1. Welcome to NoFap! We have disabled new forum accounts from being registered for the time being. In the meantime, you can join our weekly accountability groups.
    Dismiss Notice

Anxiety/Panic Withdrawal Thread

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by SteveMquaid, Apr 16, 2018.

  1. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    It's about deep breathing. Breathing from the abdomen, NOT the upper chest. Upper chest shallow breathing happens when we are stressed/anxious/in fight or flight mode. Look up how to deep breathe from the abdomen. Yawning is the body trying to get more O2 to help calm down. You can accomplish that job of helping to calm yourself by deep breathing
     
    Gota likes this.
  2. SteveMquaid

    SteveMquaid Fapstronaut

    52
    153
    33
    So my therapist tight me about mindful breathing. It’s almost like meditation but you can do it anywhere. You have to breathe deeply from your abdomen through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Focus on your breathing. Tell yourself “Breathing in, I know that I’m breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I’m breathing out.”
     
    Gota and Mirach like this.
  3. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    Exactly. Check out "buddhanet audio meditation", too
     
    SteveMquaid likes this.
  4. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    Slept like crap again but no anxiety attack for nearly a week. Still waiting on weighted blanket. I'm hoping it helps with the insomnia.
     
    SteveMquaid likes this.
  5. SteveMquaid

    SteveMquaid Fapstronaut

    52
    153
    33
    Keep staying strong! My sleep schedule has been shitty lately also but trying to get exercise during the day usually helps a bit
     
  6. Pastoress

    Pastoress Fapstronaut

    So so glad to see this forum. I am overwhelmed. It seems I can feel well and enjoy myself even, when I am in social settings. I get anxiety sometimes, but if I feel relatively safe then I enjoy being social.

    I have been wanting to withdraw and to isolate (and have been spending time alone, not sure whether to label it good time alone or negative isolation).

    Life feels so overwhelming these days. It seems all I can do is dream about the possibilities for my future, rather than deal with the cold and hard facts that I cannot keep my present reality going. I wish I could deal with everything and not feel so emotionally down about it all. Maybe I just don’t want to grief my losses.

    I am frustrated. Vocationally and within my family circumstances. I don’t like what I can’t change, have a hard time working on what I can, and the lines between the two are so blurred. It’s just too painful and yet why don’t I give myself the grace to accept myself for needing so much extra re-cooperation time?
     
    HopeFaith and n0bdy like this.
  7. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    It sloely, and I mean, SLOOOWLY, gets better. The best advice I can give is to take the long view. Picture yourself a year from now, and where you want to be. Keep a journal. I can't say it enough. I have read studies that say HANDwriting a journal, right before bed. I look back at what I wrote a couple of months ago and there's more progress than it feels like. Don't give up. My motto, (others have seen it before), "One hour at a time, one day at a time". Sometimes I have to just force myself through the day. Everyone here is great, lean on us, as we lean on each other. It helps.

    SteveM, got my weighted blanket today. 25lbs. Cross your fingers, I hope it works. ZERO ANXIETY today. It feels awesome, no tight chest or anything. I look back 2.5 weeks and DAMN I was hating life. Thanks so much to you, Gota and ShotD, and the rest. You guys got me through it. Just back to the funky sleep. I'll take it!
     
  8. Pastoress

    Pastoress Fapstronaut

    Thanks.

    I stopped doing much handwriting when I switched to a smartphone, but occasionally will go back to paper. I see that I have been on an incredible path away from the hurts and neglects of my childhood and to a better adulthood. These past couple weeks have been rough. Idk how much of it has to do with withdrawal and how much with life circumstances. I received vocational news that is very unsettling to me. I’m coming up on a year after my Dad’s passing. And my mom’s cancer is making it progressively harder for her. I don’t know how long she has left. I am feeling emotionally and financially and spiritually challenged.
     
  9. SteveMquaid

    SteveMquaid Fapstronaut

    52
    153
    33
    Glad to hear it man! Hope it works as well for you as it did for me! If you have a fan I suggest running it at night if you’re a warm sleeper.
     
