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Help! I Feel Terrified and Immobilised

Thanks Jason. I apparantly have perfect hearing in both ears, but the T continues. I definitely have to take something to calm down, at least in the short term. I think the biggest shock is that it comes out of know where without any explanation. I think that is why i immediately thought of Lexapro because i was tapering off and feeling great. I really believe these drug companies make sure it is really hard to get of these powerful drugs. I guess they dont want to lose any of their profits. Sounds sceptical i know but they are in it for the money, not our welfare.
 
Thanks Jason. I apparantly have perfect hearing in both ears, but the T continues. I definitely have to take something to calm down, at least in the short term. I think the biggest shock is that it comes out of know where without any explanation. I think that is why i immediately thought of Lexapro because i was tapering off and feeling great. I really believe these drug companies make sure it is really hard to get of these powerful drugs. I guess they dont want to lose any of their profits. Sounds sceptical i know but they are in it for the money, not our welfare.

Not saying you should do this, but did you slowly get back on Lexapro again?
 
Hi Jason,how are you? The ups and downs are just part of the beast we call T. Some days are just better than others. At the moment, I am having a bad spike in both ears and can't get back to sleep (I've been asleep for only 2.5 hours this night so far). Sometimes these spikes can last for several days... even a week at times and even my white noise app next to my bed doesn't drown it out. I can feel the anxiety and doubt creeping it's ugly head but I'm trying to stay positive. The best solution, at least for me, is to try and reach that point of acceptance and reach that place of where you tell yourself that it's okay and these thing happen. I know it's difficult and I'll pay for it when the sun comes out and I'm mentally and physically exhausted but we must fight on.
I wish you and everyone else a good might/day and hope yours will return to some low baseline.
 
Could somebody give me advise on waking up in the morning. I automatically go into fight or flight mode and cant switch it off. I try positive self talk, deep breathing and nature sounds but my brain is deciding to stay in panic mode. Please help. I am on 10mg Lexapro, could this be helping or hindering me? I cant taper right now as i feel really depressed.
 
Same, wake up every morning with a panic attack. Not much you can do when greeted with a haunting siren every morning.
 
First 3 months was waking up with anxiety, panic, felt terrified, last three waking up bitter but no longer scared, which is an improvement...
It will partly come naturally, but underneath the feeling of anxiety comes a thought, capture it, write it down. There will be hundreds but gradually you'll be able to categorise them (fear of future, anger, regret...). It will help you see that the anxiety is not some physical gut wrenching feeling but simply the product of your thoughts.

Gradually question those thoughts, how accurate are they...many won't and you'll gradually get to the point where the puff is gone (the extreme anxiety) and you can see the tinnitus alone for what it really is. Irritating yes but not dangerous, at least this is my experience. The rest am not sure about as still travelling that road...just 5 months ahead of the game.

Take care, you'll get there...
 
Hi all
First of all Merry Christmas. I know its bad timing but if there is anyone out there that feels like talking, i would appreciate it. You can PM me.
Please help if available. I know im not alone in this but i am just getting worse. Im trying hard to get on top of this but i feel like im going to have a heart attack if i dont break this panic cycle.
 
Try Ativan. It is fast acting, the sublingual type. The other posters have confirmed, myself included, that it may be tough to stop the panic attacks when waking up with loud T in the first few months. ?I myself used mental imagery technique to minimize the fear for this ringing sound. Check my success story for detail of it.

Since when T is new, it is natural to wake up with panic,
try to accept your condition instead of fearing it more. Acceptance is a powerful technique. If needed, use quick acting Ativan to subdue the effect of the panic attack. Panic attack is alarming and uncomfortable with symptoms like hard attack. But it is not going to kill us. I know this beast well. I lived with it for decades. Actually the skills I learn since T, the CBT, mindfulness, etc., have helped reduce the attack. I just learn the paradoxical approach towards panic attack by inviting it, the mindfulness approach by facing and embracing it instead of running away from the symptoms. Don't fear the panic attacks. They will slowly reduce in frequency and intensity. You can say something like 'ok, an attack is on, but I am going to face this sensation instead of running from it. I accept I have a hard time doing that now, but like others say, it will get better. I am not going to provide more fuel to T if I can.' In all the years living with anxiety/panic disorder, I have learned that acceptance and the paradoxical approach to invite the symptoms are very effective ways to reduce the frequency and intensity of the attacks.
 

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