Ptsd

[Lfgfgg]

Mind won't turn off 24/7 constant hypervillagant . Mind won't focus on a moment . Wandering what to do

 

[marc_101]

Exercise can help. If it's too bad, seek medical assistance.

You posted about ritalin on another thread. Ritalin will not help you if you are anxious or hypervigilant. Inattention and anxiety are different. Stimulants can make anxiety much worse.

So please, seek medical help.

 

[Rodafina]

Mind won't turn off 24/7 constant hypervillagant

When there has been trauma, this feeling of hypervigilance can be fueled by a feeling of being unsafe. Are there ways in which you can create a space in your home or in your mind where you can focus on feeling safe?

Some things that can help are deep breathing, calming music, having a comforting object or plushie, being near an animal you love, or talking to a trusted person.

@Lfgfgg, do you have a therapist you are working with? If not, could you get access to one? It sounds like you have some major challenges right now and some professional support may be beneficial to you.

 

[Au Naturel]

As I've gotten older, I've become acquainted with anxiety attacks over stupid things. It isn't PTSD and it isn't because I was abused growing up. I think that as I age, my natural defenses degrade. It is like some little bump will suddenly set off catastrophizing for no good reason.

Once the physiology kicks in and you are pumping out cortisol and adrenaline and other stress chemistry, it will take a while to calm back down.

That chemistry doesn't just disappear. In chronic anxiety, you're in this perpetual fight-or-flight mode where it feeds on itself. The amygdala has overruled the thinking part of the brain, even though you are not in an imminent life-threatening situation.

You are stuck there until you burn out - or the deadline for whatever you're afraid of passes. Then, the amygdala waits for something else equally inappropriate to kick it into action again. That's when you need medical and/or psychological intervention.

I use various kinds of distraction until whatever it is runs its course. And then I'll be able to accept that whatever was driving me up the wall was not so bad. The last couple of times I had an anxiety attack, I knew it was nothing to panic over, but the catastrophizing was out of control. My physiology and the lower brain had taken over, and there was no reasoning behind it. The last time it happened, I took a Valium, which short-circuited the whole thing.

 

[Aspychata]

Twice in my life l have gone on anxiety medication. Now l suffer with chronic PTSD, which means l go thru stages of not leaving my home as l reason with my feelings. I just feel better if l just have four walls and nobody near me. This year hasn't been one of my better years in managing it. However, l am more alert to really focusing on how l feel, the bad and the good. I have suffered thru several panic attacks this year. One time, l was suppose to pick up someone at airport, and went to panic about an issue in my home, and l just called them and said hop a cab, l can't make it. So being able to say no is very important when needed.