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Not afraid but still experience panic

Q. I am a 27-year old woman and I was diagnosed with Anxiety/ Panic attacks three days ago. I am currently taking Xanax .25mg. Is this dosage addictive? I have been reading a lot of the questions and answers on your web site. I don't have the same problems that most of the people that I read about. I can't think of anything that I am afraid of doing. I don't feel stressed out, but I am having Anxiety attack. Is that normal for people suffering from Anxiety/Panic attacks not to have phobias?

I don't know what brings the attacks on, but when I get them they last for about a week or two. I am always out of breath. I feel weak and dizzy. Also, my stomach hurts so badly it is hard for me to eat.

I am a happy person. I don't let things worry me, but I am starting to become very sad and my body is tired of fighting. I am not suicidal but I am tired of the battle that I am going through in my mind. The hardest part is not knowing what is causing this. Please help me find the right doctors to go to so I can get the proper treatment and regain my life back.

A. >I have been reading a lot of the questions and answers on your web site and I don't have the same problems that most of the people that I read about. I can't think of anything that I am afraid of doing.<

This is can be very normal. People who become afraid of doing things and/or avoid situations, places, etc. only do so because they are frightened of having a panic attack and/or are frightened of the symptoms of anxiety. The avoidance behavior is secondary to their anxiety disorder, it is not the cause. This secondary condition is a result of lack of diagnosis or inappropriate treatment and is preventable with early diagnosis and effective treatment.

You are in an ideal position to prevent any such secondary problems. If you can let us know which Country/State/City/Town you live in, we will check our list to see if we can refer you on.

>I don't feel stressed out, but I am having Anxiety attack, is that normal for people suffering from Anxiety/Panic attacks not to have phobias? I don't know what brings the attacks on but when I get them they last for about a week or two. I am always out of breath I feel weak and dizzy. Also, my stomach hurts so badly it is hard for me to eat. <

The attacks are usually triggered by a major life-stress or a build up of stress. It may take up to 12 months following a major life stress for the attacks to manifest. Sometimes they can be triggered by the flu or similar virus. They can also be triggered by marijuana, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, etc.

Although most of us lead successful, happy lives. A very hidden cause of the anxiety disorders can be our overall personality per se. As a group of people, many of us need to be all things to all people. This means we have 'turned off' who we could be and have become who we think we should be. And in being who we think we should be, we unknowingly betray and invalidate ourselves on a daily basis. And one day the stress of this triggers the attacks and it all begins.

The spontaneous panic attack can also be as a result of dissociation. Many of us have had the ability to dissociate, (that is the ability to spontaneously induce a trance state / an altered state of consciousness,) since childhood. We lose this ability, or forget we have this ability, as we grow into adulthood. Then, in times of stress, especially if we are not eating properly and/or getting enough sleep, the ability is triggered. Or this ability can be triggered by marijuana, etc.

When we don't understand what is happening to us, we do fear it, panic and then become anxious--sometimes 24-hours a day. This, in turn, holds us in these states and makes us more vulnerable and around-and-around we go.

One of the most common ways we self-induce these states is by staring. Check and see how much you stare. At the computer, a book, TV, driving at the road ahead, traffic light etc. The research shows we can induce these states within a split second.

The secret of recovery for both the dissociative type of attack, and the other types of attacks, is to lose our fear of what is happening to us. When we understand what is happening and how it is happening, we can see why there is nothing to fear. The more we worry, and the more we fight the experience, the worse we get. To reach this stage of recovery means we need to be aware of why they are occurring, learning not to buy into the anxious/worry thoughts and learning to let them happen, ie, by not fighting them.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most effective therapy and we will endeavor to refer you on...see above.

If you are interested in the dissociative type attacks we have more information about dissociation on our website under 'Dissociation' and in our Question and Answer page under 'D'.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further assistance to you.

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