EPTI'm so grateful it lasted less than two minutes.
I'm sort of scared to go to sleep now as I have this fear I won't wake up.
Anyone have any panic attack stories?
edit: I said literally twice.
I just had a panic attack
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Mickey
United States2606 Posts
I'm so grateful it lasted less than two minutes. I'm sort of scared to go to sleep now as I have this fear I won't wake up. Anyone have any panic attack stories? edit: I said literally twice. | ||
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serenidite
Korea (South)505 Posts
didnt see a rax in the Terran's base so i thought PROXY 8 RAX. BBS. heartrate increased, palms started sweating. then i found out it was just a forward rax. he was walling in this natural :/ | ||
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sluggaslamoo
Australia4494 Posts
That said when I was young, I used to get them every night for 2 years. | ||
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Mickey
United States2606 Posts
On July 13 2010 16:43 sluggaslamoo wrote: Anxiety, the best way to to get over it, is simple, get over it. Don't be afraid of dying, and it will go away. That said when I was young, I used to get them every night for 2 years. How did you deal with that? I can't imagine what that must of been like for you. | ||
p4NDemik
United States13896 Posts
When I got inside the ER they sat me down and a pissed off nurse came and looked at me for a moment, grabbed my head so I would focus on her and said "you're having a panic attack, relax." And like 30 seconds later I was back to normal. Weirdest shit ever. | ||
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sluggaslamoo
Australia4494 Posts
 , its a bit harder though because you can't actually "face" it. Basically your body is trying to manifest your stress into something tangible, the problem is it just makes the situation worse. In stone age times this was useful, because the dudes that were alert were more likely to survive, and often you could actually physically face your fears and conquer it, such as killing a lion.These days you can't do that, so it never subsides and just gets worse and worse. Whatever is making you scared, don't be afraid. The sooner your body realises you just don't give a damn, the sooner it goes away. It's easier when its something like you are scared of getting up out of bed because you are afraid someone or something is out to kill or torture you, or you are going to die (and you seriously seriously believe it). The best thing again, is to just face your fears and get up, go get something to drink or eat, and watch the TV or go back to bed. Whatever you are scared of, tell your mind to fuck off and just do whatever you want. In my experience this was the only way to "face" it. I only started doing this after the 2 years of being shit-scared and was surprised how quickly it went away.  It was bad, but somehow I don't regret it. I became much more confident when it subsided, because now nothing feels anywhere near as scary in comparison.And yeah, even if its really bad, I personally wouldn't bother going to a psychologist, it will just be a money sink that does nothing to help, as it was for me. The only way you can fix it, is if you grow some balls handle it yourself. | ||
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p4NDemik
United States13896 Posts
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Tadzio
3340 Posts
I came to, still in the car with my GF. She was frantic, speeding to the nearest hospital she knew about. I'd been out for a couple minutes, but I didn't know that at the time. I felt much better and since I didn't have health insurance I told my GF to just drive home and I'd get something to eat/drink and see how I felt. She acquiesced because my color had returned, and I seemed to be in a better mood. My next work night, I got in my car to drive to work and within 2 blocks I had another panic attack, I felt dizzy and disoriented, my heart _seemed_ to be beating irregularly. I pulled over and the feeling subsided. After a few minutes I decided to give it another shot. Almost immediately the symptoms returned. I pulled over, the symptoms subsided. I felt like an idiot. Long story short, I couldn't drive for 6 months and my life was put on hold for the better part of a year. After 2 months my GF of 2 years got tired of driving me around and left me (we'd been talking about marriage prior to this). In month 4 my lease expired. I moved back in with my folks because the panic attacks had started hitting me at work, and in class, and when I went to the supermarket or visited with friends at a coffee shop. Pretty much any time I left the house. My parents had me visit some therapist-type-thing and he prescribed me some anti-anxiety medication (paxil) and I eventually got to a point where I could function again. I still get panic attacks, though. They haven't gone away. I'm just used to them, I identify them faster and I've developed coping mechanisms to limit the panic. Fuckin' brain is evil, though. Keeps trying to fool me. Keeping your mind occupied helps. I don't mean keeping busy. That can use up your fight-or-flight adrenaline so you don't pass out, but keeping busy alone won't keep you from thinking about how you could be dying, or how the panic attack you know you're having could make you pass out and your head could hit something and you could become a vegetable, etc.... but thinking about other things can help. Whether it's SC builds or math problems, or story ideas. Basically, intense day-dreaming, lol. Find something you can concentrate on and focus on it until the panic goes away. That's what I do anyways. With any luck your panic attack was a one-time thing and not the emergence of a full-blown anxiety disorder. Best of luck! | ||