  10. SteveMquaid

    SteveMquaid Fapstronaut

    52
    153
    33
    Welcome to the thread!! And as Legion has explained, your withdrawal symptoms will get better slowly day by day. The best way to describe it, at least for me, is that there was no times before nofap that I felt “normal”. Since I started rebooting I’d notice short periods of time that I’d feel “normal”. And those periods of time are gradually getting longer. Hope this helps!
     
    HopeFaith likes this.
  11. TheTruthIsHidden

    TheTruthIsHidden Fapstronaut

    19
    20
    3
    I recommend going to the doctor and getting your blood tested for any nutrient defincies as that could be a cause also food allergies such as gluten and the most obvious avoiding masturbation as semen contains vital nutrient that is good for your mental wellbeing. Cleansing your gut taking a good probiotics eating healthy and taking a high quality B-12 will defiantly help yall
     
    HopeFaith likes this.
  12. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    True that TheTruth.

    Pastoress...Once you're sure it's not a true illness or deficiency...

    Handwriting before bed gets you:
    A. Away from a screen (try to stay away from anything electronic right before bed)
    B. The hand-brain connection is a neural pathway you don't have with electronics which is why handwriting is recommended
    C. Is much more tactile

    I lost my entire family in the last few years from cancer, and a friend to a heart defect/attack and another to suicide. Loss sucks. It piles even more crap on top of our already stressful lives. Work on the breathing exercises we are talking about, and try to work on creating calm in your head. Withdrawals suck, and the world and life don't wait for us to get better. It's hard, but it will be worth it.

    Look up "dopamine withdrawals" and you'll find an exhaustive group of references to symptoms etc. Sometimes it helps to see things listed out so you can say, "oh, ok, I have that, I'm not alone." I had no idea I was in withdrawals for nearly 3 weeks. I thought I really WAS losing it. Research helps sometimes.
     
    hsb0617 and HopeFaith like this.
  13. Pastoress

    Pastoress Fapstronaut

    @SteveMquaid What I would like to have as my baseline "normal," is something that has come and gone very fleetingly in the past few years. If I never go back to my baseline of my childhood (almost no feeling and almost no self-protection) that would be ok for me. You are encouraging. It would be great to be pretty confident about myself and my decisions the majority of the time. I would really like to have a healthy balance of social and quiet times, but being able to weed out what is people-pleasing and isolating. Thank you for your encouragement.

    @TheTruthIsHidden I recently added in B12 and calcium and Vit D to go along with my multivitamin. I hope this helps. I've been drinking 1 or 2 kombuchas a week and have been changing over my Standard American Diet to being more focused on plants and whole grains, seeds, nuts etc. The ironic problem with this is that as I cut out added sugars and highly processed foods, my blood sugar is stabilizing and I don't have the imminent need to EAT NOW every 2 hours. Unfortunately, I am of the ilk that will undereat during times of high stress. I need to be careful to take in enough nutrition. PS I am a rare-breed female on this site. Thank you for your kind advice.

    @Legion7 I am so sorry. That is beyond rough. If it's not too much, what family members did you lose? All of your family is such a big piece of you and a good friend too. It does suck. A lot. Often I find peace through my faith, but that doesn't mean that I am protected from the harsh and dismal feelings that come up. I do agree with you that research can do wonders. Sometimes I wonder why I hesitate so much when it comes to personal healing, but perhaps that is simply the unhealthy making a last ditch effort to hold on. All the best!
     
    HopeFaith likes this.
  14. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    I lost 2 uncles, then my sister, then my father, and mother 9 months after my father. I always try to remember that we all pass, it is the end game for all of us. I forget who said it, but the statement was "the true measure of a man is how many people come to his funeral". In other words, we should try to touch as many lives for the good as we can.
     
    HopeFaith likes this.
  15. Pastoress

    Pastoress Fapstronaut

    That is so true. I don’t think panic and isolation are helping me much in the caring for others department....but I also could stand to realize what I have done and don’t give myself credit for.

