Right now, I just woke up to a bad dizzy spell. The world was rotating and would not stop, and my anxiety spiked. I became very scared that this feeling would not subside. :(

Right now I'm on the computer and watching TV waiting for the feeling of rotation to subside, which it is somewhat, but is still not completely gone.

I need to get my anxiety down before I can go back to sleep, are there any tips for lowering the anxiety of a vertigo attack for now and in the future? Do I just have to wait it out?

Hi Calc,

Anxiety doesnt just go away on its own... You have to relieve either what is the cause or try to find some way to cope with it.

Try some relaxation -- Just realize that this episode will pass... It will go away and you'll be normal, no need to stress about it.. (Easier said than done). But either way, you'll want to maybe try some brainwashing techniques ... Make yourself believe it. Its hard i know... Hope this helps!

I intellectually "know" that, based on past vertigo attacks, that the current one will always subside eventually, but it keeps giving me anxiety regardless. Isn’t there evidence that the neural pathways for nausea and vertigo in the brain are closely related to the feeling of fear and anxiety in the brain? If that is the case, the anxiety can’t be helped.

I find that the anxiety subsides if I watch TV for a while. In about the last 5 days, I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night due to dizzy spells, and I can’t get a decent night’s sleep. :(

Hi Calc,

To some extent I agree with what you are saying but I now know (having been through the vestibular wringer for 29 months) that you do in fact have more control over the anxiety this creates than you think. Initially, when symptoms were brand new and severe I totally freaked out and I think anybody would unless they were highly trained in separating themselves from anxiety (an accomplished meditator perhaps or someone who had survived far worse, like a miltary battle?) or were fearless of really uncomfortable bodily sensations. That was not me unfortunately and so I ended up on an antidepressant (SSRI) to sort out a nicely entrenched anxiety disorder. I freaked for months with no end in sight. And then the SSRI kicked in and I got over it for the most part and then compensation could begin. I returned to about 97%, had a relapse this past June and freaked again. Alarm bells went off, panic ensued and I lost it. And then, one day, the penny dropped about 2 weeks into it. I don't know why or how but it just dropped and I realised that I was throwing petrol on the fire making it much, much worse. And then I stopped and suddenly felt this huge relief.....something just clicked.

But how to teach you to get there more quickly, I would suggest trying to find a counsellor who can teach you some CBT. That will at least give you the tools to explore the fear and disarm it more quickly than just thinking you are the fear when in fact you're not. For me, it had to be learned. It didn't matter how many people told me to just stay calm etc and breathe this way or that, I was still full of fear although breathing does help immensely. It's all a big mind game really. When you feel freaked out, concentrate on long slow breaths in and out - this works to take the edge off of it. Also, valium isn't a bad option either when it all becomes "too hard" but don't take too much of it.

Check out this great post from Wowweeee too:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=165771

Best...Scott :cool:

ps interesting point about watching TV and the anxiety goes - it's because you've distracted your mind from thinking about the panic. If it works then use the tv to help when it hits next time. Another thing I used to do was count backwards from 100 - another good distraction.