Come to think of it, I can summarise all of this:

STEP 1) Take a deep breathe.

STEP 2) EXHALE.

STEP 3) U - B - U


PS: Why evaluate CRAP? You know who you are - be true to you and you should have no problems....

 

I had a job similar to yours. When I retired, I felt like I was lost! Nowhere to go, nothing to do! It took me months to sleep past 06:00, but in other area's of my life, Anxieties still existed.
My escape was Archery and Fly fishing. You can do that with the pager on. I also had a hard work business on the side. But that required taking a week's vacation from the Pager. You may not be able to do that.
Beware of Drugs and Religion. They are just another problem to deal with. Your diet can be a big help, eliminating the Spices, Sugar's and Caffine and Carb's. Dont eat Meat in your evening meal.
Loose fitting clothes, and good shoes will help too. Get several pairs of good shoes. Wear a different pair each day.
The biggest single help was a regular half hour of exercise in the fresh air if possible.
Anxieties come from Fear. That Fear is rooted deep in your childhood. Many a shrink has tried to reach it for lot's of us but failed, but Fear is the big problem.
A self help book on 'anger managment' might help with some tips on reasoning your way past some of the daily situations too.
Dont get lost inside those books though. They have 'tips' for you, but most do not have the answers you need.
When you feel worried all the time, it may be that you haven't organized as deeply as you should have. All your bases arent covered by players, etc etc.
Pick one problem and work it down. Then another, and so on. As you do this more answers will show up.
The last tip I have came from a Doc who was disasociated with my Anxieties problem. (a fellow shooter)
For a good night's sleep, keep a Louie L'amour book by the bed. Read while laying on the pillow. When you start out, you'll get a few pages in, but soon you will have trouble getting by a Paragraph. I'm not picking on Louie L'amour, but that's what was suggested, and it worked. I did go on to better books, but the same thing happend. In a short time I was asleep.
One more tip, (I know this is getting lengthy) but get your homelife in order. If you have stress at home, as well as at work, you can never relax.
Get rid of old unfinished nagging problems at home. Old electronic building projects, old car's, boat's, ATV's stuff like that. If your wife is a bad one, divorce her. If you have bad kids, kick them out. Dont be somebody's SAP!
Attack your anxieties. Face up to the problems. All this is easy to say. Facing up to a Problem like a bad workmate can be an ominous Paradox. But the first one you do, will make the next one easier, and soon you'll be sleeping easier, and ready to work when called on.
Get rid of all your 'dollar a year' jobs. If you are a Deacon, or on a Board for the local sumpinorother, Little league, Yacht club....stuff like that.
That's enough for now. When you start to heal a little you will be able to understand more.

 

Start praying, silent with your heart and not your mouth, to God and give him all your problems.

 

Lots of really good ideas posted here. In a lot of cases you can find what you need without taking prescriptions, as some of us including myself have suggested.

There is a big difference between a real panic/anxiety attack and stress from a job thats driving you nuts is really like the difference between night and day. Go to webMD.com and see what you can find there on anxiety attacks. That might give you a little more clarification on what you are experiencing.

Before trying drugs, I think I'd personally look for a lower stress job as soon as you can. High stress jobs are going to shorten your life expectancy...so what's the point in making big bucks if you aren't going to be around to enjoy them?

Try some of the great ideas mentioned above before you totally depend on drugs to define your mood for you.

 

Wait wait! The job is not the cause of the stress. That's documented also. I'ts personal Fear. The fear of being wrong usually. It's been with us since we were first held accountable for messy diapers, or spilled milk.
And yes on the difference between stress and anxiety attacks. Those attacks can almost kill you. Heart problems, breathing problems and utter confusion just paralyze someone who's having an anxiety attack.
Usually when we are stressed out, our forheads and ears get very bright red. Blood flow to the surface. For cooling I think.
Dont quit your job until you have faced up to those anxieties. Outline them, and work on one at a time. When you are botherd, figure out what the problem is, and solve it! Dont try to excape the problem, or shuffle it off on somebody else.
Only quit your present job if the problem cannot be solved. You might have a good paying job that you like. Why give that up?
Changing jobs will bring on some temporary relief, but the problem went along with you. The stress will come back. So beat them Alligators back into the swamp while you enjoy life in a good stable place.

 

I still maintain that his job is the root cause of the anxiety. I know what it is like to be a slave to a pager. But even on vacation? I would be absolutely bonkers. You sit there wondering when will it go off next. I feel a lot better since I got rid of my pager.

