#mhapantelina

[mental-health-advice]

Why did Pantelina left?

Hi darling,

She left to focus on her own recovery, which I personally think is a very good and valid reason to leave! Everyone’s recovery always comes first and sometimes we underestimate what working on this blog will actually do to how we feel, or we overestimate how we’re doing. So then we need a break to focus on recovery. Who knows if/when she’ll be back though.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask :) 

Sometimes what seems impossible, is just hard.

Keep fighting beautiful <3 

Love Pauline

[mental-health-advice]

Drones here! thank you Pantelina for answering my ask about anxiety- and panic attacks. i now know the difference and many people told me that i had a panic attack but nope i defiantly had an anxiety attack! thank you so much for being so lovely! ~ ♡ PS my name is really similar to yours mines elina ahha ♡

Hi darling,

I’m reallyglad that Pantelina was able to help you with getting to know what thedifference is between a panic attack and an anxiety attack. It can definitelybe confusing sometimes! Pantelina unfortunately had to leave the blog, but I’llpass this message on to her and edit this if she wants to give you a reply aswell.

Also yourname is super lovely! <3

Sometimes what seems impossible, is just hard.

Keepfighting beautiful <3

LovePauline

[mental-health-advice]

Can trichotillomania include pulling out like eye brow hairs and eyelashes? And also can it be "dormant" and not show serious symptoms (or any symptoms at all) for a couple months/years?

Hi honey,

Definitely in both of your questions!!

Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) is when someone pulls out heir hair usually resulting a significant hair loss. Hair pulling may occur from any region on the body in which hair grows. The most common place is the scalp followed by eyebrows and eyelashes.

The majority of people with this disorder find it difficult to stop pulling, it can occupy them for a lot of hours in day, daily.  Having in mind that trichotillomania may be triggered by anxiety, some individuals only have the urge to pull when in under a lot of stress. So yes, they may stop pulling for months and when they are triggered they start again.

Of course that does not make it any less serious or cause any less distress.

Hope this answers your questions, If you need more clarification please do send another ask :)

Take CarexoxoPantelina

[mental-health-advice]

Hi Pauline! Yes i meant answer not asked (i can be really dumb sometimes, im sorry). Pantelina answered my q!

Hi darling,

Don’t worry about it, we all make mistakes! (And you don’t want to know how many times I’ve made that one, I don’t think it can be counted on 10 hands...). I understood what you meant and that’s what’s most important :) I just wanted to check to make sure! Pantelina is a new admin, meaning that her info will be up within a week most likely. I hope this cleared things up :) 

Sometimes what seems impossible, is just hard.

Keep fighting beautiful <3 

Love Pauline

[mental-health-advice]

I dont like being touched. At all. By nobody. My therapist wonders if I've been through a traumatic experience or something, but I have no recollection of anything of the sort. Is there a potential reason I hate contact? Or is it just my personality?

Hi honey,

I know how hard and scary this is. There are many reasons why someone hates any type intimacy, being through a traumatic experience as your therapist said is one of them.

Usually when we go through a traumatic experience our body sends signals that we are in danger and to protect us our mind sends those memories to our unconscious and they become repressed memories. Repressed memories are triggered by anything that can be related to the event. For example if we were physically/sexually abused as a child, with a simple touch by anyone, we could get really triggered and feel really anxious or scared without knowing why. That could be linked to why we don't like being touched.

To others fear of intimacy can be linked to their fear of abandonment. We only let people to touch us when we really like them and when we really like them it means that we are also terrified of them leaving us. For that reason we hate people to touch us because it means that we are getting really close and possibly attached to them.

There is also something that is called "sensory defensiveness". We react negatively to different types of sensations. For some people is movement, taste, smell for others is touch. It can be genetic or a result of early experiences.

There are therapies that help you recover suppressed memories and then help you to overcome your fears. This can take time and it may be really painful. You can talk about this with your therapist and you can start working on it when you are ready. Never push yourself too far and be honest with your therapist about it. You deserve to have closeness and intimacy in your life.

