Massive Panic Attack
Discussion
Few years ago I had bad anxiety for a while. I had counselling, made changes to work environment, also Dr found a large hormonal imbalance that may have contributed.
Its been pretty much gone for years now, odd wobble here and there. Last couple of days at work have been a bit stressful. Today I was sat in a meeting and had the most enormous panic attack, my heart was pounding, I felt dizzy, thought I might faint, I completely zoned out of what everyone was saying. Thankfully no one was talking to me at the time.
Was horrid.
I hope this isn't the return. I always start to feel a bit funny this time of year, always seem to be clinging on till Christmas. Think the stress pushed me over the edge.
Had another minor one this evening, but not as bad.
Back to counselling do we think? Or the GP? Dont want the pills again, they were f
king awful
Its been pretty much gone for years now, odd wobble here and there. Last couple of days at work have been a bit stressful. Today I was sat in a meeting and had the most enormous panic attack, my heart was pounding, I felt dizzy, thought I might faint, I completely zoned out of what everyone was saying. Thankfully no one was talking to me at the time.
Was horrid.
I hope this isn't the return. I always start to feel a bit funny this time of year, always seem to be clinging on till Christmas. Think the stress pushed me over the edge.
Had another minor one this evening, but not as bad.
Back to counselling do we think? Or the GP? Dont want the pills again, they were f
king awfulIt won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
Pills are bad at the levels Drs give out as they just don’t understand but half the min dose they can give is a good background backup, use counselling and then make it your hobby to work daily on meditation and mindfulness, 10-20 mins a day, every day will cure you.
When I see a traffic jam I think "great, time to work on my breathing and relax"
When you work on breathing with your tummy, 7 seconds in and maybe 10 seconds slow out a panic attack cannot develop.
When I see a traffic jam I think "great, time to work on my breathing and relax"
When you work on breathing with your tummy, 7 seconds in and maybe 10 seconds slow out a panic attack cannot develop.
Caddyshack said:
It won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
People do experience panic attacks while driving. Not saying it will happen to the OP, but it sounds like he experienced something quite serious that he has a history with and would therefore do well to get it investigated sooner rather than later.
Gameface said:
Caddyshack said:
It won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
Are you a doctor?When panic appears you could very easily and probably would chose to stay in bed but if you force yourself to get up and go for a run, however hard that may feel, you will begin to find the cure.
gregs656 said:
Caddyshack said:
It won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
People do experience panic attacks while driving. Not saying it will happen to the OP, but it sounds like he experienced something quite serious that he has a history with and would therefore do well to get it investigated sooner rather than later.
Caddyshack said:
It won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
As Caddy says, it’s the fight or flight reflex. A squirt of unwanted Adrenalin. Try expelling all the air from your lungs and hold it there as you relax your shoulders. Empty your head of any thoughts for a a few seconds whilst doing this,The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
If you understand what is happening to your body then you can become the boss of them.
They can be very debilitating but can be controlled given time and a little practice.l
Edited to add, the first ones can be very scary as you don’t know what’s happening. So you panic more releasing more Adrenalin. Mine were awful but I eventually got on top of them.
Edited by RegMolehusband on Wednesday 5th December 19:30
The human brain cannot process 2 / 3 things at once, once you learn to relax with a sigh and control the breathing then focus on a mindful body scan your brain could not continue to produce the Adrenalin to keep a panic attack going.
I went to a lot of doctors and a few counsellors and the best they did was download something from the web that was well out of date.
It took a few years but I found how to live with it, cure it, catch it early etc...
I went to a lot of doctors and a few counsellors and the best they did was download something from the web that was well out of date.
It took a few years but I found how to live with it, cure it, catch it early etc...
Caddyshack said:
It won’t happen whilst driving as your brain will not let you lose control.
The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
It can and does. I was on the M1 when it happened to me - it started building up and my entire body went numb, I couldn't move at it's worst point, i managed to pull up to the hard shoulder and call an ambulance because I thought I was dying.The panic is just Adrenalin with nowhere to go. I know how terrible an attack can be but once you feel it start just relax your shoulders and sigh, then relax your muscles and you will stop it in its tracks.
You will never lose control and whilst it is the worst feeling it is bearable and once you become boss it shrinks away like a bully.
Ambulance told me all my vitals are 100% and I probably had a panic attack, which effects everyone differently.
Took me 2 years to be able to drive on the motorway again. Not a fun experience I can tell you.
Jiebo said:
It can and does. I was on the M1 when it happened to me - it started building up and my entire body went numb, I couldn't move at it's worst point, i managed to pull up to the hard shoulder and call an ambulance because I thought I was dying.
Ambulance told me all my vitals are 100% and I probably had a panic attack, which effects everyone differently.
Took me 2 years to be able to drive on the motorway again. Not a fun experience I can tell you.
That is my point, your body controlled it, you did not die in a big fire ball and you did not hurt anyone. Once you realise you are in control you are on the way to recovery.Ambulance told me all my vitals are 100% and I probably had a panic attack, which effects everyone differently.
Took me 2 years to be able to drive on the motorway again. Not a fun experience I can tell you.
If you could have known that the first feeling was nothing but an adrenaline spike you would have relaxed and it would have gone. Do not think I am belittling it, I would rather be shot than suffer a panic attack without knowing how to deal with it, it is the worst experience of my life but as with many things there is a simple cure. Think of a kid that is frozen in fear in front of a fluffy kitten (my daughter was) and then you work it out and now she has two cats and dominates them. Our brain is clever and tries to protect us but is still has the most powerful part that eveolved when hairy big toothed tigers hunted us.
