Anxiety attacks anyone?

[Mrin]

I think I'm having anxiety attacks. They manifest as chest pain - sharp chest pain. Like heart attack chest pain. Don't worry, they landed me in the ER last weekend. They dianosed it as GERD or really bad acid reflux. No heart issues. But damn they hurt. Basically my esophagus spasms. They put me on some meds but I am still getting the attacks.

 

Now, here's the thing. I broke up with my forever girl two weeks ago and I'm really struggling with it. She is the love of my life and I pretty much destroyed our relationship. So, lots of regrets. Tons of them.

 

Here's where the anxiety thing comes into play. I noticed today that if I was on conference calls or out and about in meetings etc... no attacks. Not a single one. But when I am just by myself working or around people who are really familiar to me (e.g. my daughters) I still get them. I'm thinking that they are being triggered by anxiety rather than something I ate, a certain body position or exertion.

 

Anyone else experience anything like this during a breakup?

 

Mrin

[montie1]

Your break ups pretty fresh man it'll happen. I think the more you do things and try to keep your mibd off it you'll be okay.

 

I know this sounds stupid but try drinking alot of water throughout the day. Its gonna help you feel better mentally and physically.

 

Just keep your mind off it for a while and it'll diminsh if not disappear entirely.

[Fair]

I think anxiety attacks are caused by physical, not mental issues, in fact i don't think you can separate the two because your mind and body are not distnctive from one another. I could have gone to a mental health professional and let them put me on a drug that would have caused more problems long term. Instead i started taking a magnesium supplement and it cured my anxiety attacks. It didn't just manage them... it cured them.

 

Whatever is happening to you is no doubt physical. I'm not a doctor, but i wouldn't go looking for an antidepressant or anything else they might try to shove down your throat without ruling out everything else first.

[Altair0770]

Wait what...

 

Anxiety attacks are caused by anxiety, which is a mental illness...

 

 

I've had them before. An anxiety attack is about 45 minutes of feeling like you are shivering while not exactly being really cold. You feel like you need to keep moving. You also feel shortness of breath and, obviously, really anxious.

 

What you're describing doesn't sound like anxiety but more likely what the doctor said - acid reflex.

 

Anxiety attacks are like panic attacks but longer duration however you don't feel like something terrible is about to happen that could end your life or make you feel like you're in serious danger. They are caused more by just general anxiety like freaking out about a test or something. Panic attacks are generally much worse.

[Fair]

Prolonged stress can lead to physical imbalances within the body that bring on symtoms of panic, anxiety, depression... your brain is not disconnected from the rest of you. It's too easy for them to label you with a mental health problem which often happens when they don't know the real cause... be careful how you tread on this issue.

[todreaminblue]

get them all the time.....what i have noticed in my posture when i am anxious i hunch inwards like trying to make myself small and this is actually a visible thing.....what helps is if i open up......sit straight and breather in and out..what happens when i hunch dont know about you but the air space is smaller harder to breathe my chin goes down so my throat isnt open and i feel like im suffocating....;.my heart rate goes up because i go into panic mode because i cant breathe...and there you have it full blown panic attack....

 

i noticed once when i was sitting down reading some bullying text messages from someone....every time i read something nasty i would hunch over more.....until yeah ...panic attack came around...trying to make myself small.....i call it that .....because its what you do when you take physical hits to lessen the blows and make it harder for them to hit front on........smaller the target theory...but i do it with emotional hits as well.....all it suceeeds in doing actually is making me feel like im going to die.....

 

yoga is good stretches and breathing ......breathing is key..my throat swells when i am anxious ..and i have desert throat.....so hydration breathing stretches and walking actually...ever wonder why you pace....its a release of negative energy.....i wish you well...sit tall stand straighter and breathe.....through any anxiety pain....

 

shake your legs your arms your wrist ...stand up slowly from a seated position or you can pass out......a mediation practice is to identify where stress is in your body.close your eyes imagine your different body parts feeling really heavy......then identify the ones that dont respond well.......shake it out....i get anxiety in my wrists and fingers as well makes my hands shake...my legs too.and my voice.......if i am singing i have really strong vibrato it actually helps me to let my voice out loud.......releases the anxiety........lol.......hell im a mess at the best of times..im empathetic so i feel other peoples pain and negative emotions...i much prefer the positives...they make my day............but i can deal with my messes.....its taken me a while to know what works for me....hope i have helped..final tip and the best on eyet...the biggest killer for anxiety ....laughter.....realses hormones that combat stress....so laugh loads...and as i said above lost in a wall of type and ellipses.......i wish you well.......deb

Edited March 15, 2017 by todreaminblue

[breadbin]

I'm not gonna give medical advice on a forum but I can relate to this. I started having palpitations since the break up. Nothing major but they got more frequent about a month ago. I had been probably at my lowest during that time about the relationship. Since then about a week later nothing! I've noticed I'm better in myself. I think I've turned a corner. I used to notice when I lay on my left side I'd get them more. I'd say it was pure stress induced.

 

I had 2 panic attacks too in the last 5 months and I only had one in my whole life before. Horrible. Both in work too. A relationship that has broken up can have a huge impact on someone. Everybody is different. Like previous poster said yoga is amazing for it. Any exercise and yeah laughing too. I find singing also helps. I used to think it was something I ate. More inclined to think now it is directly related to stress of the breakup.

[Howaheartbreaks]

I believe it's relationship related. Especially if you've never been prone to them in the past. A relationship ending can be highly traumatic.

 

I get anxiety attacks when I'm surrounded by friends and family and sometimes when I'm alone. It's generally better at work when I'm busy, so you're also probably too focused when you're at work. Mine are sort of "eternally alone lost the love of my life I'll never find anyone like them" panic attacks. It's been a month and a half since my break up and it doesn't really seem to be getting better, but it's kind of turned me into an introvert. I went away for one night with my two closest friends and while they are the most supportive people I know, I still experienced anxiety attacks while I was with them. And I've never had them prior to my relationship ending.

 

This being said make sure there's also not a serious physical reason, remembering that mental reasons can create physical issues.

 

Let yourself feel the emotions but maybe look into dealing with anxiety attacks so you can handle them better. Take care of yourself!

[preraph]

You're giving yourself an ulcer.

[BC1980]

I've definitely seen other posters mention this, and I have had physical symptoms that correlate with mental stress. For instance, when I'm nervous, my face and neck flush red, and I get really hot all of a sudden. I think most people have had the sensation of your "stomach dropping" when hearing bad news. So I do think our bodies react physically to our emotions.

 

A breakup can be really traumatizing depending on how much weight you put on the relationship, how much of a future you saw, ect. Not all breakups are the same, and some affect us more than others. It sounds like, when you are busy with work, you have a distraction, so you aren't triggered into an anxiety attack. I do remember having difficulty sleeping after my last breakup. You might need to work with a counselor to develop some coping skills for anxiety. Sometimes, you can talk yourself down or go exercise.