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[quote=Anonymous]Hi OP, I have been reading your posts with interest and I can feel your distress coming through. Here’s a couple of suggestions. They focus on CBT-type strategies for managing panic and obsessive thinking.

1) Compartmentalize. Write down your worries, and put that pad of paper aside for right now. Later today, set aside 20 minutes to worry about what you’re feeling. Think through—what if it is something bad? Will I be able to survive that news? Have I survived something bad in the past? What things helped me? How do I feel in my body when I’m scared? Does my stomach hurt? Is my heart racing? Notice those things. Write them down. When 20 minutes is up, take that piece of paper and crumple it up and throw it away.

2) Practice breathing exercises. Do alternate nostril breathing or box breathing. Box if you are already breathing shallowly. Do this for 5 minutes. Time it. Did you know that you only inhale out of one nostril at a time?

3) Focus on sensations. Go outside and identify 5 things—something you feel, something you smell, something you can hear, and something you see. Take your shoes off and feel the mist on your feet (if you’re in the DMV).

4) Spend 20 minutes with extended heat or cold. Can you access a hot tub? Do you have a pool nearby? Even sitting down with a heating pad under your legs.

There are other tools, but hopefully this gets you started. Your body is in an extended fight or flight mode and you’re searching for danger. Until you’re able to see your care team, there are strategies to help with calming down the parasympathetic nervous system.

Also, I think you should try and see someone who can do a more thorough medication review for HA/panic. You don’t have to figure it out yourself, but you can and should say “this is not helping enough. I need better strategies.” If you’re in the DMV I can provide suggestions.

Also, I’d step away from work unless it feels like it’s a good distraction. Getting ready for a trial sounds like it would ramp up anxiety for anyone. And you have leave, and FMLA, and you should use it. [/quote]

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