Post: #26

This stuff is real. I had my first one a few months ago and now it's happened three or four times. Thing is, my life is going great, and it's not accompanied by any conscious negative thoughts or depression. My mind "seems" to be fine, but my subconscious and body thinks differently. I wake up drenched in sweat and almost pass out from anxiety. Physical checks are fine, no heart problems. Only change is that I've let my diet slip during the last few months.

Post: #27

Try Acupuncture. I had bad social anxiety and it's gone now, and been over a month - no placebo effect.

Make sure you go to a really Chinese clinic (Chinese receptionists, doctors, etc). They invented this stuff. Avoid modern places. The less professional, the better.

Post: #28

(04-15-2017 12:58 PM)redbeard Wrote:  

(04-12-2017 03:03 PM)Hell_Is_Like_Newark Wrote:  Are 'panic attacks' becoming more common? My wife was complaining multiple women at her work were stricken with panic attacks whilst working under a heavy (but not extreme) work load. All these women afflicted are under 30 years of age.

Overall mental health is on a steady decline.

Destroyed family unit. Lower birth rates. Increased addiction to sugar. Availability of prescription drugs, all the way from painkillers to party drugs like Xanax and molly. People are going crazy.

I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing this. I'm from an enclave of Indian, Asian, and Eastern European immigrants in Northern California. I don't think I grew up around a single person who came from a divorced family. The worst drug anyone was doing was weed (maybe cocaine, and very occasionally at that), and if anyone was depressed, they weren't treating it through aggressive medication. Everyone I know from my hometown is pretty well adjusted and comes from a good background.

Going to Los Angeles was a trip in that regard. A significant portion of the people I've met from LA/the Thousand Oaks area had severely fucked up childhoods. The majority of the people I've met here come from divorced or otherwise destroyed households. My buddy was from Thousand Oaks, he knew a kid who tried committing suicide on the bus by slitting his wrists. Everyone he knew was a cutter, and tons of people were abusing opiates...in HIGH SCHOOL. This guy himself had been an alcoholic since age twelve. Thousand Oaks and certain LA suburbs are pretty wealthy areas too. The stories I heard and the people I met upon moving here were fucked up.

I've traveled in third world countries, and as shitty as living conditions could get there, people actually seemed a lot healthier mentally speaking. In Morocco, for example, everyone I met had giant extended families, huge circles of friends, and an overall good sense of community. Without these things, I think that the mental health of any society is in serious danger. I don't care about money, fitness, travel, or pussy beyond a certain extent. Without a community or family, life seems bleak and impoverished.

I'm not surprised that Americans are going insane. I couldn't imagine life without my family, community, or childhood friends. Millions of people in this country have none of those things. Every time I hear a liberal white girl going on about how she doesn't want kids, I cringe inside.

Post: #29

I also suffer from panic attacks. Sometimes I get them just by going outside. I am quite busy becoming a better version of myself but this disorder is a huge obstacle.

Post: #30

I've suffered from panic attacks for several years, however, I've recently managed to get them under control. The thing I think is most important for anyone trying to get rid of these is sleep. This may seem like obvious advice, but I think it is important to take this advice to heart. Also, to anyone suffering from these I would recommend looking into receiving treatment in CBT(Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). I thought it was pseudoscience the first time I heard about it, but many people have had great experiences with it. CBT involves changing your thoughts in order to change your feelings. Apparently, there is some sort of connection between thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. For many people, an underlying belief will cause them to develop poor thoughts, which affect the way that they feel. It might not be possible to change a belief, especially if that belief is obvious, but you can always change your thoughts. Apparently, this therapy is pretty cheap in Canada and Europe but I'm not positive of all the details.
Whenever I have a panic attack, I also try to imagine that I want the panic attack to happen. This may seem like strange advice, but if you try to encourage the attack to increase and imagine all the worst possible scenarios playing out, the attack will sometimes disappear. It's kind of paradoxical.
If anyone is looking at supplements, the best ones I would recommend are magnesium and chamomile.

