My experience with Anxiety:
About 4 years ago, I was walking in the mall, window shopping, chilling and minding my own business when out of no where my heart started pounding like crazy, I felt like I couldn't breath and I literally thought that I was going to DIE. I ran into the nearest store (which happened to be a Shoppers Drug Mart) and screamed "Somebody Help Me! There is something wrong with me!! I can't breath!!" So naturally, everyone stopped dead in their tracks and just looked at me like I was crazy because obviously I could breathe considering I had just screamed for help... Anyway, no one in the store did anything to help me and I made my way to the back of the store found the employee washroom and calmed myself down after splashing water on my face and walked out of the store in embarrassment as everyone stared at me.
That was the first of a series of panic attacks that I experienced over the course of the next several weeks...
I went to a Doctor immediately after the episode and he told me that I had experienced a panic attack. I looked at him like he was crazy and told him to give me every test in the book because it must be a heart defect or MS or some sort of disease because I was convinced that stress couldn't do this to me. So he did and all of the tests came back fine. I refused to believe the doctor, so I went to the hospital told them my story, did the same tests and they told them the same thing... I swear I visited the Doctor a dozen times over the next 2 months because I didn't believe it was stress.... But now that I look back, I think to myself: How could I not think it was stress!
I was working two jobs, I had just purchased a condo (that I could barely afford at the time), was having problems with my parents and was arguing with and cutting off friends left right and center because I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. But because I had always had a million things on the go my whole life, I had just accepted the fact that stress was a normal part of life.
NOT!! Stress works in mysterious ways... it accumulates in your system and one day it will just decide to release itself, it could be in the form of disease and discomfort (headaches, flu, fever or even cancer) and in my case it released itself as a panic attack...
How did I overcome my situation?? Well my doctor suggested medication and because I didn't know about alternatives, I decided to take it.... He prescribed
ATIVAN a drug commonly used to control anxiety... I took the pills and it basically turned me into a zombie and even worse it caused me to hallucinate (I was hearing laughing Hyenas!!
lol)... so I never took the drugs again and found ways to work through the stress on my own. (PS - I am neither for nor against taking drugs to
remedy these types of things, but they just didn't work for me).
After the drugs didn't work:
I quit my second job...
Started doing Yoga, Running and got more physically active...
I stopped caring about stupid things that didn't matter (i.e. pressures at work etc, if some girl I didn't know didn't like me, or if some dude cut me off on the highway - WHO CARES!!.)
But most importantly I started enjoying life (travelling, spending time with my fam) AND I started What Women Want!
I am happy that I went through what I went through because so many positive and rewarding changes came into my life as a result of that wake-up call.
I obviously still get stressed out all of the time, but I try not to ever let anything bother me too much. I haven't had another another anxiety attack, probably because I know in my head that I will always be fine at the end of the day and that the most important things in life are family, God and being good to others....
I know that this blog is a bit more deep than the others that I do, but I know that I am not the only one to have experienced something like this, so I hope that I can help other women (and men) out there that may have gone through the same thing...
I'd love to hear your experiences if you would like to share. I have learned so much and gained a lot of confidence from the insight that ladies have given me in the comment section over time. Feel free to use the Anonymous option!
Have a great weekend!
Shay xoxo
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