You Know You Have Panic Disorder When...

-You look for the nearest escape route everywhere you go.

-You wonder if anyone would notice if you locked yourself in the bathroom at your own party.

-You carry an industrial size bottle of hand sanitizer with you wherever you go.

-You have to mentally prep yourself for three days before going to pick up milk at the grocery store.

-You envy your pets because they don't have to leave the house.

-Immediately upon waking you check to make sure every part of your body feels normal. If your toe hurts you panic for the rest of the day and call in sick.

-You're pretty sure the receptionist at your doctor's office hates you.

-You sit at work and write lists because your anxiety has wreaked havoc on your concentration and you're pretty sure you have ADD now too.

-You leave a cart full of groceries because the check out line is too long.

-You let your hair grow ridiculously long because you're sure awful things will happen if you sit in that chair.

-You suffer through horrible headaches because you're sure that if you take a painkiller it will kill you.

-When you do take a pill, any pill, you cut it in half, and sometimes in quarters, just to make sure you're not taking too much.

-When someone's talking to you, they have no idea that while you're looking at them and nodding, you're not hearing one word they're saying because all you can think of is "how do I get out of here?"

-You take a shower and do your hair because you don't want the paramedics who are going to pick up your dead body to comment that you smell and look awful.

-You read this thread and nod knowingly.

Feel free to add to this list if you like.

LOL... I needed that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the post

Right on! The paramedic thing freaked me out...I do that all the time. haha.

OMG, I am guilty of quite a few of those! I look at my cats every morning and wish I was them because they never have to get out of bed. I've left the store several times because of long lines.

Is That Bad, That I Can Relate To Too Many Of Those. EESSHHH didnt even realize, but i do check all exits when i go sumwhere i havent been. ugh

quote:

Originally posted by feel_no_more:
Is That Bad, That I Can Relate To Too Many Of Those. EESSHHH didnt even realize, but i do check all exits when i go sumwhere i havent been. ugh

I check all exists when I go somewhere I've been a million times before! LOL!

quote:

-You take a shower and do your hair because you don't want the paramedics who are going to pick up your dead body to comment that you smell and look awful.

I used to do that all the time! When my panic disorder first started I would buy all these nice pajamas so just in case I "went crazy" and had to go to the mental ward, I would look nice! My best friend used to ask me why do you always buy pajamas. I said well if I'm gonna be housebound, I may as well look nice!

quote:

-When you do take a pill, any pill, you cut it in half, and sometimes in quarters, just to make sure you're not taking too much.

OK, I just did this last night. I cut the lowest dosage of clonazipam in half and still sat and looked at it contemplatively for a half hour before taking it!

Kat (the crayzi one)

I too am guilty of this.

Also, you know you have panic disorder, when you constantly check your pulse to make sure you are still alive and are not dying from a heart attack.

My name is Nina and I desperate for help I ordered the program and am more than half way through it and have seen no improvment in it I have panic attacks atleast 3 times a day and cannot get on the freeway and feel like I have a mind of a 5 year old because I am so afraid of many things I take many medications such as paxil and xanax nothing is seeming to work for me I am so scared this is affecting my life so much I use to be suck an outgoing person I just want my life back I have lost hope and am giving up on myself I am a college student and been missing alot of school because I hate driving at night and my class does not end till 10:30pm. I have suffered with anxiety for 2 yrs now and now it seems it is just getting worse and worse to were I think I will become homebound its all I think about and all my life has became about...I want to talk to something that Knows what I am feeling I feel like no one knows how I am feeling and I am scared and cry about it all the time...I dont go any place that I have a panic attatck at and as far as freeways, dark streets, elevators, anywhere I feel like I cant escape when I need to I avoid and now It seems like if I go anywhere from 5-10 miles away from my house I panic...Help.!!

Wow. Now I really know that I belong here. The sad thing is that I was too depressed to even get in the shower. Atleast I can now and can quit worrying about when the paramedics do finally get me. Well, hopefully I won't see that happen. Nina, do you have a counselor or someone you can talk to? I am worried about you. Please reach out somewhere for help. I know how hard that can be to do. Don't let this keep you from getting better. I know that if I can you can too. I hit rock bottom in Feb of 06 when I just couldn't get out of bed and work anymore. You are not alone. I have found the program helpful, yet I also know I need medication to normalize me. God bless you and let us know if we can help at all.
Thanks for the post FixingMyBrokenSmile.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jennafromva,

This is so funny! I feel more secure knowing that I'm not the only one who relates to most of those situations!!!

quote:

The sad thing is that I was too depressed to even get in the shower.

Fighting this one right now myself except I am too afraid to get in the shower because I am in a confined space and can't control my environment. It comes and goes and has for 20 years.

Nina there is help for you hon, you sound just like me when I was your age. Don't give up - it is a long road but there is an end and you will make it! I am here for you if you need me, just shoot me an e-mail or IM. All that information is in my profile.

P.S. Not only do I have to know where all the exits are but I can't sit with my back to the way out. We are all special on our own way

quote:

Originally posted by Healing In Process:
I too am guilty of this.

Also, you know you have panic disorder, when you constantly check your pulse to make sure you are still alive and are not dying from a heart attack.

Talking of laughing about your own afflictions, this has actually made me smile now that the event is over.

I am on a Coastguard Response Team and we had to attend a gentleman who was alchoholic, had fallen and was having heart problems. I was fine dealing with the guy, but once I had to leave the scene to arrange a landing site for the rescue helicopter, I found myself panicking and checking my pulse convinced (again) that I was going to have a heart attack.

When I think about the state the guy was in compared to me and the fact that I had just walked quickly down a lane and had the adrenaline of a call-out it's no real surprise that my heart was beating a bit faster than normal!

smiled when i read your posting. Seems I have experienced most of them. Right now I can see myself talking to someone and not knowing a thing they are saying, wonder if they knew I was out in left field.
And Nina I know how you feel. Talk to your dr. about maybe changing meds. I have felt the same way so many times. I found if I could focus on something else (if only for a short time) ie TV, crossword puzzle, my children, anything to distract my thoughts I would actually get to feeling a little bit better. Stick with the program, it will slowly sink in.
Take care, and I will be praying for you.