I have been a long time sufferer of general anxiety and panic attacks - about 40 years. It seems that every time I find a strategy to keep the symptoms at bay they find a way to morph into a different form. Currently I take a daily maintenance dose of Fluoxitine (sp) and it works for the most part, except when I am alone with nothing to truly occupy my mind for a petiod if more than a few minutes. That seems to trigger me to notice my breathing and my breathing seems to then decide to go from automatic to manual and then taking the next breath is all I can think about. This happened today at work - I work by myself in an office and things have been very quiet - so I went on line and searched this peculiar symptom and discovered I am not the only one dealing with it. (Of course, while reading about it and now typing this comment the issue has temporarily stopped.) I hate being governed several times a week by this ridiculous problem.

Somatic OCD

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y ago

It sounds like you may have been misdiagnosed for many years, and possibly OCD is the main cause of what you experience. “Strategy to keep symptoms at bay” sounds like you’re describing compulsions, a key to the OCD cycle. I also deal with panic attacks occasionally, and upon being diagnosed with OCD, I realized that my OCD was the cause behind these panic attacks. I would definitely look into seeing an OCD specialist who does ERP, to confirm diagnosis and start treatment if necessary. OCD is treated very differently from generalized anxiety, and if OCD is what you’re dealing with ERP could be very effective for you!

Katawren

Date posted: 2y ago

I do have some family members with more typical OCD symptoms. It is possible you are correct. It was years before anyone had a clue of how to help me at all. In the early years no one seemed interested in helping solve the problem - most doctors just wanted to prescribe pills that made me feel like I was always in a daze. After those experiences I just muddled through on my own winding up in the emergency room with panic attacks every so often when it became overwhelming. Once I turned 50 doctors have always wanted to rule out heart issues before even discussing anything else. So frustrating. I will be happy to investigate about anything that doesn't mean more pillls.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y ago

Yeah it’s definitely frustrating, unfortunately it’s fairly common for people to go misdiagnosed with OCD for many years. I’m 24, and just a few months ago (19 years since symptoms started) I was diagnosed with OCD. Finding a specialist (like ones here on NOCD, or directory on IOCDF) have a lot of experience with treating this disorder, and it can really be effective and helpful to finally get evidence based treatment for what your experiencing. I’m so sorry you’ve dealt with these symptoms so long. Definitely explore this possibility further, and this is a great community so if you have more questions or thoughts don’t hesitate to reach out here!

Iceberg Climber

Date posted: 10w ago

Rolling Anxiety Attacks with OCD?

Does anyone have any experience with this? I wake up early with severe, severe anxiety and nothing seems to help. I try embracing the anxiety, breathing, and exercising. But these things only seem to help a little. Fortunately, I do think the length of the attacks are getting shorter (mainly because I'm still trying my best to live normally in spite of them), but they are still lasting a good 5-6 hours. They are quite debilitating. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with these? I've read much about potential solutions (being okay with the anxiety), but I was looking for some personal antecdotes. Thank you

Ever12345

Date posted: 24d ago

Anyone else…

Does anyone else have panic attacks almost everyday??? If so do you have a strategy to help overcome the panic attacks. I could really use some help 😥

Students with OCD

05Enfj_R

Date posted: 15d ago

Medication (Prozac)

I am having a really hard time with ocd and anxious thoughts and feeling extremely uneasy. I'm home alone today so it's really easy for me to get stuck in my thoughts. I'm on day 4 of prozac. I felt like yesterday I had a period of time of about 30 minutes where I felt really focused and like the anxiety lifted completely. But then an obsession started and it brought me right back down. Hopefully I feel relief again today. I'm going to go get some house work done to take my mind off of things. Does anyone have any first hand experiences with prozac? How long until you felt any relief? Any really bad side effects? Any unforseen pluses? Much appreciated.

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