 

Great book. I have had my copy since I was a kid. Think I need to read it again...

 

I know what you mean about anxiety, I got a good dose of it while at my first job. And while I wouldn’t want a job like that again, it has helped to toughen my skin - the silver lining, if you will. My problem had mainly to do with an unreasonable boss (I’ll leave it at that). Try to take a different attitude and give yourself some slack. It could be that you’re too hard on yourself (I was at my first job). If you get fired, would that be a bad thing? I was laid off from my first job and although I was out of work for 8 months, a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders when I didn’t have to go to work to be humiliated.

Another thing is to make sure you eat right. Good nutrition is key. Stress is hard on your mind and body and you will respond better if you are eating a good diet. Lay off the simple sugars (cake, cookies, candy, soda, etc) which can cause mood swings. You don’t have to eliminate them, just cut way back. A good resource is Adelle Davis’s Let’s Get Well. It’s out of print, but you might be able to find it at the library. Her book presents much of what is considered “alternative” medicine, but that’s all we had a few decades ago before there were so many pharmaceutical companies pushing pills with fancy names. Plus, it worked and there were no negative side effects, as there are with the mood altering types of drugs. According to her, the B vitamins are very important. She gives many examples and backs up a lot of statements with references. This is not new material, it’s been around for a long time. There are more recent sources that show the importance of good nutrition/vitamins with respect to problems like anxiety and depression. Check the library.

Good luck.

 

Is there a website with a forum on this subject?

 

I did a Google search and found way too many sites to list them all here. Go to any search engine and type "anxiety attack" in the search box. There is information describing the attacks, support groups, how and where to find help, etc.

 

Well I was looking for references, I at one time did a search and found many many sites but none were really active. So if someone is a member of one or knows of one that provides good info and thoughts in a bulletin board format like this site, I would appreciate it, later

 

...To answer your question...Yes...for about 6 months
I was told it was the onset of male menopause...I was 40.

anxiety attacks
sleeplessness
hot/cold flashes
bi-polar mood swings

Then I moved to AZ to be closer to my kids and to chase a woman, after about 3 weeks here, the symptoms went away...

Now Im back to normal, at least what constitutes normalcy for me, going on 3 years and no recurence.

 

Not to get too personal one way or the other. Anyone here have their anxiety develop into periodical agoraphobia/ conscious isolation/ avoidance from friends, family,etc. Were you able to snap out of it without medication? Has anyone maybe had this problem or a form of it since they can remember, I mean earliest childhood memory? Any thoughts greatly appreciated, later

 

Paxil is one of the few medications I have tried and I would still be on it if it were cheaper. It put me in a bit of a relaxed, almost drunk state all the time. I believe I felt and acted "normal" while on Paxil. My stresses and causes of the anxiety are well known to me, and should not cause as much difficulty as they do. My anxieties destroying my life seemed less rational than taking medication for the rest of my life to deal with it. The paxil did take almost 2 months to kick in and it takes me out of my head (completely spaced) for a day when it's kicking in and about 2 days when it's wearing off. Since I've been off it I have been a nervous wreck again. I avoid people, I hate public places, I work second shift out of choice since I don't have to work with or deal with many others. Insomnia, nail biting until they bleed, ready to fly off the handle at anything or nothing at all. What I guess are Anxiety attacks that simply feel like great crushing pressure on my heart, enough to stop me in my tracks and take away my wind. In my opinion it is mostly about your genes. Grandmother is agorophobic, grandfather started having heart attacks at 39, died of 9th or 10th in his 50s. My son is Autistic. For some of us, I believe medication for life is the way, others may just have something very temporary bearing down too hard on their lives. Treat it individually.....we are all different.

 

I understand anxiety attacks all to well. First went to ER from work twice with chest pain,or tingling in arms,all test showed nothing.Said something to my brothers counselor about it and researched it and BINGO anxiety. Tried zoloft , but couldnt handle side effects.Now I take lexapro,small dose once a day,half the side effects of the others,its a newer form of celexa.Also when I would have an attack, 0.5 mg ativan is great takes edge off, but wouldnt knock me out. Tried switching jobs,didnt help( got off an ambulance into 911 center),went back on an ambulance and love it,Its like therapy and I get paid for it.Dont let this keep up as anxiety can cause depression and other problems.