Panic attacks?

[GreenEyedOne]

Anyone here have one (or more)?
Please describe the experience and how it was dealt with. Thank you.

 

[riff]

I do. But I am getting better.

You can always PM me.

 

[riff]

I have not had a panic attack in many weeks now.

It felt like having someone holding you by the collar at the edge of a cliff or being stuck on a train track in your car and not being able to get oout of the car and the train keeps coming but it never hits.

Hyperventilation
Accellerated heart rate
chest pain
fear of losing your mind/loss of control
sweats
insomnia

I read that 80% of women have them and that men are hiding theirs.

My sister had panic/anxiety disorder. I had a series of attacks a while back. I had all of the above, and I went several nights with very little sleep at all. Finally I realized that I was dealing with something that I could not think my way out of or pray my way out of. I felt I could not pull myself up by my bootstraps the way I usually do. I decided to see a doctor.

I realize now that I have had these attacks probably all of my life. I thought everyone had them and that it was just life. I can tell you this: therapy and proper medication have convinced me that it is not just life. If anyone is experiencing like what I did, there is no reason to suffer needlessly. You can get help, and you don't have to live like that anymore.

 

[Guest]

I experienced my first set of panic attacks, last month. I am on medication that is helping with the anxiety.

If you ever need to talk or find out any information, please contact me.

 

[Kitte]

Anyone here have one (or more)?
Please describe the experience and how it was dealt with. Thank you.

I have Panic Disorder and I am on Meds. if youd like you can PM me the whole world doesnt need my story

 

[riff]

I am taking Paxil and Xanax. I have Ambien to help me get to sleep. I take these only as prescribed.

The psychiatrist monitors my medication. I see a therapist every week. The medicine helps the sypmtoms, the therapy helps me "frame" things and myself so that I do not victimize myself.

It is working. I have a long way to go, but it is working. I am growing and I feeling so much better! I actually have hope in my life again.

CAUTION: Do NOT fuck around with these medications. Take them exactly as prescribed.

 

[Starfish]

I don't have a problem with this, but my best friend did. She had had a head trauma in a car accident and for the following year and a half she had these come on out of nowhere. She got all of the sympotms that riff said, plus vertigo.

It turned out that she had labrynthitis (inner ear fluid build up) and it was causing her some serious pressure on the brain.

They gave her diuretics and she got better. No more attacks, but the fact that she is a 'worrier' made them happen. She naturally worries too much.

 

[c.fey]

Anyone here have one (or more)?
Please describe the experience and how it was dealt with. Thank you.

Mine are caused by stress. And the chaos of the voices in my head. No really. My emotional filters, you know the ones that help you deal with all the CRAP; stop working and I lose it....I freeze up...I start shaking and can't stop, my head starts pounding, like a million people sprinting towards me, my body goes completely stiff and I can hardly breathe....usually I lay down and curl up into a fetal position and have someone hold onto me REALLY tightly until it passes...and it does pass eventually.

Some people take drugs; I've heard that kava kava is good for it; and I am sure there are many other good herbs out there for anxiety/panic attacks
I personally try to reduce the stress in my life. I try not to take everything so damn seriously. And pleasure myself more often.

Take care, many blessings ~ fey

 

[GreenEyedOne]

Riff, thank you for the list of symptoms. That helps.

Everyone, thanks for your responses.

I have been feeling depressed lately (yes, I am a chronic depressive) and have been trying to counteract that with inreasing my physical activity and by taking on a relaxing hobby.

I have not slept well lately and this morning when I woke up before 5, something that had been at the head of my bed was located between my ankles. (a book) Bizarre. I laid there until 6 and got up, went for a walk, went to work.
I woke this morning feeling bad, very uncomfortable and somewhat sick. I have not been eating much lately so I figured breakfast would be the ticket. Healthy breakfast and I continued to feel sick. On the drive to work, my chest began to hurt. No where I could touch, but deep-between my breast and scapula. I got an EKG at work and other than my pulse, it was normal.
I worked until someone went off on me on the phone. I tried to be nice but after several minutes of my efforts to tell him I needed to get more information (and being interrupted by actual people coming in my office that needed me), I gave up and told him I was sick and going home and would not help him today.
I came home and the symptoms are still here--varying in degree.

