normally , I am a bit shy... but lately, I have been suffering from anxiety attacks, especially when I think about particular subjects.

Lately, its been work. Since I have been promoted, I have been under a bit of stress, not wanting to mess up. This weekend, I have had two days off, but both of them, I have been having panic/anxiety attacks.. I have tried upping my dose of vitamin D suppliments, however, I am still having the tightness of the chest, and panic attacks when I think about it.

I have tried to preoccupy myself with other things to not think about work, or the issues, etc.. not working,. Tonight , I am running the shift solo, so I am panicking about making mistakes and such... I cant call in. as no one will be there to correct any issues , etc. That is what I am there for.

Say a prayer, if you will, that all will be peaceful and easy.

Thanks.

normally , I am a bit shy... but lately, I have been suffering from anxiety attacks, especially when I think about particular subjects.

Lately, its been work. Since I have been promoted, I have been under a bit of stress, not wanting to mess up. This weekend, I have had two days off, but both of them, I have been having panic/anxiety attacks.. I have tried upping my dose of vitamin D suppliments, however, I am still having the tightness of the chest, and panic attacks when I think about it.

I have tried to preoccupy myself with other things to not think about work, or the issues, etc.. not working,. Tonight , I am running the shift solo, so I am panicking about making mistakes and such... I cant call in. as no one will be there to correct any issues , etc. That is what I am there for.

Say a prayer, if you will, that all will be peaceful and easy.

Thanks.

I won't waste my time saying a prayer, but I will cross my fingers for you and send happy thoughts.

If it helps, I am also quite and shy, I felt the same when I got promoted to run a shift maintenance crew at the local casino. I found all you can do is go by your instincts, your work ethics and knowledge of the position got you the promotion to begin with, if you make the wrong decision, so what, it'll all get sorted out in the end.

BTW, I still do that now. I take on projects that are really outside of my knowledge scope, and  it always works out in the end.

Hi Tanya,

you are poor Squirrel that you have to suffer from panic attacks. As a quite anxious person, I've got my own experience with both free flowing anxiety and panic attacks. So I can relate to your situation.  *hugs*

I've found that overall level of anxiety is connected to our current life situation. My last period of stronger anxiety was connected to my promotion. Suddenly I had to take care not only about my own job, but I had responsibility for other people's work. And as a person that needs to be in control all the time, something like that hit me really hard. Then I had an accident during my martial arts training, got concussion and voila, panic attacks appeared. It happened back in 2014.

What I've learned is that anxiety is not going to kill you. It is just a protective mechanism that is very handy in life threatening situations and it was important during prehistoric times. But it is not so usually useful in current world of social interactions and information overload. Anxiety, as any other emotion, is connected to vegetative (bodily) symptoms, automatic thoughts and specific behaviour - usually constant reassurance or avoidance. All of those modules are interconnected, interact and enhance each other. Activation of any of them can lead to vicious circle and panic attack. 

For example:

Higher level of arousal ->excessive self-monitoring -> detection of otherwise undetected bodily symptom, for example one irregular heartbeat -> automatic thought "something bad is happening to my body -> anxiety -> even hither level of arousal -> ...

My strategy was to limit possible sources of anxious arousal, e.g. stop drinking coffee, stop reading and watching news.

Then I tried to create some set of positive affirmation and begun to repeat them always when I experienced first step in aforementioned vicious circle. It took some time, but I was patient and slowly, my panic attacks begun to diminish.

I believe you'll be fine. Just remember: Panic is not going to kill you. Yes, it is unpleasant, but not dangerous. It is as unpleasant as, for example, cold rain. 

I wish you to have a calm night-shift! *more hugs*

Poly

thank you all for your kind and informative replies.

I do tend to have an avoidance behavior at times when I cannot get my logical mind wrapped around a situation, then I flip to the opposite all consuming and driven mindset... the panic storm has since passed and am no longer in that stage, I will, have to as suggested, reduce the amount of caffeine I consume and try to get more sunshine, I think.


my sleep schedule is still fluctuating but centering more on staying up a bit more when I get home.. and more solid sleep when I do lay down.

its a work in progress, but thanks all.

Rely on your coping mechanisms.  Some read or watch films or meditate or pray.   there's also talk therapy with psychologist or a support group

Anxiety, lack of Vitamin D/E and Estrogen have all been linked together.

Estrogen Dominance can cause Anxiety, as well as a lack of VitD and E.

So id suggest upping your Vitamin D, Adding a little Vitamin E and Reducing anything adding to your blood pressure (Caffiene, Taurine, Ginseng, Roboflavin) 

If it continues, have your levels checked. - Keep Being awesome, Resident Squirrel!

Hi Tanya!,
Glad to hear that your anxiety is subsiding.
I used to have those and my remedy was to look around at all the A%^holes above me a I realized that I am way better than they are, so what am I worrying about.
Take a deep breath, straighten your bra and god for it.
Bobbi