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ironchef
Canada1350 Posts
Was just like, oh shit calm the fuck down lol.. tried to close my eyes and focus on breathing.. like prevent sensory overload from the lights/sounds. I dont think I was scared at the time, but sort of surprised, and it was definitely very unpleasant. | ||
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Squallcloud
France466 Posts
Maybe if it happens often you should do the same? | ||
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JohnColtrane
Australia4813 Posts
On July 13 2010 17:17 Tadzio wrote: I started getting panic attacks shortly after my mom's dad died. I was 21 at the time. The first one: I was driving home from the funeral (it was a long drive) and I started feeling light-headed. I pulled over on the freeway and asked my girlfriend to drive. She did. I rolled down the windows and starting breathing deeply, trying to do whatever I could to get the feeling to subside. My girlfriend mentioned that I was very pale. Slowly, I became aware that my muscles were feeling very relaxed, and my breathing was getting shallower and shallower. I told my GF that I felt like I might be dying. She began speeding to get me to the hospital. I passed out. I came to, still in the car with my GF, frantic, speeding to the nearest hospital she knew about. I'd been out for a couple minutes, but I didn't know that at the time. I felt much better and since I didn't have health insurance I told my GF to just drive home and I'd get something to eat/drink and see how I felt. She acquiesced because my color had returned, and I seemed to be in a better mood. My next work night, I got in my car to drive to work and within 2 blocks I had another panic attack, I felt dizzy and disoriented, my heart _seemed_ to be beating irregularly. I pulled over and the feeling subsided. After a few minutes I decided to give it another shot. Almost immediately the symptoms returned. I pulled over, the symptoms subsided. I felt like an idiot. Long story short, I couldn't drive for 6 months and my life was put on hold for the better part of a year. After 2 months my GF of 2 years got tired of driving me around and left me (we'd been talking about marriage prior to this). In month 4 my lease expired. I moved back in with my folks because the panic attacks had started hitting me at work, and in class, and when I went to the supermarket or visited with friends at a coffee shop. Pretty much any time I left the house. My parents had me visit some therapist-type-thing and he prescribed me some anti-anxiety medication (paxil) and I eventually got to a point where I could function again. I still get panic attacks, though. They haven't gone away. I'm just used to them and I've developed coping mechanisms. Fuckin' brain. Keeping your mind occupied helps. I don't mean keeping busy. That can use up your fight-or-flight adrenaline so you don't pass out, but keeping busy alone won't keep you from thinking about how you could be dying, or how the panic attack you know you're having could make you pass out and your head could hit something and you could become a vegetable, etc.... but thinking about other things can help. Whether it's SC builds or math problems, or story ideas. Basically, intense day-dreaming, lol. Find something you can concentrate on and focus on it until the panic goes away. That's what I do anyways. With any luck your panic attack was a one-time thing and not the emergence of a full-blown anxiety disorder. Best of luck! wow thats really sad :C she left you because you couldnt drive for a while? that's pretty mud, leaving you when you needed help the most. its probably a good thing you didnt marry her :C i dont think i get panic attacks, i did get anxiety in the past towards stuff like health and disease, but i never got stuff like skipped heartbeats, pale skin or inability to work/function. i agree with keeping your mind busy. eventually youll start to realize that its just unfounded and youll get over it. maybe talk with a doctor or something? | ||
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Mickey
United States2606 Posts
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JohnColtrane
Australia4813 Posts
might i ask where the attack came from? | ||
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Tadzio
3340 Posts
