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Lots of adrenaline (agoraphobia?)

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PTSDisaster

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Helloo,

It's been a while that I've been here. I've had quite a good time the past few months. I got a job from home and made it to become a teamlead, very happy that I can finally work 100% from home:)
I've been going to the store frequently (I couldn't do this because I have major anxiety for coming outside) and suddenly it all crashed. I almost can't do anything anymore. This frustrates me a lot and my therapist also told me this type of exposure therapy wasn't good because it didn't work. I've been shopping for half a year weekly, my T told me it was not an exposure that got me better but I just managed to 'survive' the time i spent in the store.

Since my anxiety is back again, I am pumped with adrenaline and it made me wonder; does adrenaline build up in your system? For example; if I get adrenaline for a week every morning, will it get worse and worse if there's no way to work it off?
I bought a hometrainer yesterday so I can start exercising at home to make the adrenaline go away and I hope this helps. I even get anxiety when I have to attend a call with 1 employee now while this still is from home. Videocalls (except with my therapist) scare me a lot and make me vomit/feel like I'm going to pass out.

My T and I had some breakthroughs the last sessions because it's impossible to work at my trauma's. We discovered that my fathers narcissism is way more triggering and I carry the shame my father had. That's also what I'm most afraid of in public/videocalls that I will have to vomit and someone will see me being vulnerable and that shame is overwhelming. I think the thoughts of getting anxiety actually give me anxiety.

Anyone familiar with lots of adrenaline and agoraphobia?
 
does adrenaline build up in your system? For example; if I get adrenaline for a week every morning, will it get worse and worse if there's no way to work it off?

in the circles where i can call myself, "a recovering chaos junkie," there is considerable faith that this is precisely the case. some of the members of this circle even believe it is not a question of faith. proof available. i don't care to do the research, so i take it on faith. just believing. . . proof irrelevant. like all too many junkies, i come by my addiction honestly. hypervigilance was a survival need in my childhood.

i believe it is fear which causes this response in myself, whether the fear is from an unexpected surprise, a clear and present danger or the irrational fear of my many phobias/hypervigilance. i've been calling myself a recovering chaos junkie since the 80's and have worked to build my awareness of when that first shot of adrenaline kicks in. adrenaline is a self-replenishing drug and my drug dealer lives in my lymphatic system. if i don't catch that first adrenaline shot, one shot is too many. and a thousand shots will not be enough.

i use vigorous workouts and detox diets to purge that adrenaline from my system. i trust myself to have the intelligence of a meth head until it **is** purged. by my sensory perception, it takes me about 3 days to fully purge a single shot of adrenaline. those early detox episodes in the 80's were mind-rippers.
 
Wow thank you for your reply @arfie !
What are your symptoms when you get a lot of adrenaline? Like what bothers you the most? And can you still work or go somewhere when your body is fully stressed because of the adrenaline? And last question, what do you mean by 'a thousand shots will not be enough'?
 
adrenaline is a stimulant. literally and a powerful one, too boot. descriptions i've heard for use of methamphetamines and crack fit my symptoms are quite well. i've had medicos encourage me to use the comparison. the chemistry is similar enough for psychobabble.

what do you mean by 'a thousand shots will not be enough'?

i borrowed this line from AA to describe a drinking relapse. "one drink is too many. a thousand are not enough."
translation: once ya start, ya can't seem to stop
 
Since my anxiety is back again, I am pumped with adrenaline and it made me wonder; does adrenaline build up in your system? For example; if I get adrenaline for a week every morning, will it get worse and worse if there's no way to work it off?
I bought a hometrainer yesterday so I can start exercising at home to make the adrenaline go away and I hope this helps. I even get anxiety when I have to attend a call with 1 employee now while this still is from home. Videocalls (except with my therapist) scare me a lot and make me vomit/feel like I'm going to pass out.
Were you writing about me or you? No, really?

Hypervigilence is always close at hand when I go out. That and anxiety. Takes a ton of work to get through that. Even plans for a family thing next week just.......if it means going out...and all those people? No thanks. Meds help? Yeah, but then I feel part zombie and get bugged because I don't eat, because if I do it's probably not gonna stay down.

