Panic Attacks At Dusk..anything I Can Do?

[Gs172003]

If all you're dealing with is the anxiety at certain times then no...it's not PTSD. I have to disagree with the haunted house scenario. People KNOW they are going there to be scared. Most people don't know a burgler is going to show up in their house and nobody knows their intention.

 

[Deleted member 37605]

Reading the article you highlighted, it outlines that ASD can last longer than 1 month. My Psychologist said that for a diagnosis of PTSD, the condition must last for at least 6 months.

I don't accept that what I have is simply a "phobia" for the following reasons. First, the fear of darkness/night time did not appear until after other symptoms had developed. Seems to me to be unlikely that I would get lightheaded and dizzy with fatigue during the day and not experience any additional problems at night if I simply had a phobia. Second, though my most intense anxiety happened during the early evening, my least anxious moments generally came late at night (around 11pm-2am). For it to be a phobia I think it would make more sense for me to feel fine during the day and badly all night long.

I also had other symptoms of PTSD. I was very Jumpy. Little things startled me. I was irritable for no good reason. I also had this feeling at night, that if I looked out a window, an intruder would appear. I was paranoid and I thought ordinary people were trying to hurt me. All of this is pretty classic signs of PTSD from what I read.

I have never been victimized by Physical or Sexual assault. However, I did have a stressful childhood. My dad was very irrational when it came to discipline and I would yelled at and spanked disproportionately to the action I did. I also got bullied a lot as a kid and developed low self esteem. I have some history of OCD as an adolescent. I'd have to read a page and if I missed a word, I'd have to start again. Also, my mother and cousin have anxiety disorders. I suspect my grandmother and aunt have it too.

 

[Powder]

@Iwillrecover

I truly want to help you, so I have been thinking over your posts when I have a minute to myself.

Today, it struck me that with the running incident, I am not clear about if you thought you picked up the child you saw, or if you actually did pick her up and toss her (over something?). Sorry, my memory is not the best, or I wasn't clear on what happened.

You said you thought you were just hallucinating about your actions in it, but then saw you were actually doing it.

I think that is the most pronounced clinical feature you have mentioned so far.

Have you ever hallucinated sounds or visuals that you then realized were not actually there? Could the prowler you saw outside your window have been hallucinated? (Not trying to be a doubter, and I believe you, but if you are living alone and developing a disorder that involved hallucinations, I can't rule it out entirely.)

If so, then that is something to bring to the attention of whichever Dr. you see next.

Have you withdrawn from people and stopped taking care of yourself? Not just since the prowler, but a while ago?

The insomnia, anxiety and schizophrenic behavior of picking up the child could be early warning signs of something more important to catch than GAD or Panic Disorder.

 

[Deleted member 37605]

hi Muse,

Let me answer your questions the best that I can.

The incident with the prowler at the window may have been a hallucination. It all happened so fast. There was not a lot of physical evidence. No broken glass. No cctv or witness. However, I distinctly remember the window had a handle that must be turned 90 degrees for it to open. I remember keeping the handle fully shut at all times. But the handle was definitely turned 45 degrees. There was a hand print visible. There was a small dent on the wood frame that was being opened. Obviously I am no expert on burglary so i have no idea how much of a mark a skilled burglar leaves.

I never had any history of sleep walking. I had one incident where I tried a concentrated dose of thc and i hallucinated i was being atacked. I had another incident where I had a nightmare so bad that I awoke in my sleep, screaming and kicking the wall.

About the running incident. There was no action taken - or else i would be in jail or a mental institution. I was in the middle of a terrible panic attack. I had this strange feeling for a second or two that I was grabbing the child and holding her as I jumped off the bridge. Like i had no control over my body. I never felt anything like that since i stopped having panic attacks.

I did have a weird Ocd incident a few months earlier. I was visiting a friend with his wife and newborn. I had a strange feeling like "what would it be like to grab the baby and jump out the window?" I obsessed over it many times before it cleared. I didnt think about it again until the later incident.

I talked to my psychologist and she isn't worried it is something more serious than anxiety. With psychosis or Schizophrenia, it ge erally comes on at an earlier age, develops gradually and the patient doesn't feel guilty about their actions. I felt terrible about it for weeks later.

I should mention that I have not withdrawn from people. I have no Agraphobia. I have been trying to live a normal a life as possible on purpose. Looking back, I probably should never have left my house when having panic attacks.

