Do You See Me Trying to Breathe? Faith-Based Journey From The Imprisonment Of Anxiety & Panic Attacks.

By Shekita Jackson

Do you see me trying to breathe? This book tells of my journey from internal imprisonment to freedom from the constant grip of anxiety and panic attacks. This book shares my personal pursuit of understanding the diagnosis of anxiety and panic disorder. Includes a description of my anxiety and panic moments, details of my research, the discovery

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shekita Jackson
• Release date: Feb 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798985381627

Book preview

CHAPTER I

What Is This Feeling?

Do you see me trying to breathe? Is this what a heart attack feels like? Will this feeling of suffocation take me out of here? Maybe today, today may be the day that I lose the fight of my life. My heart is pounding out my chest. Can’t they hear it? I can’t catch my breath. Do they see me trying to breathe? Can’t they see me struggling for air? Sweat covers me as the feeling of being lightheaded overtakes me. I am hoping someone else knows this feeling other than me. I hope I am not the only person that feels this internal constriction in their soul.

Anxiety rushes through the innermost part of me. Panic reaches the depth of my existence. What is it? What is anxiety? Anxiety is the term given by physicians. A diagnosis of anxiety, wow, how could I have what they are saying I have. A diagnosis of just a feeling to some and an inner turmoil to others. Anxiety, the term that defines what we feel when death feels so near. A medical word that sums up the war 9 that is waging on the inside. A word like none other, with a meaning so ill-defined and vast.

There are three major anxiety disorders: panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder. In the study for the treatment of these disorders, there have been many methods of treatment that were developed and performed. To name a few there are cognitive-behavioral treatments, meditation, psychotherapies, breathing techniques, eye movement desensitization reprocessing, mindfulness exercises, and many pharmaceutical medications that were created to control the frequency of panic attacks and lessen the symptoms. Some medication types include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SS-RIs), pregabalin, tricyclic anti-depressants and opipramol (TCAs), benzodiazepines, moclo-bemide, phenelzine, buspirone and hydroxyzine (Bandelow et al, 2015, p 183). Most anxiety sufferers have tried a combination of these treatments. The decision on whether to choose psychotherapy, medications or a combination of the two should be left to the patient as drugs may have side effects, interactions, and contraindications (Bandelow et al, 2015, p