I really feel like an idiot. I KNOW that I shouldn't, yet I do anyway.

I suppose I should just look at this as another of life's unexpected adventures.

 

[GreenEyedOne]

Do any of you have any websites you can personally recommend?

 

[riff]

Do a search for Panic/Anxiety Disorders. You should find plenty of information. Books are helpful too. The more you understand about the causes and effects, the greater your sense of control will be.

 

[GreenEyedOne]

The problem with websearches is the tendency to have to wade to volumes of bullshit to get to the gems.

If anyone can personally recommend a website that he or she has found helpful, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

(What do you think I am doing here? Just playing at Lit? HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. Not doing that today......)

 

[riff]

Let me see if I can find one

 

[riff]

http://www.anxietypanic.com/

 

[Wiggles]

My panic attacks are usually brought on by nothing. I can be anywhere, and suddenly I get this feeling like everyones watching me and I'm about to mess up. Or like I'm on drugs and I think someone will notice, paranoia I guess.

Heart quickens, my vision becomes amazingly clear, thoughts become muddled, I experience major temperature changes and I want to rip off my clothes because I feel constricted.

If possible, I try to sit as still as possible and think about other things, or concentrate on a small detail. When I'm at work I usually have to take a ciggarette break.

I think mine are actually pretty mild compared to the ones I used to get in high school. Back then I don't know how I got through the day, it was torturous.

 

[Vinny]

none

Not me, but I do have flashbacks that occur only when I am sleeping.

 

[Allexus_TN]

I have them. Sometimes there doesn't have to be trigger, but I do have a few personal triggers. Those close to me know what they are and tend to avoid them.

My heart races, I break out in a cold sweat, my vision blurs, my hands shake, and I feel extremely restless. I can't sit, stand or lie still. If I get one at night, then I won't sleep at all. I now take Remeron, an anti-depressant with an anti-anxiety in it. It has been an answered prayer in combination with something else I take. My friends and family have mentioned several times how much more "laid back" I seem now.

You asked about what gets folks thru their panic attacks. For me, deep breathing exercises. I think I have posted this part before, but can't remember where. What I do is inhale for a slow count of 10 (say...10 seconds.) Hold it for 10 seconds, then slowly exhale for 10 seconds. You can adjust the time to what your lungs can handle, but slow is the key. Keep doing this, until you feel more calm. Concentrate only on that count and breathing. It helps me greatly, and also helps keep me from hyperventalating.

If you want, feel free to PM me.

 

[Guest]

http://my.webmd.com/condition_center/apd


You are not alone. I've dealt with such issues and I've worked in the mental health profession.

Feel free to reach out to these wonderful Litizens.

 

[GreenEyedOne]

I found this essay. It is a short read. It seems I have found a description for something I have always experienced.

My Experience of Depersonalization

Is there anyone else here who have firsthand understanding of this?

 

[Guest]

riff rocks

Riff's right on the money here.

I have anxiety issues.

I'm on meds, too. They REALLY help, but can't be screwed with at all.

There are a lot of resources out there. I work in mental health, and with the top anxiety disorders program in the country next to McClean at Yale.

I'm open to PM's as well, if you ever need anything.

 

[GreenEyedOne]

Just a bump to see if anyone else would care to reply.
Thanks.

 

[riff]

I found this essay. It is a short read. It seems I have found a description for something I have always experienced.

My Experience of Depersonalization

Is there anyone else here who have firsthand understanding of this?

YES.

But not to that extent. Whoever wrote that knows what that is. I don't think mine goes nearly that far, but the symptoms or the desriptions of the are uncannily familiar.

 

[erosman]

I found this essay. It is a short read. It seems I have found a description for something I have always experienced.

My Experience of Depersonalization

Is there anyone else here who have firsthand understanding of this?

No. I personally ascribe to self-induced shock treatment. The physical pain of rough miles keeps me jostled into my reality. Not necessarily comfortable, but definitely in the moment, so to speak.