Panick Attackes...
- Thread starter black booty lover
- Start date
Has it ever happened if front anyone?I have suffered off and on with panic attacks for years. I wish I could say that there is a 'cure' but I don't believe there is.Just try to manage your stress levels I guess.
I only seem to get them when I'm alone. I think it's because when I'm by myself, my mind is free to think about the things that stress me and worry me.
I too suffer from anxiety and have for some time. Breathing and calming exercises have helped a lot.
Also, being active and exercising helps a lot too.
Recently I learned about grounding yourself. Anxiety can be when your mind wonders about the where and why etc etc. So stopping the thoughts that cause the anxiety and going “ok. I’m currently sitting at home. I’m on the couch.”
The countdown method helps to ground yourself too.
5 things you can see around you
4 things you can touch around you
3 things you can hear around you
2 things you can smell around you
Say 1 good thing about yourself.
Sounds corny but it helps
Also, being active and exercising helps a lot too.
Recently I learned about grounding yourself. Anxiety can be when your mind wonders about the where and why etc etc. So stopping the thoughts that cause the anxiety and going “ok. I’m currently sitting at home. I’m on the couch.”
The countdown method helps to ground yourself too.
5 things you can see around you
4 things you can touch around you
3 things you can hear around you
2 things you can smell around you
Say 1 good thing about yourself.
Sounds corny but it helps
I'm going to be a little firmer here. I'm not a doctor and neither are most of the people here on Terb.
Speak to a Psychologist or other appropriate medical professional experienced with dealing in depression, anxiety, panic management, fear, phobias and stress.
Lots of good people here giving you sincere advice .... many who are suggesting "home grown" resolutions focused on the symptoms. Sorry for being blunt; many of these people admit to multiple attacks over a period of time, so clearly they are not dealing their the root causes.
Panic attacks are absolutely treatable and curable and through the self-realization and techniques you will learn, could be avoidable for the rest of your life. But you must understand your root causes which requires an in depth assessment best performed by a professional specializing in this disorder. The longer you let it go, the more it will impact your health, confidence and self-esteem. You may have other issues such as depression which could require a modified treatment, best decided by a professional.
Drugs for treating the symptoms are best avoided. Many of the drugs can have a lasting impact on the chemistry of your brain and can introduce complications.
I'm going to PM you the name of my brother's doctor. At the very least go for 1 session and see if it makes sense for you. If it's a money issue, some of the costs may be covered by your benefits, or alternatively if a doctor gives you a referral and states it's impacting your health or functionality, it could be partially covered by OHIP. Some doctors even offer a "sliding scale" - which is code for patients that's don't have insurance and can't afford the usual higher fees. Here's a link to doctors and clinics in Toronto: https://www.google.ca/search?q=pani...rome..69i57.6967j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Again, panic attacks and general anxiety can be successfully treated. Avoiding treatment simply prolongs the symptoms and the impact to your quality of life unnecessarily.
Speak to a Psychologist or other appropriate medical professional experienced with dealing in depression, anxiety, panic management, fear, phobias and stress.
Lots of good people here giving you sincere advice .... many who are suggesting "home grown" resolutions focused on the symptoms. Sorry for being blunt; many of these people admit to multiple attacks over a period of time, so clearly they are not dealing their the root causes.
Panic attacks are absolutely treatable and curable and through the self-realization and techniques you will learn, could be avoidable for the rest of your life. But you must understand your root causes which requires an in depth assessment best performed by a professional specializing in this disorder. The longer you let it go, the more it will impact your health, confidence and self-esteem. You may have other issues such as depression which could require a modified treatment, best decided by a professional.
Drugs for treating the symptoms are best avoided. Many of the drugs can have a lasting impact on the chemistry of your brain and can introduce complications.
