I know there have been a few topics about hypnotherapy before, but I wanted to share my experience with you. I don’t know if any of you have tried hypnotherapy as a treatment, but I have and I still do. I have to say that it has helped me very much. I am pregnant at the moment and you must know how much more difficult it must be for me. I had to stop taking Xanax and I am only taking 20mg of Prozac at the moment. I’ve had this problem for more than 10 years and I came to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore, I lost hope. One think I realized for sure all these years is that medication does not cure us. Yes it does help us handle the panic attacks better and even reduce them, but it will never cure us and I am sure you all know that. I really hope I found my answer with hypnotherapy, but my therapist seems very confident. She told me that I will never have a panic attack again because I am now in control. To tell you the truth I don’t remember the last time I had a panic attack. Of course there are times when I get scared or feel negative, but I always manage to handle it.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience with all of you and wish you all good luck!

Madj :)

Hi,
not many of us get help from hypnotism, I think we are the wrong type of people to benefit much
sometimes just being pregnant stops anxiety and panic attacks

I know there have been a few topics about hypnotherapy before, but I wanted to share my experience with you. I don’t know if any of you have tried hypnotherapy as a treatment, but I have and I still do. I have to say that it has helped me very much. I am pregnant at the moment and you must know how much more difficult it must be for me. I had to stop taking Xanax and I am only taking 20mg of Prozac at the moment. I’ve had this problem for more than 10 years and I came to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore, I lost hope. One think I realized for sure all these years is that medication does not cure us. Yes it does help us handle the panic attacks better and even reduce them, but it will never cure us and I am sure you all know that. I really hope I found my answer with hypnotherapy, but my therapist seems very confident. She told me that I will never have a panic attack again because I am now in control. To tell you the truth I don’t remember the last time I had a panic attack. Of course there are times when I get scared or feel negative, but I always manage to handle it.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience with all of you and wish you all good luck!

Madj :)


You are right. If the right hypnotist or therapist using hypnotherapy and does it right, you will overcome panic attacks. The best method I know of, is to go back to the time or its origin where it began. Panic is a disorder, but it is a trained disorder, something that happened in your life caused this anxiety. It's going back, eliminating it, and then reconditioning. Also too, hormone inbalances can make you have an anxiety attack/panic attack. While being pregnant, your hormones are probably up there and staying even right now.

Hi,
not many of us get help from hypnotism, I think we are the wrong type of people to benefit much
sometimes just being pregnant stops anxiety and panic attacks

Dear hry33,

You are very wrong to think being pregnant stops the panic attacks at least in my case. This is my second pregnancy and I must tell you that at my first one when I stopped taking pills I was a total wreck. Also, this time when I first began to withdrawal the Xanax I wasn’t very well. I am very sure that if I wasn’t doing Hypnotherapy I would be much worse right now. Anyway, I just wanted to correct you on that.

Madj :)

Madj:

Keep doing the hypnotherapy, it will work for you. Also, EFT (emotional Freedom Technique) is good too. I'm working with it and it does help. Hypnosis will not only relax you, but you should go back to when you began to feel the anxiety/panic and release it.

Dear ainfante,

Thanks for the advice. I know what you mean about going back and releasing everything when the problem just started, but we don't need to do that because we already know why the problem started. I am very confident with this and for the first time in my life I am actually beginning to get better.

Thanks a lot.

Madj :wave:

Dear ainfante,

Thanks for the advice. I know what you mean about going back and releasing everything when the problem just started, but we don't need to do that because we already know why the problem started. I am very confident with this and for the first time in my life I am actually beginning to get better.

Thanks a lot.

Madj :wave:

Good for you. Who is performing the hypnotherapy?

Good for you. Who is performing the hypnotherapy?

You wouldn't know her because I don't live in the USA. I am from Cyprus :)

Madj :wave:

I am doing hypnotherapy also and it is the best money I have spent!!! The reason why it doesn't work for some is because they must have a negative attitude towards it. I believe getting to the root of your panic and letting it go is important. I sure as heck don't want to spend the rest of my life on meds, I am going to help myself any way I can....I would like to be clear headed and med free soon. The meds have helped but that only masked the problem you got to get to the root of it and sometimes it takes a lot of work and effort that some arn't willing to try. Madj, Good for you!!!! I wish the best of luck to you!!!!!!
:angel: Carly

HI gang. I guess I need to have my therapist do more hypnosis with me. I've only seen her 4 times and she's been great. I will ask her if I can see a hypnotherapist on the side if she doesn't always want to go that route. She did it on me once and I went back to age 12 when all the problems seem to have begun. Man, my stomach was hurting so bad while I was under. There's the emotional area, the stomach.

