I'm having a panic attack...and I have to go to an appt...help!

[Rising Phoenix]

[DemExpat]

1. Oh, dear, take some peaceful breaths and do not run from

the wave of adrenaline that is washing over you......for that is what a panic attack is - a rush of adrenaline. When I really realized that this is what it was - and nothing deadly - I learned to nip them in the bud.

Until I learned to use my breathing as a stressbusting control mechanism and to face down the panic monster, I felt utterly helpless and victimized by panic attacks. :cry:

Regain your equalibrium and see if you are able to continue what you need to do - otherwise think of an alternative, but the best is not to give into the fear but to keep on doing what you were doing.

Maybe it will help to know that there are many who understand and have felt what you are experiencing.

Keep us posted, dear Mrs. Smiffa.

:hug:

DemEx

edit: just moticed that you posted this over an hour ago, so you have dealt with it somehow.
How did it go, hon?

[Rising Phoenix]

3. Thanks everyone...

went to my appt...very scary...it was with my therapist...where I proceded to ball my eyes out...I"m feeling much better now...I can't tell you how much it means to me that when I came home, still a little shakey, I might add, I had these words waiting for me... thanks...got through another one...whew

[Bluerthanblue]

2. ask yourself what is the

absolute worse thing that could happen to you.
Then ask what you can really do about it.
If there is something you can do- do it.
If there is nothing, then tell yourself that.
Remember, the feeling will pass- as it has before.
Don't beat yourself up for having the feelings you are-
Try and find comforting actions- (the smell of lemon helps me)
Be honest- tell others what you are dealing with-

(i had a full blown anxiety attack in the middle of a store- i knew just what triggered it, and i kept telling myself, it would pass- but also told the salesperson who was checking me out what i was going through- there is NO SHAME- in being honest.)

If you've given birth, think of this as a contraction- something that takes you to the absolute edge of what you believe you could ever endure, but it will crest- and you will mellow out- it will recede like the tides do-

You are safe, you are ok, and you aren't alone.

It's not your fault.

Be gentle with you- as if you were a child, and you needed nurturing-
It will pass.

It always has-

It always will.

wish i could hold your hand, and talk you through it-
you'll be ok- very soon.

And then use the memory of having gotten through to help you next time.

peace.

breathe.

you are safe.

you are not alone.

you are not going crazy.

this will pass.

love,
blu

[DemExpat]

4. Horrifying and exhausting they are.....

but they lose their power once you learn to face them head on and work through them without full retreats.

:grouphug:

DemEx

[EFerrari]

6. That is so, so true!

Once someone told me what it was, i.e., not a heart attack, it lost at least half of its force! The rest is learning to be aware of the onset and dealing with the symptoms in the way that works for you.

Thank goodness! :)

/its

[EFerrari]

5. Mrs Sniffa, LISTEN UP!

I used to have the worst panic attacks of ALL TIMES. In fact, I was nearly on the Olympic team.

Try this two step: Try to notice when your anxiety is building. I swear on my childrens' heads that you can learn to spot it earlier and earlier.

The sooner you spot it, the easier, shorter and sweeter the whole deal is!

Then, when you feel it welling up, reassure youself OUT LOUD. If people think you're nuts, fuck them. I found that if I said the reassuring things out loud, they went from my mouth to my ear to my brain and REALLY HELPED ME. If I just thought them, they didn't help me at all.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, I have to cross bridges all the time. When I noticed muscle tension or a change in my thinking or breathing, I'd start talking OUT LOUD to myself in the car:

"Sweetie, you'll be fine. This is just like driving on X Blvd. You'll be fine. You've done this a gillion times. See? You're okay."

This might sound silly but what happened was some part of my brain believed me and the panic just calmed the fuck down.

Brains are cool things. Try it!

Beth

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. I know this is an old thread

but I just have to add to it. I suffered from debilitating panic with depression in 1990. I became agoraphobic and housebound for part of that year.

Subsequent medication helped, as did some therapy, but the biggest help was the coping techniques I learned. One strategy I used, and that I use today if I get any panic is to actually welcome that awful feeling and deal with it because when it is over, the receding of adrenalin actually is very calming, almost drug like. Now, I know that a chemical imbalance like that in the long run is not a good thing, but it helps me through if I get caught.