I'm going to PM you the name of my brother's doctor. At the very least go for 1 session and see if it makes sense for you. If it's a money issue, some of the costs may be covered by your benefits, or alternatively if a doctor gives you a referral and states it's impacting your health or functionality, it could be partially covered by OHIP. Some doctors even offer a "sliding scale" - which is code for patients that's don't have insurance and can't afford the usual higher fees. Here's a link to doctors and clinics in Toronto: https://www.google.ca/search?q=pani...rome..69i57.6967j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Again, panic attacks and general anxiety can be successfully treated. Avoiding treatment simply prolongs the symptoms and the impact to your quality of life unnecessarily.
Very Interesting,
I've been on anti-depressants 3 times. Each time I had stop using them because they made me feel more depressed, and the side effects were unbearable. I know one was Effexor, I believe another was Paxil as well.
I will add my own perspective here. It may not agree completely with others, but all of us have different experiences with this.
While I agree anxiety is treatable, I would be very hesitant to call it curable. Medication may or may not be right for you, but that can only be determined by working it out with a doctor. It absolutely should be someone that you trust; if you try working with a doctor and it doesn't feel right, find another. (This can be a very frustrating process, but it's important.) Cognitive behaviour therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, electroconvulsive therapy or other treatment options might be suitable for you.
While from a certain point of view, life situations may feel like the "cause" of a panic attack, it is likely only the immediate cause of that particular episode. In my experience, when you have clinical anxiety, it isn't hard to find something that will cause your anxiety to flare up. So managing life circumstances is important and can be helpful, but considering the fact you have mentioned long-term mental health issues, trying to eliminate those circumstances may do more harm than good. Again, this is only something that can be worked out with qualified help.
Meditation, breathing exercises, physical exercise, etc. all have the potential to be of benefit to you, but each person is different. I've been in a support group recently and that has definitely done me some good.
I hear what you're saying about antidepressants; they have never provided a benefit to me and the side effects have been unpleasant or unbearable. Some people find them extremely beneficial.
I will extend the same offer to PM (with the OP, or anyone else that would like to discuss it privately.) Not that I have any particular expertise beyond my own experience, but I know it can be helpful to talk it out with someone that can relate.
While I agree anxiety is treatable, I would be very hesitant to call it curable. Medication may or may not be right for you, but that can only be determined by working it out with a doctor. It absolutely should be someone that you trust; if you try working with a doctor and it doesn't feel right, find another. (This can be a very frustrating process, but it's important.) Cognitive behaviour therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, electroconvulsive therapy or other treatment options might be suitable for you.
While from a certain point of view, life situations may feel like the "cause" of a panic attack, it is likely only the immediate cause of that particular episode. In my experience, when you have clinical anxiety, it isn't hard to find something that will cause your anxiety to flare up. So managing life circumstances is important and can be helpful, but considering the fact you have mentioned long-term mental health issues, trying to eliminate those circumstances may do more harm than good. Again, this is only something that can be worked out with qualified help.
Meditation, breathing exercises, physical exercise, etc. all have the potential to be of benefit to you, but each person is different. I've been in a support group recently and that has definitely done me some good.
I hear what you're saying about antidepressants; they have never provided a benefit to me and the side effects have been unpleasant or unbearable. Some people find them extremely beneficial.
I will extend the same offer to PM (with the OP, or anyone else that would like to discuss it privately.) Not that I have any particular expertise beyond my own experience, but I know it can be helpful to talk it out with someone that can relate.
You know, the worst thing about depression is how people misconceive the concept of how hard it is to get help. It's a whole other ball of wax than when you have a tooth ache or sore back. You just say "my tooth hurts. I need to go to the dentist".
The problem with mental/depression is, your ability to get help is taken away from you because of your depression. Then you can't beat your depression cause you can't get help, and it's like one feeds the other and feeds the other and back and forth you go. Next thing you know, your living in a place that you didn't know existed, and you don't know how to get out of.
The problem with mental/depression is, your ability to get help is taken away from you because of your depression. Then you can't beat your depression cause you can't get help, and it's like one feeds the other and feeds the other and back and forth you go. Next thing you know, your living in a place that you didn't know existed, and you don't know how to get out of.
