When you reach the end of your rope tie a knot and hold on!

It is so frustrating and you always feel like you will never get better. My zoloft was upped last week. At the time I thought I would never feel better but now, a week later, I feel better. Time and getting help changes a lot. There have been times where I felt that I would never feel the same. That I would be unhappy forever. Now, I feel great. I am off next week and spending the whole week with my out of town aunts and mother. We are shopping all week and I am not nervous about it. Before I would have been afraid to go anywhere. You just have to continue to seek help and be patient. Take it easy this weekend.

Hey Jen! I know exactly how you feel! It is so hard having to deal with this every single day and have people around you act like you should "just get over it." My husband is a wonderful man but sometimes he says things like, "you're doing this to yourself" and "just think positive things." I know he is saying these things with good intentions, but they so don't help! It just makes me feel worse because then I think, well, if it's that easy for other people then there must be something wrong with me! If your sister has an attitude about you having to break down once in awhile, then let her. But, don't let her attitude about it bother you! Noone can truly understand this unless they've been through it themselves. Remember, the only person you can control is yourself. What I mean by that is that you absolutely cannot control what other people's reactions will be in any situation. So try to let it go and don't feel in any way responsible or guilty for someone having that kind of reaction to your emotions. I used to let everyone get to me. It got to the point to where if someone was upset about something, it was always my fault and I would get so anxious and feel so guilty. But, I have learned that if someone gets upset, then let them be upset. You've got to take care of yourself first. Do not feel guilty or less than! I printed out info about panic attacks and sat down with my husband and our boys and said "Look, this is what I am going through and sometimes I may seem a little insane but I want you to know it's not because of you, it's because I'm having a hard time with this. I know it's hard to understand why I can't just get over this but I am trying. All I ask is that you be supportive when I need you and if you can't understand then please just pretend to." Having this talk with them really seemed to help. They have stopped trying to make things better and have become more aware of the fact that sometimes I just need to have someone there. Not always, but a lot more than before. Maybe having a similar talk with your sister would help her understand? Hang in there and keep trying! I know we can all do this if we all keep trying! Believe it or not, every time you have a panic attack and you get through it, you are a little bit stronger t

((((Jen)))) Sorry you are having such a rough day. People dont always understand how hard it is to live day to day with panic and anxiety. Dont beat yourself up over it. You are tired and fatigued and I am certain you are sick of living with this all the time. I think going to therapy is an excellent answer and it might really help you. You might also try keeping a journal, it has helped me to see how what I am thinking triggers my feelings of anxiety and panic. There is a way to healing, it is by acceptance and understanding and patience. Learning that you are afraid of your own thoughts and feelings and learning to accept the symptoms and feelings and to keep doing your everyday thing, [i]while accepting[/i]the fearful thoughts and symtoms is the way out. take care

Hi everyone... I just need to vent a little bit. I totally broke down at work today. I started to get really nervous so I took my Valium, and then I decided that I really needed to go home because I felt sick. My sister, who works with me, said how she was so sick of me doing this. I start crying in front of everyone because I feel like this panic thing is controlling my whole life. I'm stuck in this cycle and I feel like I'll never get out. I'm trying SO HARD to beat it. I'm praying, I'm reading books about it, I'm doing all the things I'm supposed to be doing. I think I'm going to start going to therapy again because that's the one thing I haven't really tried since all of this started. I used to see a therapist who helped me so much with my eating disorder, and she specializes in anxiety issues as well so I think I'll go see her again. I wish I had an answer for myself. I have such little hope left that I will ever escape. I'm so afraid. I don't even know if I should ask for anymore help because I feel like I'm trapped forever.