Cherry on top? Working memory sucks....bad, gets worse when stressed, so it's real bad. Feel very self conscious when everything goes blank...

Videocalls - no way. Narrowed it down with my T to the fact my only way of gathering info on how other people are reacting is in body language and when that's missing I'm lost.....
 
Since my anxiety is back again, I am pumped with adrenaline and it made me wonder; does adrenaline build up in your system? For example; if I get adrenaline for a week every morning, will it get worse and worse if there's no way to work it off?
Generally speaking, adrenaline itself will dissipate fairly quickly, but the chemical maelstrom left in its wake -if it & other EMERGENCY! ACTIVATED! chemicals, hormones, & neurotransmitters are not put to use / burned off- will not.

Not only will the chemical sludge increase overall anxiety levels, decrease immune function, etc… AND… make the system more hair triggered?

But the byproducts (like the metallic stink of fear/rage left on your skin from sweat / your body attempting to excrete those unused chemicals/hormones/neuroTs) will ALSO increase your overall anxiety levels… as your lizard brain is aware of scents/tastes/chemicals in the air that we, ourselves, are not.

(HINT: Take a shower & change your clothes when you can’t exercise to burn off that maelstrom… and notice a several point DROP in overall anxiety levels.)

I bought a hometrainer yesterday so I can start exercising at home to make the adrenaline go away and I hope this helps. I
Not only is this the BEST method I know of to deal with adrenaline et al?

In my experience it ALSO starts retraining my system on how MUCH adrenaline (etc.) to be dumping into my bloodstream at any given time that doesn’t involve being chased by an actual tiger.

So that over time? (For me it usually takes 1-3 years to retrain my system once it’s gone sideways; or a couple months to remind it after a big flare up or spike). Rather than simply opening the floodgates at every stray thought or misadventure or nightmare… I get these tiny NORMAL concentrated jolts of ice water for blood that are out of my system, wih no effort on my part, within minutes.
 
Were you writing about me or you? No, really?

Hypervigilence is always close at hand when I go out. That and anxiety. Takes a ton of work to get through that. Even plans for a family thing next week just.......if it means going out...and all those people? No thanks. Meds help? Yeah, but then I feel part zombie and get bugged because I don't eat, because if I do it's probably not gonna stay down.

Cherry on top? Working memory sucks....bad, gets worse when stressed, so it's real bad. Feel very self conscious when everything goes blank...

Videocalls - no way. Narrowed it down with my T to the fact my only way of gathering info on how other people are reacting is in body language and when that's missing I'm lost.....
Haha you're also writing about me! I'm also not eating because I'm scared I will throw up. I just started taking medication for the first time and this is also giving me lots of anxiety. I'm sorry you are also feeling this way:(
Generally speaking, adrenaline itself will dissipate fairly quickly, but the chemical maelstrom left in its wake -if it & other EMERGENCY! ACTIVATED! chemicals, hormones, & neurotransmitters are not put to use / burned off- will not.

Not only will the chemical sludge increase overall anxiety levels, decrease immune function, etc… AND… make the system more hair triggered?

But the byproducts (like the metallic stink of fear/rage left on your skin from sweat / your body attempting to excrete those unused chemicals/hormones/neuroTs) will ALSO increase your overall anxiety levels… as your lizard brain is aware of scents/tastes/chemicals in the air that we, ourselves, are not.

(HINT: Take a shower & change your clothes when you can’t exercise to burn off that maelstrom… and notice a several point DROP in overall anxiety levels.)


Not only is this the BEST method I know of to deal with adrenaline et al?

In my experience it ALSO starts retraining my system on how MUCH adrenaline (etc.) to be dumping into my bloodstream at any given time that doesn’t involve being chased by an actual tiger.

So that over time? (For me it usually takes 1-3 years to retrain my system once it’s gone sideways; or a couple months to remind it after a big flare up or spike). Rather than simply opening the floodgates at every stray thought or misadventure or nightmare… I get these tiny NORMAL concentrated jolts of ice water for blood that are out of my system, wih no effort on my part, within minutes.
Yes exactly! Thank you for your reply:) Also thanks for the explanation of the lizard brain! It really is interesting to me how the brain and different parts of it work.
 
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