[EFerrari]

8. Yes. My meds help a lot. The tricks I learned help just as much!

:thumbsup:

[DemExpat]

9. You explained it short and sweet, TG.

Therapy gave me good insight into patterns originating in the past, meds were for me not clearly beneficial because they ultimately enhanced my feeling that I could not handle feelings and sensations myself, adding to my feeling of profound helplessness.

For me, the coping techniques like breathing and, especially, not running from the panic and the situation, were much more effective in the long term.

I believe that until one stops retreating from the panic, turning around, staring it down and saying "Come on in".... it will always remain around the corner waiting to "pounce".....

It is extremely hard to do at first, but once you experience how you stand it down time after time, step by step, it really does lose its strength and doesn't even "try" to get you anymore.....:D

Welcoming it really does put you in the position of having the power, and defuses the panic.

This is my very personal long-term experience of this disorder.

Thanks for your view,

DemEx

[TallahasseeGrannie]

10. One aspect of panic attacks

that have to be acknowledged is the awful feelings of impending doom that often accompanies that surge. It makes perfect sense biologically, because the chemicals are warning for our brain to flee or fight but that "I am dying" feeling is horrible. The mind game our bodies play on us is as hard to get through as the physical sensations, which, if you really examine them, are the same as joy, or running around the block.

And absolutely, once you run from a situation it takes a long, long time to reclaim that little bit of your life you gave up.

I finally came to terms with it like this: I decided that I WOULD NEVER leave a place or event with an attack, unless I was unconscious and I left on a stretcher. I do allow myself to visit the restroom, and that helps a lot, too..a few moments of privacy.

[EFerrari]

11. That makes sense to me. There are some feelings I don't want to

share with everyone at PacBell Park!

lol

It's nice to be on the other side of this one, isn't it? To know it's a feeling, not fact. (Okay, a feeling and a tidal wave of adrenaline.

:rofl: )

[TallahasseeGrannie]

13. It sure IS nice to be on the other side of it

because when I was going through it, I thought my life was over. And now I could have ten a day and deal with it. Just annoyances. I know the strategies and I know when to take a pill, which I will do sometimes before situations that are known triggers, like public speaking.

Panic disorder was actually one of the best things that ever happened to me because it forced me to learn about myself, stress reduction, etc.

[DemExpat]

15. Exactly, TG, it has a gift to it as well.

:hug:

DemEx

[EFerrari]

16. Exactly! So many things I never would have even imagined

let alone, thought about or tried.

:)

[DemExpat]

14. That violent "I am dying" feeling is the worst feeling

I have ever experienced in my life - and so many times! :scared: -until I learned that it was not "really" killing me like it felt it was doing. I think that everybody feels it differently, but I always felt like I was suffocating and having a heart attack at the same time.....going crazy, body all tingling and numb, a horrible ringing in my ears and tunnel vision, mouth as dry as cotton, stomach tight as a knot.....nauseous....oh, yes, I can remember it well in all of its detail.

I do remember reading in one of the books I poured over to find help what you mention about the physical sensation of panic - flight or fight - being the same as excitement, joy, physical exertion, etc.


One author said that she helped herself by retreating to a restroom and running in place to work off the adrenalin....

I also appreciate access to restrooms, as I find my panic disorder has an element of social phobia in it as well, especially in crowds, so retreating for a few minutes for that privacy helps me regain composure and centredness so that I can go back out and keep on with what I was doing.

