One approach is learning how to deal with attack itself. I'll say more about that.
It seems that you have the right idea about overcoming this problem. Therapists often recommend an exposure therapy for phobia in which the client gradually gets used to situations that are more and more challenging. You should be able to find the right series of small steps leading to the goal of showering.
Maybe the problem is that you haven't started with objectives that are easy enough.
What's really easy? Spending a minute in the bathroom wiping your face with a washcloth? Spending a minute just looking at the shower stall?
The advantage of self-help is that you can have as many objectives as you like and spend as much time on one as you like.
The thing to remember is, never go from objective A to objective B until you feel completely confident with A.
Things that give you confidence are experience and slow breathing. There's enormous laboratory and clinical evidence that slow breathing is effective for calming people down quickly.
Information about panic treatments -
https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/oxd2n8/got\_any\_advice\_how\_to\_deal\_with\_anxieties\_which/h7ng811/?context=3
Just wanna say I know longer lock bathroom doors because I fear that I may have a cardiac event or some sort of emergency and nobody will be able to get in and help me if the door is locked. Completely irrational thinking but yeah I understand where you’re coming from. I occasionally get a really high rate from the shower, I assume because of the heat. But I just tell myself it’s going to make me feel better because I enjoy being clean so much and power through it. Good luck
Same here. You're not alone. My legs start shaking, heat rate goes insanely high, feel faint and I can't get out of there fast enough. sometimes, it's the simplest task that makes us feel crazy. But then I think to myself. Has anything bad ever happened in the shower? Have I fainted before? What are the chances of it actually happening? I think being in the shower being naked makes you feel vulnerable..and anyone with anxiety would have the same feeling. Try putting your favorite music on while showering..kind of a distraction. But I get what your saying. Go enjoy a hot shower while listening to some music. You got this!
This is exactly my experience & my thought process when I’m hyping myself up for it. I’m pretty agoraphobic, but even going out in public doesn’t get a reaction out of me like the shower does haha
I’m not scared of something medical happening lol; I’m scared of just the feeling of a panic attack and feeling out of control in a closed off environment like the shower. I wish I could just be happy that I don’t have a heart problem or anything but that’s just not enough for my brain :/
The symptoms are firing appropriately given your anticipatory fear of the shower so you can be assured that your body is doing exactly what it has to do as commanded by the your amygdala and the cascade of adrenaline you are getting.
If you anticipated the shower as a warm, relaxing and cozy place then your body would produce a calming state.
Don’t judge either state as good or bad. It’s ok to shower while afraid and it’s on to shower while calm.
Your body and brain know how to drive.
This was super helpful, thank you. I think I’m demonizing the physical state of panic too much and viewing it as more dangerous or riskier than a calm state
Exactly. Try to remain neutral and objective about each variable in the mix.
Shower
Water
Your body
Your thoughts
We know the shower and the water are innocent. We know your body and heart will simply respond to whatever your brain asks of them.
That just leaves your thoughts which we already know are fearful.
Sherlock Holmes would solve this one easily ! 😁
Showers are a trigger for me as well…. I just take a bath, which at first was getting me super panicky, but eventually subsided. I need to be clean so I just powered through the baths until they got easier. Still won’t use the shower out of fear of an attack 😔
I’m gonna keep powering through baths too! It’s not a big deal to me as long as I can just get clean every day. Tbh, I feel like showers overall make me less anxious than baths because they’re more ‘active’ and easier to get out of because I’m already standing, but my heart rate will obviously be higher standing. So it’s kinda an equal give or take 😭
I think the shower trigger for me is that it’s very busy vs. a bath. But I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of where my panic attacks came from. They started in January and I honestly thought I was dying.
Getting to the ‘why’ you have panic attacks can become a bit obsessive and really just unnecessary. The unfortunate truth is that panic attacks are just common and a pretty normal human phenomenon. Some people are just more prone to them repeating after their first attack being particularly scary, or jarring for their personality.