 

[Powder]

Thank you for clarifying.

I'm with JoeyLittle on this. I would suggest that your psychologist is not good.

Since the obsessive thought was so strong and so similar in both cases, meaning it's happened over time and has a pattern and disturbs you, then yeah, sounds like something other than PTSD or general anxiety or panic.

Do you have OCD? If so, then those intrusive thoughts that you are perhaps dangerous or might hurt a vulnerable kid is an unfortunately normal part of having OCD. In fact, it's one of the diagnostic features.

OCD is often treated with Xanax or similar anxiety meds because OCD anxiety can be very severe. However, studies now show that it respond even better to a non-medicine, a vitamin powder made from rice bran, called INOSITOL. It dissolves in any beverage. Studies show it to be more effective for OCD anxiety than any meds, and it's actually good for your liver and body's detoxification.

My husband has OCD in his family, and he seems to suffer from it, but he's been very reluctant to get formally diagnosed. He takes Inositol daily, one tablespoon because it calms him down. If he doesn't have it, I can tell, and he gets irritable. He doesn't have the more florid features of OCD, just getting over-focused on solving a problem until hours have gone by, and he has no way to pull out of the "nose dive."

He also has intrusive thoughts about his tools in the garage causing harm to our kids, so similar to your intrusive/disturbing thoughts about being harmful to the very ones you find most in need of your protection. OCD people tend to obsess over their loved ones or vulnerable people they care about most. They are overly cautious with their safety. My husband hides the Garage remote, so that I cannot even go out there, because he wants to protect his family from the cockroaches, tools, and locked gun safe out there. He gets disturbing nightmares and visions of our youngest child going out and cutting herself on his table saw. It causes him a ton of guilt and worry, even though he knows it's very unlikely to ever occur, especially the way he handles it.

Hun, PTSD and OCD have some overlapping symptoms. Could it be that you have OCD and just need to manage it better?

Sounds like you really did have an attempted break in, so you could have OCD anxiety just way outta hand and fueled by the attempted break in.

 

[Deleted member 37605]

Thanks for the response.

I don't have a long history of ocd. I remember having it when i was much younger. I would study for a test, if i would miss a word i would have to re-read the whole page again. Things like that. Never anything involving violence.

I stopped the ocd in my 20s and had no symptoms for many years later. The incident with my friend's child was the first time it happened in years and first violent incident. At least that I can recall.

The thing about Ocd is that it would not explain my extra anxiety in the evening. Also generally ocd is a lifelong condition.

 

[Deleted member 37605]

If all you're dealing with is the anxiety at certain times then no...it's not PTSD. I have to disagree w...

Just to be clear, no. I have anxiety related symptoms 24/7. Thankfully it has calmed down somewhat in the past week and there are times i feel almost 100%.

But one month ago it was constant. The pattern would generally follow:

Wake up with a lot of morning anxiety.

Eat breakfast and take supplements, calm down a little.

Do something throughout the day.

At dusk, have a panic attack until i learned to stop them. But then it becAme a buZzing feeling in my head, light headedness, disturbing thoughts.

Quiet down late at night to the best time of the day.

 

[Gs172003]

Just to be clear, no. I have anxiety related symptoms 24/7. Thankfully it has calmed down somewh...

You have to meet certain criteria to have PTSD. There is more than a couple symptoms. There is a link on here that describes them somewhere.

 

[Deleted member 37605]

I have several symptoms that overlap into acute PTSD.

1) Extra anxiety caused by event reminders. yes. I had panic attacks at dusk. This is similar to when I encountered the prowler (5 am in the summertime, just becoming light out).

2) Hypervigilance - Yes my head felt all buzzed with electricity 24/7

3) Increased startle feeling

4) paranoia - inability to trust.

5) Nightmares / trouble sleeping. Yes. Though I couldn't remember my nightmares.

 

[Gs172003]

Theres still more to it. Can you get a second opinion?

 

[Gs172003]

More details:

PTSD History and Overview - PTSD: National Center for PTSD

 

[Gadgie]

If you are lucky enough to know in advance of when a panic is going to happen, I would prepaid for it in advance.

Like finding something that you enjoy doing, which can be anything, from reading, or gomfor a walk, to creating something with your own hands, something to help keep your mind occupied, at least then the panic attack is not taking up 100% of your attention, good luck.