Post: #31

You guys should read a book called D.A.R.E..Really on-point. The DARE system did not actually help me but the information about how each part of your body reacts to anxiety and how we falsely imagine the worst case scenarios related to that helped me immensely as every time I feel those symptoms, I'm way more relaxed cause I know exactly what is happening inside my body.

Post: #32

Glad to see this thread has helped others too. I'm pretty much convinced that in my case alcohol was 100 percent to blame.

Post: #33

Healthy lifestyle is #1, but I also must say that positive affirmations and mindset techniques have helped me a ton once I got my health in check.

Here's the "anxiety cheatsheet" that I keep handy, some are memorized for emergencies and others just on paper. It's a collection of mantras, actions, beliefs, and thought patterns that I repeat or remind myself of when I'm feeling anxious:

-Feel the anxiety, accept it, and let it pass. Whatever you do, DON'T FIGHT IT (this is king)
-"It's okay to be anxious" (takes away its power almost instantly. my personal favorite)
-Never look for a cure to anxiety, because as long as you believe you have a disorder, it will never go away
-Immersion kills anxiety (immerse yourself in your environment or task, primarily via observation or action)
-Remind yourself that you don't need to be "alpha", or put on some kind of act
-Failure is GREAT because it means you're living up to your full potential
-Whatever the mind believes will reaffirm itself, so think positively
-Let your emotions flow, identify them, accept them, then react accordingly. Stifling them completely from the get-go is anxiety-inducing and equivalent to going through life half-blind
-What's the worst that could happen in any given social situation or life scenario? Someone gave you a weird look? That's not an immediate physical harm. Forget about it.

I'm sure there are some others but I can't be bothered to pull out my master list at the moment.

Post: #34

I am now starting to deal with this. I just got free from clinical depression and PTSD, due to working in law enforcement for a number of years. Even though I got past this, i'm dealing with the anxiety and panic attacks.

I'm using exercise and healthy lifestyle to deal with the issue.

I've also tried to medicate by meeting random girls off tinder, which probably does not help.

Post: #35

I have had all sorts of problems of this nature and it's a combination of being out of shape in my 40s and tinnitus since I was in college which always maintains elevated stress levels. I hate to say it but my preoccupation with sex and wanting to pull off marathon sessions despite my age is probably wrapped up in its drug-like effect it has to take the edge off of the stress hormones. There's just no way for me to maintain NoFap during dry spells as a result. I'd wind up on some other substance to compensate. Sex is the best legal drug there is, IMHO. It's just too damn hard to procure.

Post: #36

benzodiazepines will make it worst. In fact once i stopped taking that crap, i stop suffering from any type of anxiety !

That shit doesnt make you face it! It numbs you and pushrs it down which gets stronger. Work out what is giving you anxiety and fix it. Sedona Method is a great book on dealing and facing emotional problems.that book changed my life!

The follow ing will give you bad anxiety .
Caffeine
Energy drinks
Smoking
Drinking alcohol
Drugs (legal and illegal)
Junk food
Little sleep

You need to start eating real food, exercise and get enough sleep cause bad habits take more of a toll on your system as you age cause our bodies get weaker!

Post: #37

I recommend doing some Vipassana 10-day meditation courses. Don't do just 1. Do several over the span of a few years and maintain daily practice.

Post: #38

(04-23-2017 03:57 AM)Agastya Wrote:  

(04-15-2017 12:58 PM)redbeard Wrote:  

(04-12-2017 03:03 PM)Hell_Is_Like_Newark Wrote:  Are 'panic attacks' becoming more common? My wife was complaining multiple women at her work were stricken with panic attacks whilst working under a heavy (but not extreme) work load. All these women afflicted are under 30 years of age.

Overall mental health is on a steady decline.

Destroyed family unit. Lower birth rates. Increased addiction to sugar. Availability of prescription drugs, all the way from painkillers to party drugs like Xanax and molly. People are going crazy.

I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing this. I'm from an enclave of Indian, Asian, and Eastern European immigrants in Northern California. I don't think I grew up around a single person who came from a divorced family. The worst drug anyone was doing was weed (maybe cocaine, and very occasionally at that), and if anyone was depressed, they weren't treating it through aggressive medication. Everyone I know from my hometown is pretty well adjusted and comes from a good background.

