tight, heavy feeling in my chest, elevated heart rate. I could hear my heart beating.felt it pounding in my chest.and it really scared me. So I went to the ER and was given the full treatment. Was even screened for substance abuse as they thought my symptoms were consistent with cocaine use. I was held overnight because, again, there was nothing found to be wrong with me and I assume that they wanted to be absolutely sure before they let me loose.malpractice litigation being the booming industry that it is. Still, no consideration was given to the fact that these were classic indications of an anxiety attack. It would be another year or so before other events would bring this all to a crescendo. .
Were there any particular life events that seem to have contributed to the onset of this disorder? .
Well, looking back I can associate some stressful events with the initial symptoms. In each initial episode, there were real uncertainties at work. The kind where, try as you might, you have absolutely no control over the outcome. When I had my faux heart attack, I was a day away from taking GRE's. I was 12 credits deep in a grad program, but had not officially been accepted pending GRE results. Had I not passed, there were issues of reimbursement for tuition, professional advancement, etc. I was released from the hospital Friday afternoon and took the exams Saturday morning.
I had an idea that it might have been stress associated with the exams, but didn't think it was any more than an isolated event. .
In 1994, only about a month after the adoption of our second child, my wife suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve. She was in the hospital for two weeks and returned home with a long road of rehab ahead. With the kids, work and her disability it got pretty crazy keeping it all together, but I did. At least until summer when I was becoming more and more aware of irritability, inability to focus on detail, loss of energy.