I have panic attacks for years, a few times i thought i was having a heart attack! nothing i tried worked until a friend said i should try tacking effexor! been taking it for over a year now. no more attacks and no side affects.
Must have mist my post where I mentioned I tried it, and not only did it make my depression/anxiety worse, the side effects were crippling. No more meds for me.
You are absolutely not alone in that experience. I wrote something very similar in the thread I started a few weeks ago.
It can be incredibly difficult to get help. Finding the will to get help is hard enough when you're depressed. Then you have to navigate the mental health care system to connect with a doctor or therapist of some kind. Then you have to hope you connect well enough with that person and that they have the particular expertise to help you. I've been to so many doctors and therapists in my life that I'm sure I don't remember half of them. I remember the ones that were really good, and the ones that were really bad.
But continuing to seek help is still, I think, the best advice. The alternative is to give up entirely. There have been times when I needed to put "getting help" on hold and just struggle through the days, so I understand that can happen.
If you are having trouble getting the assistance of a doctor, have you tried calling a crisis line? Whether or not you are in immediate danger of harming yourself, you should be able to speak with a crisis worker over the phone or in person who will work with you to determine a course of action. That may include assistance in mental health care but not necessarily with a doctor, such as a social worker or support group. There are services that can give you a place to stay short-term if you have to escape your environment and/or need to be monitored to feel safe.
Please reach out in whatever direction you feel you are able. There are many of us that understand how hard it can be.
You are very welcome.
I don't know if this is what it's like for you, but the shit that goes through my head...I often feel like it's worse than anyone could possibly understand, and it's terrifying to let anyone know what's really going on in there because I will look like the worst person in the world. Or I don't want anyone to know because I feel like it's unfair to place the burden of it on another person. Logically I know that isn't the case, and that people will understand, but the feeling is there all the same.
As I said earlier, a support group has helped quite a bit for me recently, both in giving me a safe place to share my experience, but also in hearing the experiences of others. I think when the pain of it is shared in a mutually supportive way, it becomes easier for everyone. This isn't a quick fix of course, and there are no guarantees. I tried a support group a few years back and it just didn't feel right; either I wasn't in the right place in my life for it, or the group didn't mesh for me. I'm still in a really bad place, but this group now is helping to make it a little easier.
I was consumed by panic attacks in my early teens, it got so bad that I became a Looney Toons quote:
"Breathe stupid breathe, you forgot to breathe again", there was no rhyme or reason to it, it just happened.
But now I feel a whole lot better about my Life of Job. The People's Eyebrow, The Rock, has opened up about his depression troubles. Considering the success and charisma he has, you'd think he'd be the last person so afflicted!
https://www.who.com.au/dwayne-johnson-crying-constantly-during-battle-with-depression
Again there's no logic to it, when I returned to college the mood disorders almost disappeared. All that heavy math I had to learn kept my brain occupied.
"Breathe stupid breathe, you forgot to breathe again", there was no rhyme or reason to it, it just happened.
But now I feel a whole lot better about my Life of Job. The People's Eyebrow, The Rock, has opened up about his depression troubles. Considering the success and charisma he has, you'd think he'd be the last person so afflicted!
https://www.who.com.au/dwayne-johnson-crying-constantly-during-battle-with-depression
Again there's no logic to it, when I returned to college the mood disorders almost disappeared. All that heavy math I had to learn kept my brain occupied.
I just read this about Dwayne Johnson as well. His depression went away after he became successful though.
Yes, most concerning is the extremely rapid heartbeat rate.
"Rapid or irregular heartbeat. Uncomfortable changes in heart rate are the most frequently reported symptoms of panic attacks. Over 80% of those experiencing panic list a rapid or irregular heart rate as a symptom. ... If the heart beats more rapidly than normal, this arrhythmia is called tachycardia."
