If the medication you were on worked well, and didn’t have any serious side effects, you might do well to consider going back on it for a bit. When I was in a similar situation, I initially didn’t want to go back on my medication, despite the fact that it worked fine… I think I was afraid to admit that I really was sick again, or perhaps a bit ashamed that my apparent recovery had not been complete. The medicene reminded me of the worse period of my adult life, and I never wanted to go back there. My hesitation to visit a doctor allowed my disease to get worse, until eventually I realized how stubborn I was being and went back on the pills.
Of course, if your medication didn’t work well or had bad side effects, you may do well to avoid it. I don’t know much about anxiety attacks; will episodes of anxiety-attack-having typically last a short while and then go away? If so, you may be able to last out this episode without medication. On the other hand, if this condition seems likely to last a long time unless treated, I’d consult a doctor soon.
Don’t worry that you are sliding back to the place you were a year ago. You’re not. You know much more about yourself and about this condition than you did back then. Don’t worry that you’re having a few symptoms… as I said, I don’t know much about anxiety attacks, but it seems to me that needless worrying couldn’t possibly help the problem. At the very least, the fact that you’ve had attacks recently doesn’t mean that your condition is going to come back in full force. The anxiety could be a one time thing, or perhaps it’s your body’s way of reacting to some recent change in your life. It doesn’t mean that this condition is going to be with you forever.
If you have lingering doubts or questions you want answered, I would suggest that you schedule an appointment with a doctor you trust. Tell the doctor any concerns you have about going back on medication. They will probably be able to tell you whether or not this is likely to clear up on its own, or if some type of intervention is needed.
Also, the chocolate thing sounds good. As does the doing relaxing stuff thing.
Please keep us informed as to how you’re doing. And don’t worry, you don’t sound crazy. Although I think that I might… I’ve been baking my head in a kindergarden all day. I hope that at least some of what I’ve written has been good advice.
Astroboy- I have to say that you were dead wrong when you said that this problem isn’t “real”. Neurochemical disorders are real diseases. Many of them can’t be adequately treated without medicene. Saying that they aren’t real tends to either put blame on the patient (i.e., she’s faking it, or the classically Freudian she wants to be sick), or to put undue pressure on the patient (i.e., she might think that she’s failed, or that she’s on a downward spiral, if she cannot control this disorder through thought alone). None of these things are true, and more importantly none of them are helpful.
ummm… Now that I reread your post, I think my brain may be more baked than I thought it was. You were talking about her panic, not her condition… The panic that she’s feeling isn’t real. It’s a physiological reaction. Got your point. That’s true… good thing to remember in the middle of an attack…
Good advice, Astroboy. I’m gonna go soak my head now. It was 35C in Ulsan today! My rabbit’s breath smells like rabbit food.