Bear with me, I know this is strange.
Somebody just suggested I use an epsom salt bath to ease menstrual cramps. The one and only time I took an epsom salt bath I ended up having a terrifying anxiety attack afterwards, complete with either hallucinations or repressed memories appearing before me. It lasted for hours. Prior to that I hadn't had anxiety in years. Absolutely NOTHING unusual or different was going on in my life to create such feelings. I now have a fear of epsom salt baths (I wonder if that is in the DSM-IV? ha ha) I'm left wondering, did I buy tainted epsom salts (seriously seemed like I might have been on drugs), or is it possible that soaking in epsom salts can draw out powerful, repressed emotions? SOUNDS CRAZY, I KNOW. I'm having trouble even typing it out, trust me, I'm fully aware, so please don't spend your entire answer telling me how silly this sounds. I'm just throwing the question out there because
a. I want to know if this has happened to anyone else, and
b. I want to know if you mom's have any other explanation for what happened. I saw a therapist briefly right after this happened, but I did not find it to be helpful, so I stopped going. I am not anxious. I don't have any undiagnosed problem. I'm well adjusted and happy. What the hell WAS that???
Oh, and PS, these were not the "bath salts" recently associated with teens getting high, they were actual epsom salts from Walgreens.
I use epson salts all the time and never had a problem. I would try a bath in just warm/hot water or a bubble bath to see if yu have a reaction like that to just a bath.
Since you seem to have no repressed memory issues and counseling didn't help, it could be a past life memory. I would recommend trying counseling again. All counselors are different and if you don't mesh with someone the counseling just won't worrk.
Sorry - I've never heard of a reaction to epsom salts like that before.
You can dissolve it (2 tablespoons or so) in water and drink it and it acts like a laxative.
Soaking in a bath (1 - 2 cups or epsom salts in the bath water) helps to relax sore muscles.
"Studies have shown that magnesium and sulfate are both readily absorbed through the skin, making Epsom salt baths an easy and ideal way to enjoy the amazing health benefits. Magnesium plays a number of roles in the body including regulating the activity of over 325 enzymes, reducing inflammation, helping muscle and nerve function and helping to prevent artery hardening. Sulfates help improve the absorption of nutrients, flush toxins and help ease migraine headaches."
Besides taking an Epsom salt bath once in awhile, I soak my feet in it to soften skin, and it's a great thing for greening up your houseplants.
Even my son likes an Epsom salt bath after sparring in taekwondo because it really helps his sore muscles.
What ever was going on, I'm not sure Epsom salts had anything to do with it.
OK...I worked at a chiropractic office, where we also had a holistic practitioner. The only documented side effects (the ones that were common enough to take note of) of Epsom salt baths are diarrhea. (because, of the magnesium, and it would take more then on bath.) The first thing I thought of, is that you could be magnesium deficient. Anxiety, depression, and a whole host of other things, can happen from magnesium deficiency. Possibly, getting the magnesium made your body freak out a bit??? I'm not a Dr., that's a complete guess.
I think Jo W might be on to something, too. It's possible you were very realized and your heart rate lowered, so you were brought back to memories you hadn't explored in a very long time.
It is possible that the bath relaxed you or something natural. In that state you were more open to the feelings that caused the panic attack.
Sorta like a specific smell from your childhood can suddenly relax you. It is not the smell or item that causes the change in emotion but what you attribute to it.
Clear as mud?