You are all very right. Worrywort I totally agree with you. I also came to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I said to myself I am fed up with this; I don’t want to be taking pills for the rest of my life. I really believe hypnotherapy helps, because if it helped me I am sure it would help anyone.

Ainfante I also know what you mean about your stomach hurting. When I relieved all of my stress I felt that tightness in my chest and she explained to me that our chest and stomach areas are the most sensitive. The good thing is that the pain soon goes away!

Today I forgot to take the Prozac for some reason and for the first time in my life I can say to myself: don’t worry you are strong and that everything is going to be fine.

Good luck to all of you!!

Madj :)

You are all very right. Worrywort I totally agree with you. I also came to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I said to myself I am fed up with this; I don’t want to be taking pills for the rest of my life. I really believe hypnotherapy helps, because if it helped me I am sure it would help anyone.

Ainfante I also know what you mean about your stomach hurting. When I relieved all of my stress I felt that tightness in my chest and she explained to me that our chest and stomach areas are the most sensitive. The good thing is that the pain soon goes away!

Today I forgot to take the Prozac for some reason and for the first time in my life I can say to myself: don’t worry you are strong and that everything is going to be fine.

Good luck to all of you!!

Madj :)


Hi Madj: You keep doing it. I'm a hypnotherapist, but unfortunately, even us practicing professionals have issues. I know plenty of psych's, therapist's etc. who also have anxiety attacks. We don't work on ourselves except to rid our own fears. We go to others who can assist us.

God Bless

Andrea

Hello everyone :wave:

I wanted to bring back this subject, because I know that it could help many of you. I am still doing the hypnotherapy, not as often as before. Since I began the therapy I’ve been free from panic. I am a different person for the first time in my life. It wasn’t easy for me and I never thought it was possible. After all these years of suffering I finally found something that helped me. I really wish that this could be something that will help you also.

God bless you.

Madj

Hello everyone :wave:

I wanted to bring back this subject, because I know that it could help many of you. I am still doing the hypnotherapy, not as often as before. Since I began the therapy I’ve been free from panic. I am a different person for the first time in my life. It wasn’t easy for me and I never thought it was possible. After all these years of suffering I finally found something that helped me. I really wish that this could be something that will help you also.

God bless you.

Madj

This is my next step, but before I can do it, Imust still release some of the trauma I've experienced because sometimes during a hypnosis session and you are re-living fear, it can make you jump out of it and then it will have no bearing. So now they want to do EMDR first.

Andrea

This is my next step, but before I can do it, Imust still release some of the trauma I've experienced because sometimes during a hypnosis session and you are re-living fear, it can make you jump out of it and then it will have no bearing. So now they want to do EMDR first.

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

I wish you good luck with it. I really hope you can do it one day. I guess I never experienced any trauma in my life. What I needed was to boost up my confidence and make me feel stronger and positive about myself. I am not scared anymore like I used to be. I really hope you feel like this one day.

Madj :wave:

Hi there Madj :wave:

I said to myself I am fed up with this; I don’t want to be taking pills for the rest of my life.

Isn't that the truth!! :D One gets to the point with
their panic attacks that they rise up and say:

I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

I know all about how rough it was getting off the xanax,
I call xanax "the poison little pill". Glad you endured the
symptoms of tapering (withdrawal) and toughed it out to get off that poison!

Madj, when the time is right, after your new Son is born,
have you considered tapering off the prozac? I think that with your successful hypnotherapy and some time to re-acclimate to the world free from panic, and also free from prescription medicine, you will be like me, free from panic! :D Besides, chasing two boys around the house real soon will keep you so busy, you won't have time for any panic attacks. :D

Hi there Madj :wave:



Isn't that the truth!! :D One gets to the point with
their panic attacks that they rise up and say:

I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!

I know all about how rough it was getting off the xanax,
I call xanax "the poison little pill". Glad you endured the
symptoms of tapering (withdrawal) and toughed it out to get off that poison!