When my daughter seemed to be developing beginning symptoms of this disorder when she was 19 I almost freaked out thinking I had passed it on to her. I had doom scenarios of my dear daughter having to quit school, (like I did), get treatment, maybe meds, grow depressed (like I did) etc.....:-(
I do realize that some genetic propensity of this does exist, and that a child will pick up on a parents' cues from their reactions to things in life. But here too, I centered myself with my breathing, pushed that scenario out of my mind, and sought out the help I thought she might need, along with offering her my understanding of it as well, of course. I didn't want to go into too much detail of the disorder with her, but instead told her what I have learned about the RESPONSE, and how to do all she can to NOT avoid situations where she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

With a series of sessions of some breathing technique coaching from a therapist specializing in panic/phobias, she learned how to keep herself from the shallow breathing that exasperates tension/stress into more panicky feelings/sensations, and, now, at 24, she seems to be doing very well.
She takes good care of herself with her diet and getting good sleep, and only uses one "crutch" that I can see - she often takes a little bottle of water along with her to sip on.
This makes me so happy to see that she seems to have learned to cope with her nervous system 'weaknesses' without it destroying her life first.


Plus I have learned that many of our nervous system "weaknesses" carry a wonderful gift/strength in them of a deep sensitivity and compassion for others, and this I would not like to give up or miss out on!

DemEx

[EFerrari]

12. DenEx, I sure don't mean to trivialize the hard work we did to

find something that worked, then to refine the tool, as a "trick". Maybe, looking back, those things seem a little like magic to me, given that when my panic disorder began, it didn't even have a name yet in the world of medicine.

I treasure every single thing I've found that has helped me, including petting my cats, including walking, including reassuring myself out loud -- because they work and they are always at my disposal. No fashion in medicine or lack of funds or lapse on my part can deprive me of those things.

Pretty neat, being able to have those things. :)

[DemExpat]

17. Trivialize is something I KNOW you wouldn't do, sfexpat.

What seems like magic to me is how utterly devastating it was for years of my life, while when I finally learned to confront the panic "monster", stare it down and even flippantly invite it to come visit :crazy:....... and then experienced how this eventually deflated the entire cycle....dissipated the fear and turned off the adrenaline flood.....I was amazed at how "simple" it was, so I know what you mean by it seeming like magic.

It will always be a part of us, but learning to live with it and not suffer so from it is absolutely wonderful.

:grouphug:

DemEx

[EFerrari]

18. And I haven't forgetten that shaving your legs thing!

:rofl:

Be well, my friends.

:grouphug:

Beth

[DemExpat]

19. LOLOL......

Try it, it works......:P:P:P

:hug:

Good night, all, I'm up far too late tonite.

DemEx

[TallahasseeGrannie]

20. The two years after I learned to control/accept panic

were the happiest of my life. It was like opening a window.

That old saying "We have nothing to fear but fear" is a good one. Because once you lose your fear of panic (and I think you have to pay a few panic dues first with awful attacks) it totally loses its horror and it a very slight inconvenience.

The only thing I have not done since panic attacks is get on an airplane, but not as much fear (I will have some work to do for sure) but more opportunity.

[DemExpat]

21. I do get on airplanes, busses and trains again.....

but would rather not.....:evilgrin:.........
Also elevators, movie theaters, crowded restaurants, stores and supermarkets - I do it all now without much second thought even after so many years of these things being absolutely off limits to me.

As I said I carry one pill with me on trips ....but the one thing that I have not been able to get myself to do.....to learn to handle that situation as well....is to sit in the middle of a row at a theater, concert or sports event! :silly:
I always get there early or make sure I have reservations for an aisle seat - also on airplanes, by the way.

After having some doozy panic attacks in movies with no escape possible :eyes: I have not "done it over" with my learned coping techniques. I wonder why I have not done this yet? .......probably because I'd have to practice this with complete strangers, and that is an added stress for me.

DemEx

[EFerrari]

23. It is added stress. I tend to take very little steps that eventually

add up to the middle seat in a row at the theater but, if I hurry or overreach, it just sets me back.

Have either of you noticed, this whole process makes you much more patient with other people? I've never been very patient but moving through this, just noticing every small motion somehow became the basis of a rounder patience with others. And, that was, ah, welcomed. lol

[EFerrari]

22. Being let out of a cage. This was a long time ago, early 80s.

First thing I did was book a 6 week camping trip to and from the Grand Canyon. I brought my therp pix back of me sitting right on the edge, happy as a clam. lol

Sometimes I get little waves, if someone else is driving or on the subway or on planes. Too bad. Places to go. :)