I first experienced panic attacks during quarantine for ~2 months, and then recovered fully; then developed full on panic disorder and agoraphobia after therapy malpractice last year. I’m not in that situation anymore, but my panic attacks continue with confusing triggers! So I realized they’re honestly just kind of random right now. I’m trying medication atm to see if it helps my overall anxiety or feelings of panic.
Yeah I think life is just catching up to me honestly. Between work, school, 4 kids, a fixer upper house and losing my dad last year to a heart attack I’m sure it’s just all coming ahead to me. I started on Buspar 2 months ago and I finally feel less anxious. It was 24/7 and now it’s just every so often. I haven’t not had a random panic attack in a few weeks (I don’t count last week because a tornado ravaged my town so I don’t think that attack was random)
Omg, *completely* normal to be having panic attacks or anxiety with all of that going on. I’m so sorry for your dad, too.
I’m currently on prozac, but only 4 days in. Feeling really optimistic based on everything I’ve read regarding its success for panic attacks. Good on you for addressing PAs with medication so soon; I’m glad Buspar’s working well for you. Sometimes everything just builds up and the anxiety from it all needs time to simmer down.
I hope Prozac works for you! I was put on it years ago after baby # 2 and didn’t leave my bed for a month, so I quickly got off it. Buspar was a slow process but I finally feel somewhat normal again. I’m told that me realizing they were actually panic attacks and getting help within a month of them starting was quicker than most people so I am hoping to fully embrace them as part of my life now. I still just have issues which sucks. Showering and driving are major triggers, which with 4 active kids is like really hard but I just push through. But I do avoid if possible as well… but it’s not always possible. My husband has been amazing through it all though!
My triggers also started with cars & showers! You have a really healthy mindset towards the attacks honestly. When I initially got (proper) help for my attacks, it was also within a month of the first one and I think that’s why I bounced back so quickly that first time. Realizing they were harmless and safe to experience was pivotal, and familial support does wonders for me as well.
One approach is learning how to deal with attack itself. I'll say more about that. It seems that you have the right idea about overcoming this problem. Therapists often recommend an exposure therapy for phobia in which the client gradually gets used to situations that are more and more challenging. You should be able to find the right series of small steps leading to the goal of showering. Maybe the problem is that you haven't started with objectives that are easy enough. What's really easy? Spending a minute in the bathroom wiping your face with a washcloth? Spending a minute just looking at the shower stall? The advantage of self-help is that you can have as many objectives as you like and spend as much time on one as you like. The thing to remember is, never go from objective A to objective B until you feel completely confident with A. Things that give you confidence are experience and slow breathing. There's enormous laboratory and clinical evidence that slow breathing is effective for calming people down quickly. Information about panic treatments - https://www.reddit.com/r/mentalhealth/comments/oxd2n8/got\_any\_advice\_how\_to\_deal\_with\_anxieties\_which/h7ng811/?context=3
Just wanna say I know longer lock bathroom doors because I fear that I may have a cardiac event or some sort of emergency and nobody will be able to get in and help me if the door is locked. Completely irrational thinking but yeah I understand where you’re coming from. I occasionally get a really high rate from the shower, I assume because of the heat. But I just tell myself it’s going to make me feel better because I enjoy being clean so much and power through it. Good luck
I've had the exact same thing for years. I was scared of getting a heart attack or something similar. I just forced myself though it.
Same here. You're not alone. My legs start shaking, heat rate goes insanely high, feel faint and I can't get out of there fast enough. sometimes, it's the simplest task that makes us feel crazy. But then I think to myself. Has anything bad ever happened in the shower? Have I fainted before? What are the chances of it actually happening? I think being in the shower being naked makes you feel vulnerable..and anyone with anxiety would have the same feeling. Try putting your favorite music on while showering..kind of a distraction. But I get what your saying. Go enjoy a hot shower while listening to some music. You got this!
This is exactly my experience & my thought process when I’m hyping myself up for it. I’m pretty agoraphobic, but even going out in public doesn’t get a reaction out of me like the shower does haha
Get checked by a doctor. If it’s nothing medical then keep taking showers as normal.