    Perhaps a little more compassion and forgiveness are in order.
     
    HopeFaith likes this.
  16. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    That's key. I try to do as much for others as I can. It helps me. I'm actually heading out in a minute to advocate for a friends friend I've never met on car repairs. She was on the verge of being taken advantage of.

    I believe that doing good opens neural pathways that help us heal. Laughter is the best medicine and all that. Take care of yourself, eatinv, exercise etc. and time will slowly take the pain away.
     
    Pastoress likes this.
  17. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    Used the weighted blanket for 2 nights now. I don't know if it helps or not. It gets pretty warm, so am running the A/C a bit lower etc. I'm giving it a week. Then I'll judge. My anxiety is gone, and I don't ever want it back. I'm just back to insomnia, or whatever I should call it. I fall asleep easily, but don't STAY asleep. I was out last night for a record stretch of 4 hours! Then it was hour here, hour there, so I'm sleeping for a total of 6-8, just broken up. I have no idea what to call that.
     
  18. Pastoress

    Pastoress Fapstronaut

    Regarding sleep:

    When I started getting serious about ditching M/PSUB and found nofap.com, I noticed even more reluctance in myself to get ready for and go to bed and to sleep. It finally dawned on me (hahaha) that M was my typical go-to for the times that I couldn’t fall asleep right away. I have begun to sometimes use music intended for deep sleep. Sometimes this helps. Recently I found a meditative video on YouTube. The music and the meditation remind me of compassion and I have fallen asleep very shortly after starting the video. Still sleepy often, but there are plenty of other factors to it. At least it’s nice to know that I can adapt the situation to work through this difficult time.
     
  19. Legion7

    Legion7 Fapstronaut

    147
    100
    28
    It does get better. For each of us differently, and different speed. I'm improving, albeit slowly, I hope you improve quickly. Be strong
     
  20. n0bdy

    n0bdy Fapstronaut

    I'm really glad I found this thread. I went through a really rough withdrawal during my last streak (35 days) and oh my god that was awful. There may also be health problems compounding everything, but I won't know until 2 weeks from now when I get the results of some blood work and other tests. I thought something was seriously wrong (it might still be, but like I said, 2 weeks). I didn't even consider dopamine withdrawal until I relapsed, felt much better, and then came across this webpage from a google search:

    https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/what-does-withdrawal-from-porn-look-like

    The symptoms were so similar, I was really shocked. To be clear, I haven't regularly engaged with pornography for the better part of a year now, however compulsive FMO was still a problem at the time. I really thought I had made more progress than that. Apparently not. Here's the list of symptoms I put together for my log:

    -Anger and irritability (I'm including this because I feel it was the beginning of the downward trend, and became a real problem while trying to deal with later symptoms)
    -Fluctuating appetite (this may be due to yo-yo dieting, but it got pretty bad toward the end)
    -Extreme, unshakeable fatigue to the point of feeling like I was on the verge of passing out
    -Chest pain very similar to Angina Pectoris
    -Severe tension running from my shoulder up my neck to the hinge of my jaw
    -Insomnia (I could only sleep for about 4 hours at a time, then be fully awake and completely exhausted)
    -Vivid (and I'll add extremely violent) dreams
    -Panic attacks (especially when I was trying to sleep and I couldn't get my thoughts to shut up, but I had a really bad one at work too where the tension in my shoulder and neck got so bad, including numbness and tingling along my jaw, I stopped using my left arm for the space of about 5 minutes because the pain was so bad. This was especially scary because it's very close to what you would expect to feel during a heart attack)

    I think, for me at least, it demonstrates that you can remove the stimuli all you want, but if the thought patterns remain the same, then recovery is pretty minimal. I'm digging really deep now to get to my 90 days. I'm not looking at any psubs, and I'm not even allowing myself fantasies. Hopefully the blood work will alert me to any nutrient deficiencies so I can correct those. But the severity of that withdrawal really shook me. At least now I know what to expect.
     
    HopeFaith and Gota like this.

Share This Page