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scaring myself
In the past number of months, I have had a couple...I don't know what to call them...I think they might be panic attacks or anxiety attacks or something?
I have what my therapist calls a "mild mood disorder", I'm not sure if people are familiar with the term, but basically it's like depression but less severe.
Anyways, there have been a couple times where I have been in situations that normally would make me slightly uncomfortable/upset (ex. packing to go to university, working on a group project where the group members didn't agree on things) which I reacted to in ways which scared me. It starts with feeling uncomfortable, then I want to cry. My throat tightens up, I start breathing really shallowly. I feel trapped, and I can't think rationally enough to figure out what I need to feel better. Sometimes I start feeling sick or lightheaded.
I don't what these are. I haven't told my therapist about them, I probably should, but it just hasn't come up.
Anyone know what is happening to me? What can I do to prevent/stop these?
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I used to have anxiety issues and anxiety can easily cause the reactions you are having. So i agree with Hollywood, its likely anxiety. So if you have a therapist, next time let them know of anything and everything you feel may be important if it has to doing with your emotions and how you feel. The therapist will ask standard questions but may not think of or know to ask you some specific questions that would help your therapist know what was going on. I don't think you can over do it. When ever I see a Dr. I tell them all sorts of things that they never asked questions about and it has been helpful to the Dr. in knowing what to do about an issue I have medically. Don't wait for the subject to be brought up, just tell whats going on for you. Next appointment, all you need to do at the very start is say, I have something important to share with you about issues I am having that I haven't told you before since you didn't ask me anything that would cover it. Or you might be better able to say, I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure if it was important information to you but I am not doing good so thats why I am telling you now. Just do it. While you are seeing your therapist, there are things you can do, reading books meant to help those with depression or anxieties because they are based on treatment using CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy. Read these books to know that there is hope for you for a full recovery to a normal life.
Here is a link to The website of David D. Burns, MD
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
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That is most definitely sounding like anxiety. I have a psychology degree and can't exactly diagnose over the internet, but what you're dealing with sounds like the definition of an anxiety or panic disorder. Both the physical and mental symptoms can be terrifying, but I was so glad to read that you have a therapist. He/She might mention medication to manage your symptoms, but you always have a choice. Please do tell your therapist about your symptoms though, so then you can plan a course of action and talk about it. Best of luck and hope something helps! Update me if you feel like it soon.
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I agree with your belief that you need to tell your therapist about these attacks. You need to tell the therapist for the therapist will not ask you about things not known to him or her. Once you make your therapist aware of these attacks then you can work on getting at the root cause that trigger them.
Depression of any type is a scary thing I know for I have suffered with a more severe form of it. One thing all depression, Clinical Depressions, have in common is they are circular in nature. Anxiety causes depression, depression causes pain and pain causes anxiety then it starts all over again. You need to break the cycle to do that you need to find the root cause. The root cause could be a sound, a smell or anything something so buried you are not consciously aware of it.
You need to trust your therapist and tell him or her everything that is going on in your life. If you are not comfortable with your therapist or do not trust your therapist that you can tell him or her your deepest secrets then find a new therapist. I went through three before I found one I felt comfortable with and it just happened to be a female.
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