Public Anxiety Attack | ADHD Information

Does any one become extremely anxious due to distractions in public.  I went out to dinner with my kids and hubby a couple of nights ago and spent a lot of the time feeling nauseated due to anxiety.

The air conditioner humming, all the murmuring voices around the restaurant, the clinking of cutlery and china, All were so LOUD.  I was trying so hard to listen to my own table, but couldnt focus.

I had to go out of the restaurant for a breather.  It is just so annoying when I cant enjoy a pleasant evening without all that bothersome noise that should be back ground noise.

Yes! I have experienced this. I start feeling closed in, sitting in
those little booths, with people walking all around you while
you're eating. You heard noises and feel chaos all around you.
It makes your heart beat really hard, you start sweating and feel
sick to the stomach. And all you want to do is run outside for
fresh air. I have the same dizzy spells in crowded spaces like churches.  I also remember having these anxiety attacks in fabric shops - I have no idea why, perhaps it was the smell of the fabric and all the patterns.Absolutely. I notice this most in group situations when lots of people are talking. I'm trying to listen to everybody at once and respond to them too. It's really frustrating. I also need to get outside and just breath. I used to be like that. I used to get something like claustrophobia in shopping centres --
combination of all the bright colours and distractions, noise, something about
the air, and not knowing where the exit was, I guess.

I used to have a hard time in restaurants. I don't know
exactly why, but going to a restaurant was stressful, not relaxing. Less so now.

Things that helped: "Sound Therapy", though I don't fee I need it any more;
chiropractic treatment, though I may be getting to where I don't need it any
more because I'm doing muscle-strengthening of
the spine and neck muscles instead;
and choline as a nutritional supplement.

Oh, yes, and omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Choline is a precursor of acetylcholine which is used
as a neurotransmitter in the inhibitory part of the nervous
system -- the part that sends messages saying "ignore this! ignore that!"

I felt understood when I read in the book about Sound Therapy that the
author couldn't stand it if two people were talking at the same time. I'm similar.

I hate it sometimes when my husband has the radio on and also tries to talk to me too.
It seems unfair. Though it depends on my mood.One time I was in a subway station, in a sort-of lobby and there were
commuters walking quickly in all directions. I had a sort of panic attack, and
felt I had to find a wall to lean against and take some
deep breaths before making another attempt to get out of there.

That reminds me -- I have a theory that where I live
(Ottawa and Toronto) or maybe in all of North America,
people walking faster go around people walking slower, but
in Vienna (and maybe all Europe), people walking slower
get out of the way of people walking faster, or if
they don't they get bumped into.

I saw people walking at high speed in a straight line
through dense crowds of commuters with no collisions.
I was bumped into, though.

In China they seem to manage fine with all those bicycles and Cars and Pedestrians.  Apparently they have one of the lowest Motor Vehicle Accident and road fatalities in the world.  And I think their theory over there is

"If everyone looks after themselves, then everyone is looked after" 

This is a theory in my house also, make sure you have looked after yourself, because then everyone is okay!

Rae70:   OT but: In Ottawa we have a network of bike/pedestrian paths with
no official rules for who gets out of whose way.
They're considered "recreational paths", through parks, but are also used by cyclists commuting. The authorities
who own and maintain the paths (the NCC) refuse to set
traffic rules for them.

A had a disagreement with a friend of mine about how cyclists and
pedestrians should use the paths. Later I realized:
I had thought I was right because I figured, if everyone followed
my rules, there would be no collisions. However,
that isn't enough!!

I realized that if everyone
followed my friends' rules, there would be no collisions either.
But, if some people followed my rules and some my friends', there could be collisions.

My rules were: faster people go around slower people;
regardless of whether on the path or on the grass, whether
walking or cycling.

Her rules were: go along the path in a straight, predictable way, on the right-hand-side. If you're going to cross the path or change direction, watch out for everybody else.

I now use some sort of hybrid of the two sets of rules.
Maybe I need to move to europe I can't stand slow walkers. Don't these people have anywhere they need to be.

Rosina, that is interesting, I am really tall for a woman 5,10.  And my theroy is - Get out of the way if your smaller.

If your driving a mini and a semi trailer is coming at ya, who do you think is going to  move.

Rosina, I knew I should have proliferated my gene pool with a China Man. In China they also have a very low incidence of the
7R allele (the "novelty-seeking" gene, the gene for
rapid dopamine reuptake, associated with ADD.)
I heard that people with ADD have a 4 times higher rate
of motor vehicle accidents.
i drive like a mad woman