new found anxiety/panic attacks after recent withdrawal from xanax

[[Br...]]

I have been off completely from xanax since June 11, 2011 after tapering from 1 mg xr.  I am now having these episodes of heart racing, throat feeling heavy and swollen and I feel like I am having a panic attack (more physical feelings) but I am not nervous or anxious about anything.  My throat feels so tight that I need to go to the ER.  I remind myself that I am "fine"  What can I do when I am overcome with these physical symptoms?  It happens over and over again and through the night.  Two days ago I was not having these physical symptoms.  I never know how I am going to feel.  Somedays I have a horrible headache and other days I don't.  Some days I have a hard time with "out of body" symptoms or a "foggy brain"  Everyday is a different day. 

[[Pa...]]

It's horribly frustrating and disheartening to never know how we're going to feel from one minute to the next, we're kept off balance and miserable.  Just try to take deep calming breaths and do self talk like you're doing, these are simply symptoms of your brain trying to get normal function back, what you're feeling are the mistakes it's making.

 

Have you looked at chapter 3 of the Ashton manual lately, it really helped me to see the symptoms in black and white and to read why I was feeling them. http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

[[Be...]]

I think that in normal anxiety, it starts with how we think about something, even if it's just for an instant, and then turns into physical feelings. But with benzo withdrawal anxiety, it is the other way around:  We get all these physical sensations and have to guard against thinking of them as anything to worry about but rather that they are just to be accepted and endured so as not to make them worse.  I found controlled belly breathing very helpful when I felt anxious and also used many of the tips and techniques I found on the Anxiety board.  Here is a link to one of my favorite threads on the subject:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13001.msg180729#msg180729