Madj, when the time is right, after your new Son is born,
have you considered tapering off the prozac? I think that with your successful hypnotherapy and some time to re-acclimate to the world free from panic, and also free from prescription medicine, you will be like me, free from panic! :D Besides, chasing two boys around the house real soon will keep you so busy, you won't have time for any panic attacks. :D

Dear free from panic,

I have already begun to withdrawal Prozac. Right now I am only taking it every other day and I will stop it about a week before I give birth. All I hope is that Prozac hasn't done any harm to my baby. From what the docs told me is pretty safe. I really hope that's true!! All my tests went very well, so I don't want to think of anything bad.

You are right about Xanax. I never liked that pill. I only took it when I felt I didn't have any choice. I am glad that I do have a choice now. I am feeling positive that I will be like you one day free from panic :) , free from all the meds!!!!.

Madj :wave:

Hi Madj, you have a great attitude with everything, it's nice to see your positive posts. Like me, you've done your time with panic attacks, and LOL, got an attitude about them, like I did and literally did everything to throw them out of our life like one would do with rotten garbage!

How long have you been tapering off the Prozac? Remember to drink plenty of water, but not excessive amounts, to help flush the body of the residuals that manifest in the liver and kidneys.

Remember too, once all medications are stopped, it still takes the body a while to re-acclimate, such as your neurotransmitters to produce the right amount of organic GABA.

(Popularly referred to as the body's natural tranquilizer, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an amino acid produced in the brain. It acts as a neurotransmitter--a chemical that fosters communication between nerve cells--and helps to keep stress-related nerve impulses at bay.

Normally, the brain pumps out all the GABA we need. Unfortunately, due to a poor diet, exposure to environmental toxins, or other factors, levels of GABA may become depleted. Too little of this important compound may result in anxiety, irritability, and insomnia. A deficiency of GABA has also been linked to depression.)

I've done tons of research Madj over the years, and speaking from personal experience, given time (everyone varies ) things always get better. I never thought I would be where I am today, it took a long time, but I made it. So... do you have a name picked out for Son #2 ?

Dear free from panic,

Thanks for all that information. You do seem to know a lot. I think it's been a month since I began to withdrawl Prozac. You mentioned something about drinking a lot of water but not too much. Why is that? I always seem to be drinking a lot of water, especially now I seem to be drinking even more!!! That is why I am asking you why I shouldn't drink too much.

Now, about the babys name.... I don't really have much of a choice for that. You see in Cyprus they always give the names of the grandfathers and grandmothers. So, now I have to name him after my husbands father which is John.

Madj :wave:

Hi Madj, the reason you don't want to drink too much water is so you don't overwork your kidneys. Water helps to flush out the residual chemicals that accumilate in your body from the prozac, and also day to day pollutants. By breaking them down and flushing them out of your body, helps the tapering process, as less prozac is present, the body adjusts to that lower level.

I've done a lot of research, and heat, dehydration, heat stroke, etc. related to benzos. Though prozac is an SSRI, the same does apply in a lot of ways. The prozac, like benzos, effects the neurotransmitters and also the homeostatic control of GABA and also heat regulation. Good way to compare it to is the homeostatic control is our brain's natural "thermostat", it regulates everything for our brain and body. The prozac (and also benzos) just allows the body to make more "efficient" use of it
by enabling a better "fit" at the synaptic site. It
sort of "holds open the door" longer. It is the
homeostatic sensing system that is actually disrupted
with tolerance and withdrawal. Your body has become
accustomed to not having to make as much GABA, and for
some reason, the homeostatic sensing system to control
the appropriate amount of GABA release gets messed up
over time. THAT is what causes the system disruptions.
Yes, GABA production after complete w/d will return to
normal after all the prozac and benzos are out of your system, (for those on benzos)but
the homeostatic controls take much longer to readapt.

Your body's organic (homeostatic) function is returning and being a bit thirsty is telling you the body/brain requires more water. Rule of thumb Madj, drink small glasses of water throughout the morning, day and early evening. This way you are properly hydrated, it's when you are "thirsty" and go to drink water, is the body telling you it's in the initial dehydration stage. I live in a really hot area and when I was on benzos, and in withdrawal for them, I kept getting heat stroke and would almost pass out and then be sick for a couple days from the heat. I would drink water, tiny glasses constantly, as when I was on benzos it "tricked" my brain into thinking all was fine, see it goes back to that GABA manipulation, and messes with our organic homeostasis.

