So it seems like I've started having panic attacks..

[Oravay]

Had one for the first time on last weeks Tuesday night. I was about to fall asleep/half asleep when I thought my bed was shaking a little. I got up and tested my bed with my hand if it was still shaking and then I realized it wasn't the bed afterall, but me. Didn't take long until I was starting to feel like passing out. This go me freaked out, I was sure I'd die and thought if I needed to call an ambulance or not. My boyfriend was convinced it was a panic attack (he has experienced it before aswell, because he has panic disorder) and he bought me some water and told me to try and relax my breathing.

I also got a fabulous idea to take a piece of sugar in case I had a low blood sugar. Anyway, the shaking continued and got greater all the time, until the whole thing was over after about 15 minutes.

 

Well, I didn't sleep that night. And I rushed to the hospital the first thing in the morning. Got my blood and.. other substance tests as well as cardiogram.

Everything checked out fine, and the doctor was also telling me that it was indeed a panic attack, and wrote me a prescription for some beta blockers in case I'm starting to feel like having another attack again.

 

Well the week goes on and I've been afraid to fall asleep every night fearing that it might happen again, and here I am, writing this at 6am and haven't slept a bit.

I felt it starting again, just like last time, feeling the shaky, getting the dizzy feeling, fear of dying/going insane. I rushed to my pills and had one. Didn't get as bad as last time thankfully, but darn isn't this just terrible.

 

All my life I've been relatively healthy, I hardly ever have even a fever and now I get these sick seizures. Freaked me out, like seriously.

I already fear of the thought that I'll some day be dead, and if I now have to feel like it's my last time breathing every week.. ugh, not funny.

I've also tried to avoid any kind of meds until it's absolutely necessary.

 

Has any of you had these kind of panic attacks?

How do you deal with them? How long have you had them?

 

I don't even know if any of those medical terms are correct, or if anything at all in my english is understandable.

I just had to let myself out.

 

Also, this must be the longest post I've ever posted anywhere.

[FoolishFancy]

Panic attacks are terrifying, I'm so sorry you've started to have them. At least you can try the beta blockers though - they should help. I found it helpful to develop a coping mechanism, a sort of mantra I can repeat or hum, to relax my brain, because beta blockers + my antipsychotics = possibility of cardiac arrest. There's no reason to avoid meds if they are beneficial and it sounds like when you've tried taking it, it reduced the symptoms.

Do you know what could have acted as a trigger for your attacks? I've found it useful to identify unhealthy thought patterns and instead of ruminating, reflecting. It's easy to get into a spiral of negative thoughts and a lot harder to keep a buoyant mood though, so easier said than done!

Talking to people in a similar situation can help, are there any peer support groups near you?

 

Hope you feel better soon.

[kawaiicurls]

I started seeing a therapist because my panic attacks have been bad. I stop being able to breathe and literally it feels like everything you just said - particularly the earth shattering sensation. Stop. Take a deep breath.

 

Is there something in your life you're maybe really stressed about? Or something that you're hiding or holding in? Sometimes our subconscious minds have a way of folding back on us when we suppress too much, which is something I do on a daily basis which has led to this point. Anyway, I'm not on beta blockers because I don't believe in medication, and while I have my depression under control I don't want to form a dependency to pills, because a large deal of the time I'm in the ups rather than fighting the downs. My therapist uses essential oils as a tool and I find it helps - I couple of drops of medical grade oil in my hands, cupped over my nose and practice breathing whenever I feel like I'm about to have a panic attack. It may be something for you to consider as well.

 

like Fancy mentioned too - changing thought patterns. Somewhere along the way I started with self deprecating thoughts and a great deal of fear of failure in the simplest of things, and it was crippling. Now anytime I feel I just put myself down I re-examine the thought and change it. The idea is to slowly try changing the behaviour and get rid of the fear, and realize your fears don't hold onto you. Then again, I'm not a therapist and your situation may be entirely different, still, I hope you'll talk to someone if you have a lightbulb moment of what has really been bugging you, and that you won't need to be on the beta blockers either - though no shame if that is honestly something you come to need. There's nothing wrong with that at all.

 

Edit: *big, big, biiiiig hug* You're going to be just fine!