Going to Los Angeles was a trip in that regard. A significant portion of the people I've met from LA/the Thousand Oaks area had severely fucked up childhoods. The majority of the people I've met here come from divorced or otherwise destroyed households. My buddy was from Thousand Oaks, he knew a kid who tried committing suicide on the bus by slitting his wrists. Everyone he knew was a cutter, and tons of people were abusing opiates...in HIGH SCHOOL. This guy himself had been an alcoholic since age twelve. Thousand Oaks and certain LA suburbs are pretty wealthy areas too. The stories I heard and the people I met upon moving here were fucked up.

I've traveled in third world countries, and as shitty as living conditions could get there, people actually seemed a lot healthier mentally speaking. In Morocco, for example, everyone I met had giant extended families, huge circles of friends, and an overall good sense of community. Without these things, I think that the mental health of any society is in serious danger. I don't care about money, fitness, travel, or pussy beyond a certain extent. Without a community or family, life seems bleak and impoverished.

I'm not surprised that Americans are going insane. I couldn't imagine life without my family, community, or childhood friends. Millions of people in this country have none of those things. Every time I hear a liberal white girl going on about how she doesn't want kids, I cringe inside.

There is something in the water in LA, I swear. That place is just poison, no matter what industry you’re in. The mental problems are triple for those in “the industry”, too.

The suburbs are almost worse because they’re so infiltrated with the Hollywood thinking whilst also trying to keep some sembalance of a normal life. The result is lots of people being completely mentally unstable.

Source: most girls in LA I dated...

Post: #39

(12-09-2017 10:40 PM)Only8sandup Wrote:  I recommend doing some Vipassana 10-day meditation courses. Don't do just 1. Do several over the span of a few years and maintain daily practice.

A friend of mine did this a few years back and has been encouraging me to look into it.

Do you really not speak for 10 days?

Is it really free? (+ costs to get to the city)

Does it make a difference where you go, aka are certain "instructors" better?

Could you describe the experience/what you got out of it briefly if you have the time?

Gracias!

Post: #40

(12-10-2017 06:48 AM)LaFleur Wrote:  

(12-09-2017 10:40 PM)Only8sandup Wrote:  I recommend doing some Vipassana 10-day meditation courses. Don't do just 1. Do several over the span of a few years and maintain daily practice.

A friend of mine did this a few years back and has been encouraging me to look into it.

Do you really not speak for 10 days?

Is it really free? (+ costs to get to the city)

Does it make a difference where you go, aka are certain "instructors" better?

Could you describe the experience/what you got out of it briefly if you have the time?

Gracias!

It's worth it.

Totally free + costs of getting there.

As far as I know the teaching is standardized across venues - most of the course is instructed through pre-recorded audio-tapes, and there is a teacher there to answer any questions, check your progress, and ensure you're performing the technique properly.

They say it's non-secular, but I felt that was not really true.
There's a bit of chanting in some of the recordings which annoyed me a bit, but I just tuned it out and focused on the technique they were trying to teach.

I did one just outside of Cape Town, South Africa, and it was an awesome experience.

We were about 70 people split male and female. Handed in all our belongings, and agreed to silence for the 10 days. Though you still are around other guys and make the odd eye contact, no one speaks to one another.

First thing that happens, is that time slows the fuck down.

Day one I found myself pacing quickly through my breakfast/lunch/dinner, seemingly rushing to do something, but by day 3 I found myself taking 15-20 minutes to eat some bread/veg/cereal.

You realize there is no where to rush to. No where to be. No meetings, people to see... and time does not speed up. It just paces along as it's own time.

You get a good perspective into how your mind jumps almost unconsciously from thought to thought - a lot of surface level stuff too, like what you should have said in some moment, what not to forget on your way out the house next Monday morning.

By day 3/4 ALL OF THAT GOES AWAY.