Stay strong and keep fightingxoxoPantelina

[mental-health-advice]

Hello! I have a question about panic attacks. When I think I have my self diagnosed panic attacks they happen the same way each time. It starts off as ya know constant worrying and then I have the uncontrollable urge to be tapping on something, or snapping my fingers. (If I don't tap I get even more anxious) If I gets really bad I have to pace and I can only repeat the words "I'm fine" over and over again until I calm down. Is this a panic attack or just a freak out? Sorry if this sounds dumb.

Hi love,

No of course your question does not sound dumb. Everyone experiences anxiety in a different way. What you are describing can not be classified as a panic attack but I can't give you a diagnosis or be sure about it. I'll explain more below.

There are a lot of misconceptions around panic attacks. First of all you can not get diagnosed with panic attacks. Panic attacks may happen (it is not necessary) with any anxiety disorder.

Panic attacks strike without a reason or a warning.  An overwhelming fear or anxiety can set off a panic attack, your body is getting into a fight or flight mode and it usually sends faulty messages to your brain that you are in danger. Symptoms of them include:PalpitationsShakingChest PainNauseaSweatingDizzinessand rarely fainting.

As you can see, the symptoms don't really match with what you are describing. Tapping and snapping your fingers can read as body language that you are very anxious and pacing is your body saying that you need to calm down. If you are really worried about this and it happens a lot to the point of it interfering with your life, I would suggest to seek for a therapist. Alternatively you can always click here for grounding techniques to calm yourself down!

Take CarexoxoPantelina

[mental-health-advice]

um hi! so im kinda confused as of what the difference between a panic attack and an anxiety attack is, could you please explain the difference! thank you so much ~ drones

Hi Drones,

It took me a long time to differentiate them too. They kept telling me "you had a panic attack" "you had an anxiety attack" and honestly I thought they were the same.

Both Anxiety and Panic Attacks are part of an Anxiety Disorder. You can have an Anxiety Disorder without having them but you can't have them and not have an Anxiety Disorder.

Anxiety Attacks occur when you are really anxious about something and you are aware of it. For example you are presenting something at school or you are meeting new people etc. You feel it coming and you know what caused it. Anxiety attacks also happen when you are expecting them. For example I had a anxiety attack at the mall last week, I didn't go back to the mall for that reason but now they are forcing me to go so I have an anxiety attack because of it.

Panic Attacks on the other hand occur out of nowhere. You are at a coffee shop with your friends and while you are having fun, you get a panic attack. They may seem out of nowhere but in reality something unconscious triggered it. Like I was walking down the street the other day and I was holding a cup of coffee and I tripped and fell and the coffee split over me. I felt really embarrassed. Now am at the coffee shop with my friends and I'm smelling the same coffee and quickly you mind is sending false alarms and you have a panic attack but you can't associate it with coffee.

I hope this made sense and I didn't confused you even more. Basically Anxiety Attacks happened when we are triggered by something, Panic Attacks happen without a warning.

Take carexoxoPantelina

[mental-health-advice]

Hello. So I found this blog a few hours ago and your responses to asks seemed very helpful. I was wondering if you could help me out with this thing I'm going through right now. From what I've read, I think I've been experiencing intrusive thoughts and I don't know what to think about them. I assume they are intrusive thoughts because they happen randomly and almost always have something to do with harming my loved ones or myself. Is there something wrong with me? Should I be concerned?

Hi there!

Intrusive thoughts are exactly what they sound like! They are thoughts that usually come out of nowhere, are out of our control and they are really frightening and frustrating. They are usually embarrassing, repetitive, unwanted “bad” thoughts about what we can do to ourselves or other persons, what might happen to us or someone we know.

Something you need to know is that everyone experiences intrusive thoughts from time to time, it’s totally normal. When those thoughts come and stay (they keep popping to our heads, we keep thinking about them, we act on them) are usually a component of an Anxiety Disorder.

What you need to remember though is that the more you try to push them out of your mind, the more they insist and stick around and they make you more and more anxious.

Should you be concerned? Well, if they are constant and you keep acting on them and they are interfering with your life (for example if I don’t open and close the door 14 times, my mom will get hurt. So I open and close the door 14 times) it will be a good idea to see a professional.

Best therapy for Anxiety Disorders and intrusive thoughts is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The therapist will teach you a way to get yourself out of an intrusive thought, you will learn to recognize errors in their thinking.

Hope this helps, if you have more questions feel free to ask.

Take CarexoxoPantelina