Adrenaline Feeling Won't Go Away

[Bill Dickerson]

I can't get rid of that adrenaline feeling. Like your stomach gets when the roller coaster starts that fall. I can't get it to go away. This has been going all day. Feels somewhat like a continuous anxiety attack. Hands shaking, light headed, very large butterflies stomach, nauseous.

Anybody else have this happen?

 

[Friday]

BLUF : If you haven't had your heart checked? Do so. The signs and symptoms of a heart attack & panic/anxiety attack are virtually identical. I get my ticker checked every other year or so, just for peace of mind / I know for sure it's just anxiety, and not cardiovascular. That goes double -meaning immediate check- if my normal anxiety symptoms suddenly alter into something "weird".

***

Just anxiety? // My normal stuff :

For sure.

Most of my panic/anxiety attacks last minutes or hours. They can cycle, a few minutes break here, an hour break there, and then right back into the next. From last summer to this past summer, I was losing about 10 hours a day to them & flashbacks. Which is highly obnoxious, exhausting, running hot all the time. Even if it was only about half my day, it's still half a damn day. Past 6 months or so it's been about half that, most days.

Some of my panic/anxiety attacks last days. Lightning in my bones, razor vice around my heart, resting bpm 120-140. Fawking sucks. No fun.

Regardless of whether it's hours or days... Most of the time, if it's too late* to burn the chemicals off, I just curl up and shake it out. Let it wash over me until the damn thing has run its course. I to ry and consider it the lazy man's cardio ;) Hey, I can exercise without getting up off my ass, check it. ((Gawd has a sick sense of humor. The number of times I wished I could exercise without getting out of bed ? :rolleyes: Careful what you wish for, just might get it :p)) But at a certain point one still has to go about the business of living. It took one that stretched months for me to say f*ck it, this ain't working, and just go about my business, regardless of what my body was doing. Surreal as blazes, that. But one can get used to just about anything given enough time.

Outside of multisystem nonsense? Will have the shakes, shits, or pukes... Just all by themselves... Unquantifiable periods of time. These aren't so bad. My temper will be a bit frayed, might get a bit edgy, but single symptom things are pretty easy to either ignore, or burn* off.

* If I catch the symptoms early enough? When it's a low running current jangling through my system... Exercise will burn the chemicals out faster/better than anything. Preventative as hell, too. If I can spend at least an hour every day? Will have virtually no anxiety to speak of to need to burn off (but start missing days? Anxiety ramps right back up). If I've missed the early signs? I'm a wee bit f*cked. My heart is already 140bpm sitting on my ass, even getting up and walking is too much strain, much less anything else. Instead I have to get my body calmed.

** BLUF : Bottom Line Up Front

 

[Bill Dickerson]

Not my heart had it checked awhile back. BP is good. Just can't shake the feeling.

 

[barefoot]

Yes, I get this.

Weirdly, sometimes when I have it, it initially feels like a good thing. Almost like I'm excited/pumped up for something. Then the longer it goes on and the more I consciously try to check in with myself - I start to realise that I'm not excited....it's adrenaline/cortisol/anxiety and it doesn't feel good. But by the time I recognise that the anxiety has generally rocketed off the scale!

Doing something physical can help discharge some of the energy. So, exercise if you exercise - go to the gym, go for a run or smash a squash ball around or even just go for a walk. If you're not into exercise, doing something physical (but not mentally too challenging) like clearing out cupboards or blasting your favourite music while vigorously cleaning the house can help.

Otherwise, find ways to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system to counter the adrenaline/cortisol in your body. The most effective way for me to do that is to do some diagphramatic breathing exercises. Worth a go if you've not tried them before - I find it helps though it can take some practise if you're not used to it and if you're trying it for the first time in the midst of high anxiety.

Good luck. It's a horrible feeling :-(

 

[Bill Dickerson]

I'm all ready to stimulate my parasympathetic but I can't find it. I don't think this model came with one.

 

[Friday]

. I don't think this model came with one.

<chuckling> forced relaxation.

Like dropping your breathing & BP before shooting.

 

[Chava]

Not sure if it will work for you, but with this sort of energy I need to MOVE. But not in frenzied, pacing way (did that for years and just became more strung out on my own adrenaline). It helps to slowly, sort of mindfully, push against something really heavy (arms or legs or whole body...I usually prefer using my legs). I push against a heavy piece of furniture or a wall. Or my car...that's great because I can wedge myself against the garage wall and really push. I even imagine tipping it over (hasn't happened yet!). I push slowly but organize all that crazy adrenaline into the movement...also helps to exhale while pushing, organize my breathing a bit. Also, any other sort of "resistance" like weights, etc., but slow and fairly heavy resistance. I'm not working out, I'm expelling that energy.

When the heart palpitations and shakes and sick feelings settle some (I've also had checked out a few times, even with EKG, and it's all stress/panic related for me), then I go for a walk. I've gotten better at identifying these states for myself. Even if I feel pretty sick, if I know it's my form of panic or adrenaline dump, I really can't sit and let it pool in my system. I have to use some slow and intentional bodily force to help that exit and reorganize (basically what I've learned through Somatic Experiencing too).