If you had got back on the motorway and driven up and down, every day for 100 days your body would have given up the fear and resorted to normal.
I think 90% of sufferers rely on their crutches or coping devices or strategies, I used to carry rescue remedy, paper bags to breath in to, emergency numbers etc...that is all giving panic permission to visit...once you say no and confront it, not with aggression but logic and learn that is is just an ancient visitor from the fight or flight part of the brain you can beat it in a heart beat.
I suffered, I could not function, I could not get out of bed some days and I hid from life but when I realised how to deal with it I was free.
davebem said:
Id go for the counselling. Ive had a few medium sized panic attacks and 1 massive one, the symptoms to me were confusing, because if you dont know the exact cause of the anxiety then sometimes its difficult to distinguish between being genuinly ill or its a panic attack.
Yes, one of the biggest fears is "am I going to die?, is this a heart attack?, will I lose control in the office at work? Etc." Once you can know that it is "only" a panic attack and you have the tools to cope you will be fine...I almost wanted the Dr to tell me I had something nasty so I could forgive myself. It is one of the worst feelings in the world but it is bearable once you realise it will never get worse than the worst you have already felt.
People are scared to death of death but when you realise that we were not alive before we were born and it will be no different when we die and that we are all made up of simple energy that cannot be made or broken, only transformed to another source of energy then we end up with, "I am not scared of dieing, I just do not want to". This is not meant to be hippy deep, it is simple science. You can burn a cardboard box or a human, they just become heat, then carbon, then a fuel source etc...
Robertj21a said:
Apart from the well-known deep breathing/slow exhaling, some people have found a bit of quick exercise helps - run up the stairs or go for a brisk walk around. Just drinking a lot of water may help too.
Yes, it’s a release for the adrenaline and drinking water makes your brain do something else, it cannot do both.Caddyshack said:
Sorry, yes. I meant that it will not happen to a degree to lose your own control, the body would always be able to pull over and stop. Once you realise you will never get any worse than you have already experienced then you are on the way to beating it...you have already experienced the worst.
I don't understand the point you are trying to make here.People do have panic attacks while driving, people do get into accidents or have near misses as a result of those panic attacks.
Totally stand by my initial statement that if you have a panic attack while driving you're POTENTIALLY end up in a world of trouble - and not just accidents, either, if you have anxiety and it affects you're driving you are obligated to notify the DVLA.
So I think the most sensible advice is to get help, don't you?
Yes, get help.
For anyone to be suffering from panic attacks to be told that they may lose control of a car is nothing more than adding petrol to a fire and hoping it will help. Doctors will not help other than put you on a 12 month cams waiting list or some strong meds.
I think you really do know the point I am trying to make.
Nobody dies from panic attacks but the fear of it is part of what fuels a panic attack, once you know that you will never lose control.....you will never lose control.
You have to understand what it is and that it is a self fulfilling prophecy. I too have pulled over at the side of a road and had a full on, "I am going to throw up and end up in an ambulance moment"
As soon as you understand it, the problem goes away.
I am not trying to do or say anything other than help, I struggled for a long time as hardly anyoe knows the answers and if you still think that you can crash then you are allowing your brain to think it can still happen...it won’t.
Greg’s, you can choose to accept what I am saying is true experience or not but I have gone from hardly functioning to fully recovered and thriving. Many people cannot go through the door to cure, I have met many and attempted to help but many will not make the steps they need. I have someone close to me who suffers daily, I show her how to cope but she will not take the first steps as she is hampered by fear. Have you suffered and solved it?
For anyone to be suffering from panic attacks to be told that they may lose control of a car is nothing more than adding petrol to a fire and hoping it will help. Doctors will not help other than put you on a 12 month cams waiting list or some strong meds.
I think you really do know the point I am trying to make.
Nobody dies from panic attacks but the fear of it is part of what fuels a panic attack, once you know that you will never lose control.....you will never lose control.
You have to understand what it is and that it is a self fulfilling prophecy. I too have pulled over at the side of a road and had a full on, "I am going to throw up and end up in an ambulance moment"
As soon as you understand it, the problem goes away.
I am not trying to do or say anything other than help, I struggled for a long time as hardly anyoe knows the answers and if you still think that you can crash then you are allowing your brain to think it can still happen...it won’t.
Greg’s, you can choose to accept what I am saying is true experience or not but I have gone from hardly functioning to fully recovered and thriving. Many people cannot go through the door to cure, I have met many and attempted to help but many will not make the steps they need. I have someone close to me who suffers daily, I show her how to cope but she will not take the first steps as she is hampered by fear. Have you suffered and solved it?
Edited by Caddyshack on Wednesday 5th December 21:28
gregs656 said:
Caddyshack said:
Sorry, yes. I meant that it will not happen to a degree to lose your own control, the body would always be able to pull over and stop. Once you realise you will never get any worse than you have already experienced then you are on the way to beating it...you have already experienced the worst.
I don't understand the point you are trying to make here.People do have panic attacks while driving, people do get into accidents or have near misses as a result of those panic attacks.
Totally stand by my initial statement that if you have a panic attack while driving you're POTENTIALLY end up in a world of trouble - and not just accidents, either, if you have anxiety and it affects you're driving you are obligated to notify the DVLA.
So I think the most sensible advice is to get help, don't you?
People who have experienced this before are less likely to overreact than someone who hasn't.
But in essence, your statement of the bleeding obvious just didn't need to be there, why not add stroke, heart attack, etc to your list.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff