Panic disorder
Does anyone else who struggle with panic disorder and ocd have helpful tips when you have a panic attack and your ocd spikes as well? Cause man it makes my body and mind so tired and everything feels like it’s on fire. ERP with my ocd is bearable but when my ocd triggers a panic attack it feels so bad
I have both ocd and panic disorder and I totally feel you. The best thing to help a panic attack is to know you are safe and that it can’t last, it will go away. What helps me is to take a deep breath and think of things that make me feel calm and safe. Also distraction helps a lot, so for me coloring or playing a game or even telling myself a story and forcing my brain to focus on that and only that. It’s tough because sometimes I don’t know where panic disorder starts and ocd begins, the effects of them are so similar for me
@emma18 I can relate to so much of this, it’s definitely hard to distinguish the cause of it, and I know with panic disorder sometimes there isn’t an actual reason but sometimes my ocd triggers it and other times it triggers my ocd. It’s so hard to navigate sometimes!
Yes I am dealing with the same things right now. My panic attacks and ocd work together. I have a thought and I obsess over it and I panic because I need a compulsion. My compulsions have been to check or reassure myself quite a bit. The exposures are hell at first but that is how you lessen the panic symptoms. When mine is super high, I use ice on my face and I also eat it. The cold helps bring my body to focus on something else. Also going for a walk outside helps me.
@kbittner Ooo definitely gonna try ice! Going outside definitely helps me cause it helps remind me there’s a world outside the panic in my own body if that makes sense! Thank you for sharing ❤️❤️
I used to have a panic disorder and the book “Hope and Help for Your Nerves” by Dr. Claire Weekes changed my life. It took a few months of practice to stop having nightly panic attacks, but eventually they fully stopped. Since being diagnosed with OCD I’ve also started Zoloft and that has taken away the additional panic symptoms entirely for me. I know the struggle of panic disorder. What really helped me was understanding why they were occurring and how to break the cycle. I’m sorry you’re having a tough time, but when you do figure out how to float through them you’re going to feel so accomplished. Sending good vibes your way!
@Phillip91 Thankyou for the book recommendation I definitely will buy that ❤️ breaking the pattern has definitely been hard, I get flare ups every one or two years where they consistently happen for weeks or months on end, I’m trying to get better at not hiding in my room for months when it happens though because it’s only made it worse clearly
You are not alone! Still learning myself
@facingmygiants Thankyou !! Sending you strength and love to get through this as well! ❤️
I need a different perspective on this. I feel like I'm being run through the ringer. I'm doing what I can to avoid reassurance and not avoid triggers but I get triggered every day. I'm trying so hard to sit with the panic and the horror but it's so hard. It gets to the point I feel physically sick. Is there anything that I can do to help with this? I feel alone. I don't feel strong, I feel like a punching bag. Why is this so hard to master? I really want to know it gets easier. I've been suffering from POCD that has evolved and gotten worse and worse over the past eight months that has been torturing me multiple times on a daily basis and I feel like I'm drowning. I want to run away and hide because my life feel like it's seconds from being ruined. Please, please tell me this gets easier. That this ERP therapy will stop making me feel like I'm dying. The small moments of victory feel so brief only for me to get hit with another wave. There is so much uncertainty over such a horrific thing I feel ill. I feel afraid to be alone with my mind. Please if anyone out there can please give me tips on how to handle ERP. One moment I think I'm finally beating this thing and the next it's got me pinned and I'm terrified my life will be ruined. I want my peace back, I need help and I'm doing everything I can to resist compulsions but I feel so alone and dirty and disgusting. Please help me. Thank you for any advice 💕
After an incident last week that led to a panic attack, my OCD has become increasingly focused on the fear of having more. All my thoughts are focused on checking to make sure I’m not exhibiting panic attack symptoms, which leads me to start to panic, which leads to racing thoughts and physical symptoms, which leads to another attack. It’s a vicious cycle of not wanting to have another attack like this, but my brain is so focused on the concept that it’s all-consuming. I’m trying to treat this like any other OCD theme, but it’s just so hard. I don’t know if anyone else has experienced something like this before, but I’d love to hear from anyone willing to share.
TLDR: I’m about to start a competitive medical school program, and need advice for how to navigate panic attacks during ERP, since starting this fall I literally won’t have time to deal with panic attacks during classes and clinicals. I’m going through a bad flare up with OCD, and I also deal with a panic disorder on top of that, and my OCD lovessss my panic disorder lol. Short background; This is my third time dealing with it heavily. My first time I was in middle school. My second time was a bit over a year ago, my first semester in college. It took over my life, and my grades were bad during that time because of it. I learned how to properly use ERP, and actually recovered very well. Unfortunately, at the beginning of spring semester in college this year, I started dealing with intrusive thoughts and OCD again, and had gotten so comfortable not having to use ERP, I let the anxiety take over and developed another OCD spiral. It wasn’t “that bad” at first, but because I neglected ERP and kept doing compulsions, it’s gotten pretty rough. Yesterday I had my first panic attack in a long time, as I was doing ERP and having 10/10 anxiety. Im trying to approach this realistically; since I’ve been doing compulsions for a good while, recovery will also take a while, and if there’s one thing I know, is that it’ll get worse before it gets better. Classes start in a little over a month for me, and I will NOT let OCD take over my life and ruin my grades like it has before. Does anyone have advice for navigating a busy lifestyle while also prioritizing ERP? And any advice for as peacefully as possible going through panic attacks during ERP?
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