[Shelley]

one word: meditation!! (it really works) I can COMPLETELY sympathize. about a year ago I was having them at least once a day. The exact same symptoms you describe. I didn't have any specific triggers that I can actually think of, they just came on, and it was absolutely terrifying. I am taking regular medication (it is a low dose) and it has helped tremendously. I've had them since junior high but I've never had them as bad as recently. What helps me the most is doing something that is engaging that I can focus my mind on. Especially if there's something funny. Generally the happier I am overall, the less likely I am to getting an attack. Just know you are not alone!! Panic attacks are quite common, at least among individuals I know.

[Oravay]

Only thing that comes to my mind that might just have something to do with these attacks is the sudden death of 2 of my pet rats recently.

...But, I don't know. I've lost many pet rats before, and it hasn't affected me like this.

 

I did realize during the first panic attack that concentrating on something helped a bit, so maybe there's some idea in these mantras, meditations and things. I'll just have to find the suitable thing for me.

Though I'm not completely sure how meditation works, I'm sure there's lots of stuff about it on the internet. I might just try it out.

 

I'm not very good with groups, so I think that's out of the question. But I'm going to have to try the therapist if I can't get this in control by myself.

 

Thanks everyone for your support!

I was pretty amazed to see how common these things actually are when I researched about this.

[cutemustard]

For me personally, my panic attacks and anxiety disorder is genetic, meaning I get it from my Dad.

As mentioned already, meditation does work. My Dad is religious and always claims prayer helps him, but I've never tried since I am not.

I try not to be on meds because the ones I usually get prescribed make me sleepy, which is a bad combo since most of my anxiety is based around driving.

 

Breathing is the key though. Focus on happy thoughts. Talk to someone.

 

It's not a fun thing to deal with but it is possible to manage.

You will be okay.

[JenErik]

My eldest daughter had panic attacks - briefly: for two or three weeks - during her last year at uni. One thing that the doctor suggested to her was to try and avoid associating a particular place with her attacks - so to move into a different room when they started, or to go outside. (I know that's not an easy thing to do while panicking.) She had low dosage tablets that she could take if she felt she needed them - I don't think she took them often, but they gave her a sense of control over the situation. The whole thing reminded my mum (now in her 80s) that she had a panic attack once in her early 20s, though of course they weren't identified as that then, and the doctor merely told her she was fine. I mention that because it's worth saying that they may not ever recur or it may, as with my oldest daughter, be a very passing thing. And it's good to be sure of that, because I imagine otherwise you could get into a cycle where the fear of having an attack becomes the trigger for an attack.

 

My youngest daughter had them for months as part of an anxiety disorder, so for her they were related to very particular thoughts. In her case CBT was useful because the trigger was thought-related, though it's not an instantaneous fix. In the meantime yoga was helpful - and you can get breathing apps on your phone that help you regulate your breathing through an attack. She also found it helpful when her therapist talked her through the physiology of a panic attack because 1) she understood that it was a useful survival response her body was triggering inappropriately and 2) on some level she could know even during an attack that however frightening it was, it wouldn't kill her, and it would eventually pass. She found medication unhelpful.

 

The only other thing I'd suggest is that if they continue, and I hope they don't, is that it's worth telling your friends and family what you find helpful while you're going through the attack. Do you like to be held? Not touched? Talked to? For weeks we did the breathy-app phone thing with my daughter, but what she actually needed was to be repeatedly reassured: 'I know this is horrible, and it hurts, but it will pass.' Someone else might find that an unhelpful thing to hear.

 

I hope some of that helps. Hugs.

[loraleigh]

I have struggled with sever panic attacks from PTSD over the last year. I lost my job and within a month the panic attacks got so bad I started to isolate. I stopped going out because I never knew what would trigger an attack and I did not want to have one in public. I started to force myself to go out to a place I felt relatively safe and do some volunteer work. I am helping restore a historic landmark a few times a week. I am able to limit too much contact with others by listening to a book on tape while I work. The worst part of a panic attack is the unpredictable nature of an attack that lead to avoiding an situation you think might trigger one. As others have said meditation will help. Avoidance only makes it worse unless it is a specific phobia.

 

Be kind to yourself,

Laura

[Naamah D.]

I've had panic attacks before. Most of mine used to come from paranoia. My panic attacks don't show in physical form. I call them internal panic attacks.