Do You Experience "Day After" Effects?

[SweetpinNH]

I also get tension in my heart area which takes time to go.

My heart palpitations are the worst part of my anxiety/panic attacks. At least I'm glad to know my heart is healthy. I had tests run on my heart health in July and everything came back normal.

 

[khadijaalways]

feeling numb!!!

I have this all the time, i get into a sudden panic attack and then like the next day im all in bed, dont feel like doing nothing and not just for a day but for several... i feel numb, and sometimes my friends cant understand it they think i am being lazy all the time, but i cant stop it...

 

[Grama-Herc]

We all are in the same boat. Stress is slowly killing all of us and we need to get this side of PTSD under control. When I finally realized the signals that my body was giving me that I was getting stressed, I was finally able to begin===note I said BEGIN===to adjust and somewhat control it.

My big saving grace is to just realize what is happening, take a really big deep breath and excuse myself from the situation and regroup. Because if I don't, the aftermath just gets worse. It wipes me out.

The back lash from the attacks and the stress puts me to beds for days. I am shakey, weak, weepy, I isolate and pretty much stay in bed for day. Not because I want to, but because I am so whipped I can't get out of bed. I am just good for nothing for days.

As far as lieing to friends and family, include employers to that list. I think we have all done that. It is just easier, safer and less stressful.

It keeps us from having to go into those "explanations" that no one understands anyway.

 

[shiraz]

When I first met my fiance, he thought I was mad ... his favorite saying ... Always one *%##@ crisis after another! ... I didn't know I had PTSD then, all I knew is that upsets, disagreements and even social events knocked me out for days. He just thought I was making a meal out of small things, to top it off, i turn my emotions off and could never tell him what I felt .. he is an emotional person and always thought that I just needed to speak out what I was feeling as that would make it all alright, not being able to infuriated him, him thinking that I was just tuning him out and being stubborn, when in reality, I really had nothing inside ... just desperate emptyness.

What a mess .... I went through the wringer with him time after time ... his conclusion was that I wanted to be unhappy, that I enjoy wallowing in misery and self pity. I just couldn't tell him differently, I didn't have the words to explain what was happening to me, or any idea that so many people went through the same things too. I really began to feel 'mad' for a while I thought that what he said was true and that really made me feel worthless. I thought he should just leave me as I would always make him unhappy.

Now, I understand myself better and he is trying to understand too. I'm so glad that he stuck it out, he is a good man, he just has his own demons to fight too .. the accusing angry words still ring in my head though... I can't seem to get rid of them and I have to work at my self esteem daily. It will take some time to heal all that hurt and misunderstanding ... so I guess on some low level, I feel the effects of that stress months after the event. Mostly, I just feel flat and empty after a panic attack, my mind is empty, I don't even really think about anything, but images and flashes of conversation keep coming back at me as I try to work it all out and calm the anxiety.

I hate this state ... it causes such pain. :wall:

 

[Mercy]

tahnks to you all I can be less hard on myself now when I NEED to rest.

Grama-herc said it all for me. I didn't understand the toll that stress puts on me especially after flashbacks. We have a shooting range fairly far away but with in hearing distance as the crow flies. It triggers me badly escpecially on week-ends. My blood pressure went up to 208/119 Saturday. I know deep breaths are supposed to help but time out is what I really need. Stress is a real danger we face because it is so bad for the body.:think:

Anyone out there with a good destress routine or practice? I tried Tai Chi but can't remember the moves even though I have tried it 4 times a few years apart.

 

[SweetpinNH]

My first method for destressing deep belly breathing. Sit in a chair or lie down on a bed. Take a slow deep breath through your nose and fill your belly, not your chest, with air. Then slowly release the breath through your mouth. Breathe like this for about five minutes.

My other method is to pick up some of quilting or stitchery projects and start working. Often it's hard to get started, but once I get into the rythym of the project I start relaxing.

These methods are good short term relievers for me. If I'm stressed and I can't accomplish either of these methods I will have a the "day after" effect.

 

[Ironangel]

YES! I definitely experience "day after" effects for sure- after a panic attack, or after a therapy appt, the next day I feel drained, sad, tired, emotional wreck basically.

 

[midi]

We all are in the same boat. Stress is slowly killing all of us and we need to get this side of PTSD under control. When I finally realized the signals that my body was giving me that I was getting stressed, I was finally able to begin===note I said BEGIN===to adjust and somewhat control it.

Ayup. Every so often I have to go to another city to see a surgeon about an injury. Well, I take a 2 hour train to get there, then wait, see the doc, then find things to do with my time and wait around for the evening train. I went this week and saw a second doc. The wait for him wasn't 3 hours--it was less than half an hour. Even dealing with the injury is resentful stress. Hearing what the doc had to say was stressful. Wandering around and in places and parks all day was stressful.

To make matters worse, instead of eating healthy protein at lunch, I ate chips and caffeinated pop! I spent the afternoon trying not to cry as I fought off panic attacks. I had to talk myself down several times. The next day was a complete write-off--but I told myself it was ok, because that's all I'm capable of.

 

[Antahkarana]

I had to move 1000 miles away from my parents to get away from that washed out feeling. It was litterally draining all my energy away to be near them. so i can relate

 

[Grama-Herc]

IMHO just "knowing" what is going on with us and our minds and bodies is a help. I know that it was terrifying to experience these symptoms and not know what they were or why they were happening

 

[skyp56]

I do, though I did not recognize it until I read your post! I see my grandson once or twice a week. Though I absolutely dote on him, I am so worn out and irritable and anxious the next day. Part of it may be because his mother (my daughter) is hard for me to deal with when my symptoms flare up. But it will be good to tell DH that it is NOT that I overdo it when I am with Ryder, it would be that way even if I did nothing.

 

[NarcSis]

I feel exhausted both mentally and physically after an anxious event, it can last hours to days. I'm working on triggers in therapy and I have to space my sessions out so that I have time to wind down and rebuild my coping ability. Usually takes about a week for me. You're definitely not alone.