Madj, I hope this makes sense, I tend to get a bit over analytical, but I've really researched all the brain related things to understand and also help others. Think of it also this way, once free from prozac, the brain will need a little time to just fine tune itself (calibrate) all the functions that the prozac took over doing instead of the brain functioning autonomously. Benzos are the same way.

Hey, it's my 2nd year anniversary of being benzo free today!

John is a nice name, it is real popular here in the USA. :)

Hi free from panic,

I am very happy for you that you've been free from benzos for 2 years. Did you only take benzos? I used to take both, SSRI and Xanax. There were times when I was only taking an SSRI, I went through so many different meds. I really hope I will never need to in the future.

I really wish I could control how much water I drink, but I can't!! I do drink a lot. You see it is so hot now in the summer that I can't help it. There were times when it went up to 40c which is a lot. How hot does it get where you live?

Madj :wave:

Madj, keep drinking water!!!!!! I just went to a conversion site to convert celsius to fahrenheit and your temperatures are the same as mine!! It averages 103-105 degrees fahrenheit here, which would be 40 or so celsius!! Yikes, LOL don't you just hate the heat?!!!! It's not humid here, but not a dry heat either, more like a big oven and the heat makes you sick to your stomach, goes right through you and makes you faint feeling. In the summer here, it's near the century mark at midnight!

I was only on benzos for too many years and they are designed to work like SSRI's to "take over" for the neurotransmitters and the GABA output release. I got heat stroke because when I was on benzos I was never thirsty until it was way too late.

I drink water all the time now, I take a water bottle with me outside, in the car, while I'm shopping. We also have here a rehydration drink called gatorade which replaces the electrolytes and potassium that one loses in this wretched heat. I make a lot of the gatorade, I buy the powdered jars and mix it myself, it's a lot more affordable that way.

Madj, I am more then confident that once you have tapered off the prozac and allowed your body and just as importantly your brain to return to organic "function" (for lack of a better word) with your hypno-therapy, the progress you've already made and are still making, you won't be on any prescription medicine again.

Madj, remember it takes a bit of time, everyone is different (and some people skate right along) once off any medicine, to start feeling like your old self before panic ever invaded your life. Some people think after a couple weeks off medicine they should feel 100% again, but it takes time and they are too impatient to hang in there and re-instate their benzo or SSRI like 3 weeks after they stopped taking it.

My case was different, after 9 1/2 months of benzo tapering, I had to go "cold turkey off of it" due to toxic reaction, so I had protracted withdrawal syndromes for a long time, but I rode it out, took nothing for it, got a lot of exercise, ate good, etc. and I am just fine.

Madj, I've known people to taper off prozac, they felt just fine a month after they stopped it, the women for some reason felt good again after 2 weeks, maybe the men aren't as tough as us gals, LOL. I also think that your pregnancy and hormones will be a benefit to you in maintaining your blood chemistry levels, especially if you elect to breast feed as this will keep your estrogen levels up which does a host of good.

Madj, I sure hope you have air conditioning! I lived my whole life where it wasn't hot until I moved to this "oven" area (hot temps) and suffered for 7 years without air conditioning. I have it now in this house where we live, not all houses here were set up for it. I also didn't have air conditioning in my old car, but have it now in the car I drive, it's a life saver too, LOL :)

free from panic, We sure do have air-conditioning. Everywhere you go here they are full of them!! We also have one in our bedroom (not anywhere else in the house). I don't think we could live here without them!! I didn't plan to be pregnant during the summer, but sometimes we can't get what we want :D I find it very hard with the heat and I get a lot of dizzy from the pregnancy as well.

I used to take Prozac in the past for many years until I decided to stop taking them. Of course I wasn't strong enough back then and after a few months of not taking them I began to have panic attacks again. Now, about breast feeding... I don't think I will be able to breast feed. First, I don't think my system would be clear enough from the meds (I need to ask my doc about this) + my therapist told me that it takes a lot of efford to breast feed and our body needs a lot of work to do this and this might affect me. I didn't breast feed my first child, so I kind of prefer not to. I hope I don't sound selfish :)

Madj