Sunday, March 29, 2009
Rachel's Story - The Monster That is Anxiety
Lately I have a hard time taking a full, complete breath. I feel a bit like I'm suffocating much of the time. I often wake up about an hour after I've gone to bed, panicked, overheated, sweaty and desperate for air and water. Strangely, I feel like I'm drowning. I've fortunately never had the terrifying experience of almost drowning before, but this is what I imagine it must be like. I'm gasping for air, my heart is pounding, I'm convinced I'm going to die. It's like I can't find the surface to take a big gulp of fresh air. At the same time I am excessively thirsty. I run to the kitchen and pour myself a giant glass of fresh, cool water and drink it down. At last, my heart begins to calm. I've been experiencing lots of panic attacks over the past few weeks - no doubt these must be part of that. They are really terrifying. I'm learning to depend a little more on Lorazepam now and things are beginning to straighten themselves out. It's really easy to feel alone with anxiety which is why I wanted to share my story. You are not alone. Please feel free to share your story too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)