On July 13 2010 17:30 JohnColtrane wrote: wow thats really sad :C she left you because you couldnt drive for a while? that's pretty mud, leaving you when you needed help the most. its probably a good thing you didnt marry her :C I don't blame her. She looked at me as I was getting worse and worse and saw something she couldn't spend the rest of her life with. Plus, I had a very hectic schedule at the time (prolly part of the reason the attacks began). I was working 70 hours a week and attending class full-time. Sleeping 3 hours a night on weekdays. She had a part time job and was attending the same school. Her schedule was wrecked by having to drive me around. Which caused mounting stress. If we weren't living together, I don't think she woulda stuck around as long as she did. I didn't mention her to get people to bad-mouth her. She still, years later, represents "the one that got away". I just wanted to make it clear that an anxiety disorder is something you have to address, headon. Whether through therapy, drugs, excercises, coping mechanisms, friends and family, whatever, if you try and let it run it's course, it can run you into the ground. | ||
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sluggaslamoo
Australia4494 Posts
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NeonFlare
Finland1307 Posts
Actually I calmed down a lot when I heard some relatives had similar symptoms and problems and they said to get some light medication if you can't relax past it. The more often it occured, the easier it started to become distinguish and handle. When confronted with anxiety or panic, there isn't much else to do than relax, listen some music or give a call to someone you haven't chatted with recently, even if the heartbeat would feel horribly strong, if it doesn't come with excruciating pains it should be just passed as bodily reaction to the situation. While panic/anxiety attacks for me mostly were pretty weak to rather mediocre, they lasted long, which made it horrible during the first some times. | ||
micronesia
United States24776 Posts
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condoriano
United States826 Posts
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Servius_Fulvius
United States947 Posts
1). No one has ever died from a panic attack 2). Telling someone "just don't worry, you have no reason to be" is absolutely useless 3).#2. makes #1 useless during a panic attack 4). Your body will be pumping adrenaline nonstop 5). The attack may become self-perpetuating (panic about panicking) and last longer What you should do, first and foremost, is not sit still. With all that adrenaline you're just going to go nuts. You need to start getting rid of it. Get up and start walking around. Take a walk around the block, pace a vacant lot, just don't sit still! Call someone or bring someone with you. They're going to distract you. Start talking about life. It will be hard at first, so try and get them to lead the conversation. You can bring up the panicking, but don't dwell on it. While talking, make sure you're breathing. It's easier to have the friend remind you. A body can't be in a state of hyper-alertness and relax at the same time. Deep breathing forces your body to relax, and when the energy starts to go down so does the panic. Squeeze something in one hand. It could be a toy ball, a wad of tissue, anything really. The point of this is to further distract yourself. Instead of dwelling on anxiety you're walking, talking, squeezing, and breathing. Give the attack as long as it needs to settle down. In addition to using this myself on several occasions I also helped a friend through persistent anxiety by talking with him over the phone. I was also an RA for three years and in that time I helped one resident with a really bad panic attack and one more with persistent attacks. It works, just not on your time frame. | ||
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Happy.fairytail
United States327 Posts
I don't personally deal with anxiety/panic attacks, but a friend of mine had a severe attack during a trip to Peru, triggered by her intense phobia of bugs. (We were deep in the jungle, no electricity or running water, so there were countless of mosquitos everywhere... brave soul, she is) It was pretty bizarre, because it was a few weeks in on a night just like every other, right as we were going to sleep in our mosquito net covers. All of a sudden I just hear her taking these huge irregular gasps, like she was struggling to even just breathe. We were confused and concerned, and I think that just made her panic even worse... I was vaguely familiar with panic attacks thru my psych major, so I saw what was happening and tried to talk her down, but it just wasn't working. Literally an hour went by of just telling her, "It's okay, everything's alright, just focusing on controlling your breathing." But the irregular intermittant gasps kept echoing in the dark, and she was getting light-headed and losing sensation in her hands and feet from the hyperventilating. There's a bizarre ending to the story-- someone started singing, and almost immediately her panic attack subsided. But I guess that makes sense, given what you said about distracting yourself and not dwelling on your anxiety. Maybe telling a joke might've been even better? =P | ||
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