posted June 01, 2003 03:05 AM           

My Advice:

- Check with your doctor to make sure what you are feeling is just 'nerves'.This will give you peace of mind as well as rule anything else out. If he wants to prescribe medication then do your research and make sure you keep this under the strict control of your doctor. They do help however, you can get over this without them.

- Understand what is actually happening to your body. (see next post)

- Look at your diet and cut out caffeine, alcohol, drugs and any other stimulants. Make sure you get enough nourishment. At one stage I could only eat soft foods for fear of choking. I just mashed it all up!!

- Exercise helps to relieve the built up muscle tension in your body. Stretching, yoga, walking (if your not agoraphobic!!) and anything else that gets you moving.

- Don't be afraid to talk to people about what you are going through. They may not understand but it is a relief to be able to stop making up excuses eg. 'I can't come out tonight as I have a migrane'. The big suprise is what true friends will open up and tell you about their experiences!!

- Read books, look up internet sites and find a good councellor to talk to.

Lousie Hayes affirmations are great!! Try 'triumph over fear' by Jerilyn Ross, 'I'd rather laugh' by Linda Richman, 'Living with it' by Bev Aisbett, 'The anxiety and phobia workbook' Edmund J Bourne. Or for something old fashioned that helped get me back on track and my personal favorite, 'self help for your nerves' by Dr Claire Weekes. This is the book I would give to someone first and foremost.

I know sometimes it can be hard to actually sit and read but when you know it will help your nervous suffering, then you are able to do it.

posted June 01, 2003 03:08 AM           

Our nervous system consists of two divisions: voluntary and involuntary nerves.

Voluntary

With voluntary nerves, we move our muscles more or less as we wish. The voluntary nerves are under our direct command.

Involuntary

These nerves, with the help of our glands, control the functioning of our organs: heart, lungs, bowels, saliva, sweat etc. Unlike the voluntary nerves they, with a few exceptions are not under our direct control. They respond to and register our moods; for example, when afraid, our cheeks may go red, our heart race, blood pressure rises and our hands may sweat. We don’t consciously do this and we have no power to stop these reactions other than to change our mood.

The involuntary nervous system consists of two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. In a peaceful body these two hold each other in check. However, when under stress (eg. When we become excited, angry, afraid) one division dominates the other. In most people the sympathetic division dominates the parasympathetic. These are the people whose heart races, blood pressure rises and so on. This is called the flight or fight response. Occasionally, under stress, parasympathetic nerves dominate: pulse rate decreases, blood pressure falls.

Sympathetic nerves are activated by hormones, principally adrenalin, the best known and perhaps prime mover of all hormones released by sympathetic nerves.

When you do become stressed, afraid, anxious, you become ‘sensitised’. A sensitised person under stress, as well as feeling his heart beating unusually quickly, may feel it ‘thump’, ‘miss beats’: he may have attacks of palpitation, feel his body vibrating, feel tremor, muscle jerks, muscle weakness, ringing in the limbs, churning stomach, light headedness and so on. Above all, a spasm of fear may be felt as a flash of panic. These symptoms can be so upsetting and bewildering that the sufferer may become more afraid of them than the cause of their original stress. When you begin to fear having these sensations, you release more adrenalin (and other stress hormones) and also further intensify the symptoms you dread, which themselves are the symptoms of stress.

Thus, we get into the fear-adrenalin-fear cycle and can develop agoraphobia, avoidance, social anxiety and further panic attacks.

(Ref: Complete self-help for your nerves, Dr. Claire Weekes)

posted June 02, 2003 02:32 AM         

YES RubyRedRam! GoGoGo!

posted June 02, 2003 04:17 AM           

Yes Mazz, the fear of our symptoms... If we had our first panic attack and it didn't scare us then we wouldn't have this problem!! However, we beocme so frightend of what has happend that we end up dreading another attack, which causes stress, which causes our bodies to release adrenaline, which makes our bodies react and panic!! That's why meditation and relaxation are a big part of recovery.

Some info about muscles:

Resting muscles are usually in a condition called 'tone', which is a state balanced between relaxation and contraction; in this way, they are kept ready for use. Tone is maintained by reflex nervous arcs; for example when you cross your legs at the knees and tap the crossing leg, just below the kneecap, it jerks. You couldn't stop this because this action is a reflex. Your leg could jerk that way all day without becoming tired. Reflex action is not tiring. However, proloned tension in muscles upsets tone (the balance between relaxation and contraction) and also allows the chemicals of fatigue to accumulate. So, aching begins.

This is perhaps the main reason why nervously ill people so often complain of aching legs, back, neck, arms etc.

(Ref: Complete self-help for your nerves, Dr. Claire Weekes)

I try to do checks on my body during the day and before I fall to sleep, whether I'm in the bath or stacking wood. I stop and start with my toes, ankles, legs, lower body, upper body, arms, neck then face and head. I make sure I relax and losen each part as I go along to try and maintain a lose/relaxed body and not tension/stiffness.

posted July 28, 2003 03:44 PM         

You guys help me too!!

RRR Thanks for posting this very personal issue!