By now, you feel viscerally in the moment. You walk slow. Breathe deeper. Heightened senses, you see the veins on the leave, patterns of the wood trees, and sharp noises of nature that are always there.

Here your mind starts going deeper... It starts paging back deep into your memories, pulling up things you've long forgotten, often taking to a theme.

For me personally, my mind pulled up every-single-last-girl that I ever liked, since I was 6/7 years old to present. Every. single. one. It was kind shocking as every detail about my relationships and interactions was relived through before my eyes, crystal. fucking. clear.

As the days progressed, it got deeper, and eventually I was reliving some treasured moments with my father, that I was too young to really easily-recall and appreciate.

Some of those moments had me in tears, and am wholeheartedly grateful to have experienced them again.

After the seemingly deep stuff (day 7/8/9), I found my thoughts take an extremely upbeat, creative, and enthusiastic turn. Tons of ideas on projects, businesses I can start, people I want to speak to, share stories with, reconnect with. Bulletproof aspiration right here.

As everything seemed so promising, and fruitful, it egged on a conviction to call it quits, and go home to put it all into practice. I ended up staying since I was there for 7 days already. Glad I did.

After the 10 days. It was borderline euphoria speaking to others again.
Joyous laughter and enthusiasm as everyone trades stories of their experiences (which you'll see have similar themes to them as well).

10/10 doing it again next year.

https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index has more info.

Cheers.

Post: #41

(08-22-2016 03:15 PM)Rhyme or Reason Wrote:  For those that deal with this, is there a drug-free solution? Maybe cutting out caffeine or something?

Stay away from all porn and do not masturbate
Ever.


Watch what happens after 10 days.

Post: #42

Men: What would be a helpful way to get out some panic attack help. Through posts? 1 on 1 through PM? Skype? We can do some kind of group thing.

Post: #43

Read this old thread and wanted to chime in. Very recently, I have theorized I may possibly have a decade of unresolved anxiety issues that didn't really click before. I'm one of those guys that's a heavy binge drinker and arguably used it as self-medication for at least 3-4 years. Well, there's been more harm than good coming out of that, and I nearly lost my life being reckless with self-destructive anxiety and alcohol habits. Also used to use weed and cigarettes to self medicate but I got off those with much less damage.

High school and my first two jobs were high anxiety places for me because I'm one of those guys that grew up a socially awkward introvert and rejected the gossip culture that each had. Seriously, I wanted nothing to do with it and I legit got major anxiety attacks just being around groups of these people who had nothing better to do than gang up and talk shit about their co-workers and classmates. This resulted in me ostracizing myself from 90% of my graduating class (hung on to very close friends 6 years later though) and quitting one of my jobs described above after two days. Also, sharing a common hall in college my first year wasn't great either since half of that floor were friends (no cute girls though) and I spent a lot of time out and always passed by them hanging out going back to my room. In case you can't tell, I'm one of those guys that like my privacy in the place I live.

Now, I pretty much work individually so that's not really an issue anymore. However, I have never really felt comfortable in my home country environment anxiety wise whereas when I was in the Philippines, it was like almost all of my usual anxiety just went away. In other places I travel, anxiety is also less prevalent. It's not just social anxiety but also long-term anxiety worrying about the future and repeating some past mistakes. It's mentally exhausting, not gonna lie, which is part of why I drank a fair amount at one point. It gave me a chance to relax, I just rarely turned the off switch on drinking once I started.

Anyway, now I'm at a point where I'm diving into this and looking to address it without using crutches. I'm honestly just kind of throwing my arms up and saying "fuck it, I don't know what else to do." Hoping to figure out something there.

Ironically, sex is one of my best healthy outlets from anxiety though. I feel freedom every time I do it with natural exhilarating passion. But, I'm not one of those guys that has a new girl every week lol, but I've certainly had my experiences. Also, walking for miles has been great for me too. I love it and I feel like I can just relax every time I do it. Also love driving on roadtrips too for releasing stress.

But, my overall goal is to keep all temptations from alcohol, weed, and sex in moderation long-term and have a healthier outer and inner mentality. I've definitely made strides since high school, college, and my first job, but more needs to be done.