Anxiety - Panic Attacks - Never Mind The What If? Enjoy The What Is!

Copyright © Ellen Dean

Have you ever wondered what may have caused your anxiety/panic attacks? I did. I couldn't understand the reasoning behind them. I am one of those people who has to have answers and then I can try to heal myself. I asked my GP for CBT because I felt as though I was doomed. But, I didn't actually receive CBT like I thought I did, and that's why it didn't work. What I actually received, I've just recently found out, was therapy from a psychological wellbeing practitioner. No disrespect to the practitioners, but the one I had call me on the telephone had no idea how to deal with a person with a vestibular disorder, the anxiety/panic attacks. She actually told me to 'put your coat on and go for a walk.' Believe me, when the room is spinning and you feel like you are going to faint, that's the last thing you want to do.

I now know that I have been suffering from Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV) without the headache. Yes, I know it sounds bizarre because when you think migraine you automatically think headache. However, I did suffer from migraines when I was younger, and the headache was horrendous, but a few years ago I thought they had gone. They hadn't. 

That is when I succumbed to vestibular migraine which, in fact, is quite a normal occurrence, if only I'd known at the time. 

Below are the symptoms taken from the Vestibular Disorders website. They are exactly the same symptoms I suffered that brought on my anxiety and panic attacks.

'The clinical presentation of vestibular symptoms that often correlate with migraine includes - but is not limited to - dizziness; motion intolerance with respect to head, eyes, and/or body; spontaneous vertigo attacks (often accompanied by nausea and vomiting); diminished eye focus with photosensitivity; sound sensitivity and tinnitus; balance loss and ataxia; cervicalgia (neck pain) with associated muscle spasms in the upper cervical spine musculature; confusion with altered cognition; spatial disorientation; and anxiety/panic.'

I researched into what could have caused the vestibular migraine in the first place. I found some interesting information regarding the symptoms caused by having a shortening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and was surprised to find there is a connection.

In this book I talk about my experience and how I have been able to help heal myself of debilitating panic attacks.  

Ellen Dean
Patron of Anxious Minds UK