it but brilliant at home

I used to have frequent panic attacks at work caused by the workplace, but am now off work and so that trigger has stopped. They were the full blown heart racing, rush of blood to my head, dizziness, couldn't breathe, thought I was going to faint type of panic attack.

But now my major time for panicking is when I'm trying to go to sleep. I am also admittedly a bit of a hypochondriac or suffer from 'health anxiety' as the modern term goes - ever since I had my first child I have really worried about dying (apparently that is very common when I talk to other mothers).

When I try to go to sleep all these things from the realistic to the absolutely ridiculous go round and round my head, and then I find I can't breathe. Last nights topics included:

1. what if I have to go back to work before my ML starts, how will I cope?
2. does my son know I love him enough, am I a good enough mother?
3. what if my husband dies when he has his operation in a fortnight (only on his sinuses, not major surgery!)
4. is my headache a sign that I am going to have an embellism
5. my tooth hurts so might have to go to the dentist - am terrified of the dentist. What if going to the dentist causes me to go in to premature labour because I'm so scared of going ?
6. do my work colleagues hate me now because I am off sick?

and on and on it went in a continuous loop for what seemed like hours!

One of the posts on here has been really helpful, I had never thought about listening to a relaxation CD. I think it would really help for me to do that when I'm trying to go to sleep so that my mind is full of peaceful thoughts instead of empty so that all the ridiculous stuff can rush in to it.

Kazzam