Panic

[[gu...]]

Right out of nowhere such bad panic and despair… Overwhelming

[[Pa...]]

What are you doing for distraction, what do you do to take your mind off of your symptoms?

[[Ja...]]

Especially in the middle of the shopping trip etc,.do you find it can take a good whip to shake if the feeling after it like a few hour,.I’ve got to lay down and close my eyes to shake it of

[[gu...]]

Pamster, my symptoms are so extreme and pervasive much of the time. It’s really hard to take my mind off of them. I walk my dog, knit, even work… But I’m stuck in a very intense unrelenting setback.

[[Pa...]]

28 minutes ago, [[g...] said:

Pamster, my symptoms are so extreme and pervasive much of the time. It’s really hard to take my mind off of them. I walk my dog, knit, even work… But I’m stuck in a very intense unrelenting setback.

I know what you mean, when they're so overwhelming, its impossible to distract.  I'm glad to see you can walk your dog and some other activities, but understand your symptoms are always with you.  The only time I was able to completely distract from mine was when I encountered a little dog in heavy traffic and I risked life and limb to keep it from getting hit, that worked for me but you can't manufacture events like that every day. 

[[in...]]

Hey people! I'm in a similar situation.

I quit my meds 20 days ago. I've had cortisol rushes in the morning for 15 out of those 20 days. I find it hard to distract myself from this whole situation. It's mostly in my head. All I can think about is: "When will I be able to fully relax?" not having to think about WD, waves, windows and so forth.

I just can't distract myself from the thoughts of "when will I be ok again?".

[[gu...]]

Pamster, my biggest problem is how long this horrible wave is lasting. It will be six months very soon. That plus the fact that I am so ridiculously far out at 7 1/2 years. It is extremely difficult not to think of myself, as the exception, the person who is not going to recover. and I’ve had a shut down my life in so many ways, my whole life revolves around my symptoms now. 

[[jo...]]

7 hours ago, [[i...] said:

Hey people! I'm in a similar situation.

I quit my meds 20 days ago. I've had cortisol rushes in the morning for 15 out of those 20 days. I find it hard to distract myself from this whole situation. It's mostly in my head. All I can think about is: "When will I be able to fully relax?" not having to think about WD, waves, windows and so forth.

I just can't distract myself from the thoughts of "when will I be ok again?".

This is a common way to feel, and I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry. You are still early on and might yet escape a longer withdrawl.

If you do go into the windows and waves pattern of recovery the waves can be very challanging. I am learning that now. but they will be broken up by periods of releif in which you will almost feel like yourself. Maybe even totally like yourself sometimes.

This makes it difficult to accept when you are struck by a nasty wave. You will feel very disshartened and negative, consumed by thoughts of "is this never going to end" etc.

But they do, until eventually they will go away alltogether. Hopefully you won't have to go through all that and you will recover sooner rather than later. It can happen!

We have to try our best in the most difficult moments to hang on to the mantra of, these are temporary symptoms, and they are going to go away. I am having very difficult moments to as is everyone on here, so your far from alone.

[[jo...]]

Just now, [[j...] said:

This is a common way to feel, and I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry. You are still early on and might yet escape a longer withdrawl.

If you do go into the windows and waves pattern of recovery the waves can be very challanging. I am learning that now. but they will be broken up by periods of releif in which you will almost feel like yourself. Maybe even totally like yourself sometimes.

This makes it difficult to accept when you are struck by a nasty wave. You will feel very disshartened and negative, consumed by thoughts of "is this never going to end" etc.

But they do, until eventually they will go away alltogether. Hopefully you won't have to go through all that and you will recover sooner rather than later. It can happen!

We have to try our best in the most difficult moments to hang on to the mantra of, these are temporary symptoms, and they are going to go away. I am having very difficult moments to as is everyone on here, so your far from alone.

Oh, and the cortisol rushes are horrible I agree. to wake up like that is probably one of the worst ways to start a day imaginable. I get them off and on and can't wait to see the back of them. It's like your body waking you up and saying "Good morning, your about to have a really bad day" F'ing cruel.

[[in...]]

14 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

This is a common way to feel, and I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry. You are still early on and might yet escape a longer withdrawl.

If you do go into the windows and waves pattern of recovery the waves can be very challanging. I am learning that now. but they will be broken up by periods of releif in which you will almost feel like yourself. Maybe even totally like yourself sometimes.

This makes it difficult to accept when you are struck by a nasty wave. You will feel very disshartened and negative, consumed by thoughts of "is this never going to end" etc.

But they do, until eventually they will go away alltogether. Hopefully you won't have to go through all that and you will recover sooner rather than later. It can happen!

We have to try our best in the most difficult moments to hang on to the mantra of, these are temporary symptoms, and they are going to go away. I am having very difficult moments to as is everyone on here, so your far from alone.

Thank you! Yeah it's important to stay grounded reminding yourself about "this is exactly what it's supposed to be!".

I'm used to anxiety anyway so it's nothing new to me. If it would ever ease up I would just be happy in that moment I guess!

[[in...]]

17 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

Oh, and the cortisol rushes are horrible I agree. to wake up like that is probably one of the worst ways to start a day imaginable. I get them off and on and can't wait to see the back of them. It's like your body waking you up and saying "Good morning, your about to have a really bad day" F'ing cruel.

It seems like the cortisol in the morning is gone. Now I get them before social interactions instead! It's driving me crazy! I don't want people to think I'm nuts haha! 🙃

[[jo...]]

If your even having social interactions at this time in your recovery your doing better than most

[[Ya...]]

On 27/06/2024 at 16:39, [[g...] said:

Pamster, my biggest problem is how long this horrible wave is lasting. It will be six months very soon. That plus the fact that I am so ridiculously far out at 7 1/2 years. It is extremely difficult not to think of myself, as the exception, the person who is not going to recover. and I’ve had a shut down my life in so many ways, my whole life revolves around my symptoms now. 

I feel you gutsy as Im still in this 7 month setback, prior to that I felt really well for 6 month . Now im 3 years of benzo. That good news to you is that u did feel long windows and stretches of feeling normal this means that you will get back to that no doubt. 

I guess we will remain sensitive for a while, and always need to reassure ourselves that we haven't developed new disorders and its all just a setback. I keep reminding myself although sometimes i lose the ability to distinguish the difference. 

I calm down when I ask myself , now that im suffering what options do I have? 

Option 1- Ride it out and search for techniques to mild symptoms down . Torturous but a risk free option. 

Option 2- Go back to any psychoactive drug help and that for me is a big NONO  , thats a risk I cannot tolerate its consequence. 

There are no other options  ! 

I realise many people suffer from many conditions all over the world and some are terminal, at least we know ours is not terminal and will pass eventually . Not undermining any suffering, i guess I'm just reassuring myself