Rescue dose

Yesterday was a horrible day. I've been dealing with benoz flu for a week now...just feel very ill exhausted and run down. I was trying to motivate myself to get a little work done and spend some time out of bed but I couldn't handle how sick I felt and it led to a full blown panic attack which led to another and another! So finally after my third attack I took .5 mg of a xanax 😔

Panic attacks can bring us to our knees.  I'm sorry you've been having clusters of them.  I've been there too and it's miserable. 

 

It's not easy but if you can practice techniques to cope with them it may help you avoid taking rescue doses in the future.  I found daily meditation (using Headspace app) helps a lot. It helps me view the panic attack as though I'm a detached observer.  I tell myself - oh, here we go again - I'm okay, this has happened many times before and I'm okay.  I just going to watch this TV show (or whatever) while the panic attack does its thing and runs its course.

 

Here are some great tips.  I hope you feel better very soon.

 

1. Tell yourself that your body feels funny, but that's it, nothing else is happening. There is no need to worry about what is wrong with you, you'll just panic more. It's just your body over-reacting to something that is not there and it helps to remember that.

 

2. When you feel anxious, usually it is because you are thinking irrational thoughts about things...and this escalates the anxiety. If you can write down what you are experiencing and thinking in a Journel, and then write the most rational responses to your irrational thoughts, ie "I am going crazy!" Response: "I am NOT going crazy, this is temporary. It is my brain chemistry playing tricks on me. I am NOT scared of the situation, I am scared of my body's reaction which is a FALSE reaction, I am ok!" etc. Writing helps to get you out of the distorted thinking that both causes and makes existing anxiety worse.

 

3. Breath breath breath, Concentrate on breathing from your diaphragm, not your upper chest.

 

4. Yoga - or any sort of stretching that involves deep rhythmic breathing and draining thoughts from your head. Focus on an object or on one thought/feeling. If Yoga is not an option, writing helps tremendously. Write anything - your thoughts, observations, this documentation permits you to evaluate your condition. What causes the anxiety and what alleviates it. Moreover, it drains your frustration - letting it out.

 

5. Read a really good book or see a movie, whatever holds your attention best and takes your mind off your anxiety. It's important to let go of that anxiety and concentrate on something else completely.

 

6. A nice long, hot bath or shower to relax your muscles and your mind!

 

7. A helpful phrase to use is, "They are only feelings, they can't hurt me".

 

8. Remind yourself that sensation is just that - sensation. You have to tell yourself that the physical sensations you're experiencing are not life threatening. It also helps to list for yourself all the times you have been able to do the very things you're afraid of.

 

9. One of the best ways to combat fear is to exercise - Not only does it relieve stress, it also produces endomorphins which raise your sense of well being - and it becomes another thing that reinforces your "rational" belief that you are not in any physical danger.

 

10. Drink a warm cup of milk which helps to relax so that you can start to think more rationally, without the anxiety clouding your thoughts. It usually helps to calm the anxious feelings.

 

11. If you "act" calm, you will be calm. Imitate the body language of a relaxed person and you will take on that feeling within minutes.

 

12. When you have a panic attack do deep breathing, and say over and over you are calm and relaxed. Think only positive thoughts, instead of thinking you're dying, tell yourself you are fine, you have gone through this many times and nothing has happened before, it takes a lot of practice.

 

13. Take a nice long walk, the exercise will help to clear your mind or talk to someone you're close to and tell them how you're feeling. Just telling someone else makes you look at it objectively.

 

14. Listen to music, it takes you away, write a letter to nobody, recite the alphabet backwards, If you're driving pick a color and start counting cars of that colour until you reach 100. Distraction is the key.

 

15. After you realize that it's just an attack and you're not dying or anything, you will calm yourself down, put on headphones and listen to relaxation music and do some more deep breathing.

 

What to do if you feel an Anxiety/Panic attack coming on to avoid it?

 

If you feel a panic or anxiety attack coming on, think through the problem by breaking it down. Imagine the worst that can happen. Nine times out of ten it then appears less serious.

 

 

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http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13001.0

 

I’m sorry you are having a rough patch. I had a rough time in August so I’m holding for a couple of months. I’m feeling a lot better now. But, I have Panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and had massive panic attacks in August so I can understand. They are so debilitating. But, I do so many things every day to just try to keep things in check. Yoga, deep relaxation, exercise, listening to calming music. It’s like putting money in a savings account. They don’t always seem to be helping until I really find myself in a crunch and then I realize that over time, they’ve been giving me strength. 😊

Oh, and I wouldn’t worry about that rescue dose. That’s nothing in the scheme  of things.