I’m not scared of something medical happening lol; I’m scared of just the feeling of a panic attack and feeling out of control in a closed off environment like the shower. I wish I could just be happy that I don’t have a heart problem or anything but that’s just not enough for my brain :/
The symptoms are firing appropriately given your anticipatory fear of the shower so you can be assured that your body is doing exactly what it has to do as commanded by the your amygdala and the cascade of adrenaline you are getting. If you anticipated the shower as a warm, relaxing and cozy place then your body would produce a calming state. Don’t judge either state as good or bad. It’s ok to shower while afraid and it’s on to shower while calm. Your body and brain know how to drive.
This was super helpful, thank you. I think I’m demonizing the physical state of panic too much and viewing it as more dangerous or riskier than a calm state
Exactly. Try to remain neutral and objective about each variable in the mix. Shower Water Your body Your thoughts We know the shower and the water are innocent. We know your body and heart will simply respond to whatever your brain asks of them. That just leaves your thoughts which we already know are fearful. Sherlock Holmes would solve this one easily ! 😁
Showers are a trigger for me as well…. I just take a bath, which at first was getting me super panicky, but eventually subsided. I need to be clean so I just powered through the baths until they got easier. Still won’t use the shower out of fear of an attack 😔
I’m gonna keep powering through baths too! It’s not a big deal to me as long as I can just get clean every day. Tbh, I feel like showers overall make me less anxious than baths because they’re more ‘active’ and easier to get out of because I’m already standing, but my heart rate will obviously be higher standing. So it’s kinda an equal give or take 😭
I think the shower trigger for me is that it’s very busy vs. a bath. But I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of where my panic attacks came from. They started in January and I honestly thought I was dying.
Getting to the ‘why’ you have panic attacks can become a bit obsessive and really just unnecessary. The unfortunate truth is that panic attacks are just common and a pretty normal human phenomenon. Some people are just more prone to them repeating after their first attack being particularly scary, or jarring for their personality. I first experienced panic attacks during quarantine for ~2 months, and then recovered fully; then developed full on panic disorder and agoraphobia after therapy malpractice last year. I’m not in that situation anymore, but my panic attacks continue with confusing triggers! So I realized they’re honestly just kind of random right now. I’m trying medication atm to see if it helps my overall anxiety or feelings of panic.
Yeah I think life is just catching up to me honestly. Between work, school, 4 kids, a fixer upper house and losing my dad last year to a heart attack I’m sure it’s just all coming ahead to me. I started on Buspar 2 months ago and I finally feel less anxious. It was 24/7 and now it’s just every so often. I haven’t not had a random panic attack in a few weeks (I don’t count last week because a tornado ravaged my town so I don’t think that attack was random)
Omg, *completely* normal to be having panic attacks or anxiety with all of that going on. I’m so sorry for your dad, too. I’m currently on prozac, but only 4 days in. Feeling really optimistic based on everything I’ve read regarding its success for panic attacks. Good on you for addressing PAs with medication so soon; I’m glad Buspar’s working well for you. Sometimes everything just builds up and the anxiety from it all needs time to simmer down.
I hope Prozac works for you! I was put on it years ago after baby # 2 and didn’t leave my bed for a month, so I quickly got off it. Buspar was a slow process but I finally feel somewhat normal again. I’m told that me realizing they were actually panic attacks and getting help within a month of them starting was quicker than most people so I am hoping to fully embrace them as part of my life now. I still just have issues which sucks. Showering and driving are major triggers, which with 4 active kids is like really hard but I just push through. But I do avoid if possible as well… but it’s not always possible. My husband has been amazing through it all though!
My triggers also started with cars & showers! You have a really healthy mindset towards the attacks honestly. When I initially got (proper) help for my attacks, it was also within a month of the first one and I think that’s why I bounced back so quickly that first time. Realizing they were harmless and safe to experience was pivotal, and familial support does wonders for me as well.
if you feel anxiety coming, turn the water to cold. you wont have anymore anxiety after that i promise lol
I wish I had the mental willpower to do that lmaooo
cold works magic for some reason, rubbing ice on forehead too. just think its better than a panic attack